Repairs and restoration cover a huge area from simple ring sizings to once say, a lengthy but sympathetic restoration of a Victorian diamond and pearl brooch I once undertook after it dropped off my customer’s lapel at a dinner due to a faulty clasp and was subsequently trodden on by another guest. These photographs are of a job I undertook recently for a young lady who wanted to use her Grandmother’s engagement for her own. Due to the age of the ring, the shank was needle-thin with wear so needed replacing completely. She also had her grandmother’s 22ct wedding ring so I said I could use this for the work. I couldn’t carry this out using the 22ct as it is far too soft, suitable only for wedding rings so I melted it down adding the correct amount of fine silver until it came out at 18ct. The addition of the silver hardens up the alloy and also slightly increases the bulk. The button was forged into an ingot and then milled into square wire using slitting mills. When the correct thickness was reached it was hammered into a ring, soldered to the existing head of the original ring and then using a half-round punch the shank profile was applied. After filing, papering and polishing the ring was ready for another sixty years.
Melting.
Melting the mix of 22ct gold and a little silver into a buttton or ‘slug’.
Milling.
Using decreasing sizes of slitting mills the button is made square in section.
Annealing.
Between passes through the mills, the gold ‘work hardens’ and needs to be annealed or softened by bringing up to red heat.
Correct section.
Once the correct cross-section has been achieved the wire has to be formed into a ring around a tapered mandrel of ring stake.
Combining the two.
The new shank applied to the existing head of the ring.
Shank profile.
Using a half-round punch and then filing and papering the ring is coming together, the flared, knife shoulders are also formed during this procedure.
The end result.
The main advantage of using scrap gold is the reduced price of the job. Obviously, there is a greater labour cost but at today’s high gold price it still makes economic sense. The most important thing to me though is one of sentiment, combining two worn out but treasured family heirlooms into what amounts to a brand new piece.