News

Yes, we can do that - Episode 2. Re-creating an inexpensive ring as fine jewelry. September 18, 2015 17:30

For the second time in the last few months, we have had a customer come in with an inexpensive ring that they LOVED and asked if we could make one just like.

Try that at a big box jewelry store! Not going to happen. Not only do we know HOW to do something like this, we enjoy doing it.

 

Dobbie brought in this ring she had been wearing so much that the silver plating was worn off and the copper was showing through. She really loved the beaded area on the sides of the stone and wondered if we could duplicate the ring in white and yellow 14kt gold AND set the stone from the original ring into the new one.

Yes, we can!

Full disclosure time - this ring was a bit of a challenge because we needed to make a mold AND then cut the mold so that we could cast the two pieces in different color gold. (Jere pulled some of his hair out until he found just the right mixture of wax that would allow him to work his magic!) 

What made the experience even better for Dobbie was the fact that she had some white and yellow gold jewelry that she no longer wore. We were able to re-use her gold which means that she only had to pay for the labor and saved several hundred dollars in gold cost.

  

She now has a ring in a style she LOVES that will last for decades
and will never turn her finger green!

Yes - we can do that! Chimera Design does things other jewelry stores won't or can't. Ep 1 September 18, 2015 16:57

We enjoy doing jewelry repairs, alterations or customizations that other stores cannot or will not do. Deb recently came in with her ring. She had worn the top part to the point that one of the diamonds had fallen out and the others were not safe. 

She had a tremendous attachment to this ring, but she also wanted to update the look a bit. Deb liked the look of two tone jewelry and she liked the modern look of bezels or half-bezels. We came up with a plan that allowed her to keep the shank of the ring and we custom built a new top with a combination of half bezels and prongs for a unique look Deb Loved. 

Jere carved the wax for the new top, we cast it in white gold, soldered it to the shank of her existing ring and set the diamonds. That was part of the old ring was still there. New look, secure settings for the diamonds and we salvaged the sentimental value as well.

The Big Box stores generally do not have anyone on staff who can complete this kind of job. Moreover, the salespeople are there to sell NEW jewelry and they do not like to spend the kind of time and energy to deal with a situation like this.

We LOVE this kind of challenge - bring it on!