Oh, no! Your favorite piece of jewelry is broken. What can you do?

Keith Austin at Austin’s Fine Jewelry will advise you on what action to take: repair, redesign, or trade. With his appreciation of the sentimental and financial value of your item and his more than 30 years of experience, he and his staff can guide you to make your best decision.

Why Austin’s Jewelry Repairs

From broken necklace clasps to broken earrings, a professional jewelry technician may be able to quickly and efficiently repair your jewelry. The jeweler at Austin’s Fine Jewelry has decades of experience and has worked with Keith since the opening of his store. The level of knowledge and experience between these two experts indicates the quality of repair work to expect. Keith puts his name behind the jewelry repairs made in his store.

One of your concerns may be whether the jewelry is sent away for repairs since this could create a greater risk of it being damaged or lost. At Austin’s Fine Jewelry, your jewelry is not sent out but stays under the control of Keith and his staff.

What Can be Repaired?

If the jewelry still is in usable condition, repairing a piece so you can continue to enjoy it is an option. Repairs usually can be made on any gold, silver, or platinum jewelry. Keep in mind that older gems may be worn, cracked, or damaged, and such damage may not be repairable. This also is true of metals that have worn through or are badly damaged. 

Jewelry with gemstones, such as extremely hard stones like diamonds, also may be repairable. In this case, the determining factor is whether the jewelry can be repaired with a torch or whether the jewelry requires repair with a laser welder, a specialized piece of equipment. Keith can refer you to an excellent source for laser welding services. 

If you have Southwest jewelry, it may be possible to remove and re-set stones and match missing turquoise or coral stones.

In addition, the jeweler at Austin’s Fine Jewelry can repair eyeglasses made of certain metals, replace some watch crystals, install batteries, and attach watchbands. However, they cannot repair watch mechanisms.

Keith encourages you to bring your broken jewelry to the store to discuss your needs and expectations. He will gladly advise you on the practicality, time, and cost of a repair. Austin’s Fine Jewelry can provide an estimate of the cost of the repair and a schedule for its return.

Austin's Fine Jewelry offers expert Jewelry repairs.

Redesign a Piece of Jewelry

If a piece of jewelry has sentimental value but is not repairable, do not despair. It may be possible to reset the gemstones into a new setting allowing you to maintain its sentimental value while providing a wearable piece of jewelry to enjoy. 

Keith can advise you on ways to retain the sentimental or financial value of your jewelry by creating a new piece. Precious metals can be melted and cast or molded into a new design. Precious stones can be mounted into a new setting for a ring, earrings, or necklace that will continue to bring joy to future generations.

Trade for Services or Jewelry

Precious metals and other jewelry of value may be traded for credit or re-made into a new design. If you are unsure of the metal, Austin’s will test the metals for free. There is no charge to identify and advise you on a diamond. However, colored gemstones require more extensive testing to determine, so there is a fee for evaluations of those gemstones. Keith is a GIA gemologist and can advise you as to whether to pursue an evaluation.

Austin’s Fine Jewelry provides two kinds of appraisals: insurance appraisals and estate appraisals. He can advise you on the appraisal you need and the cost to get the appraisal.

Special Jewelry and Collectibles

Keith may trade for a specific ring for the ring museum housed at Austin’s Fine Jewelry. He has a special case in the store that features New Mexico collectibles, which he will trade for on occasion. 

So, when your favorite piece of jewelry is damaged, make your first stop a visit at Austin’s Fine Jewelry to find out if jewelry repair can be done.

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