[Jewelry making - Article 00554] - Re: [Orchid] Invisible set repair

[Jim Reitze]

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    I find these to be like so many other new 'designer ideas'.  The
    original pieces are well designed and well made.  The point is
    design, not cost. They are relatively expensive, and you will rarely
    see one in for repair. As the idea catches on and they become mass
    produced, the emphasis quickly swings around to cost rather than
    quality.  Price point is key.  When this happens, I see poorly fitted
    stones, poorly set, often with some sort of adhesive in the back. 
    The heat from even sizing will compromise this and stones start
    flying all over the place.  The least bit of bending during the
    sizing will also pop them all loose.  I saw the same thing with
    channel setting a few years back.  The well made pieces will stay
    together through just about anything.  The junk pieces look great for
    a few days out of the showcase, but are a nightmare from then on. I
    usually refuse to work on anything that I am not quite confident of
    the construction.  Even then, I put customer's risk on most of it.  I
    simply cannot afford to reset a whole ring worth of invisible sets
    for the price of a sizing, and I don't have the proper tools or
    experience to be doing that resetting anyway. Jim


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