Adding gold to a ring??

Melonade

When my Nan died I was left her jewellery and ATM am wearing the wedding, engagement and eternity rings. The band on the engagement ring is very thin but especially at the back as its worn away to maybe less tan 1mm.

Has anyone ever had something like this fixed? Or any idea of the cost or difficulty of it? I love the rings but don't want to ruin or lose one obviously

Thanks

peachyprice

My mum had this done to my Nan's engagement ring and her own engagement ring, find a proper local manufacturing jeweller, not somewhere on the high street, and ask them to quote for a new shank.

I'm sure it didn't cost my Mum much but the rings are like new now.

neverdespairgirl

What sort of gold is it? 9 carat, 14 carat, etc? That makes a very big difference to the price.

Melonade

Thanks, I'll nip it into the little shop in town for a price

Not sure what type of gold it is though as the band is so thin I can't make out the marks on it. It's a lot yellower than the wedding ring and that's 22 carat. Hopefully it won't cost too much :eek:

neverdespairgirl

Yellower isn't a great guide - it depends what else is alloyed with the mixture.

The jeweller should be able to tell you the carat, either my reading the hallmark with a magnifying glass, or by testing the ring.

The weight of the shank with be the most important factor in determining the cost of doing it, as gold is usually sold at £x per gram.

Then there is the work in replacing it, which probably isn't a big deal, with most rings.

Make sure you hang on to the old shank, not the jeweller - you can either keep it or scrap it.

LEJC

It is quite a simple process for the right type of jeweller...as someone else said you need to approach a manufacturing jeweller,one who has access to a workshop and can do simple repairs,they are usually independant jewellers certainly not the main high street places.

You will be able to find a list of jewellers onyellow pages or similar most major towns will have at least one,they are the type of places that have been around years and usually family run

Take all your rings in so they can see what you have and how they you want to eventually wear them all together...
From what you describe it does sound as if you have a higher carat content than something like 9ct...probably 18 or maybe higher..in real terms to you that means that the gold is more pure than 9ct but also slightly softer...it may also mean that its a little more expensive to repair but in the long run it will make the ring wearable again and whats the point of having something that you treasure that stays in a box!...having said that it shouldnt cost as much as buying an equivilent new ring.
The jeweller has a couple of options but the most likely is to recast the band of the ring using a mixture of the existing gold and either reclaimed or new gold of the same carat.

Melonade

Thanks for the replies

Right so I need to find out the carat, I can see why this would affect the price lol... I hadn't even thought that far ahead.

It would lovely to be able to use the original gold when it's recast. I certainly don't want it to be brand new. The diamond is tiny, almost a speck but looks bigger because of the way it set so the gold is pretty important and I'd hate to lose it.

LEJC

T he jeweller will be able to test the gold and tell you what carat it is...if hes setablished at his job he can probably tell you near enough just by looking at it especially if its an old ring...

74jax

If they can only add a new shank, would there be enough gold currently there for earings?

Melonade

74jax wrote: »

If they can only add a new shank, would there be enough gold currently there for earings?

I'm not too sure tbh. It's quite a slim ring to begin with and not a lot of gold to it. Theres a little jewellry repair place in Liverpool that I can take it to next time I'm shopping and see what they say.

daveyjp

If the marks are faded the ring will need hallmarking again. This can be done by testing before the work and hallmarking afterwards.

It would be worth getting an insurance valuation at the same time.