[Jewelry making - Article 00096] - Re: [Orchid] Customer unhappy with retipping

[John Donivan]

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    I replied to this thread in the beginning, but since it's ongoing I'm
    going to reiterate it. I think what all have said is right on, except
    for blaming the customer for anything. I tell people that I don't do
    repair work, but I do antique restoration (I enjoy it). I've worked
    on pieces back to the 18th century. The thing to understand is that
    it's not repair work, really. Yes, you are fixing it or it wouldn't
    be there, but it's not repair work in the sense of the word. When you
    retip a ring, if you get metal on the stones neatly you're probably
    in good shape. When somebody brings in a 100 year old ring, it is
    assumed that they want it to look as near to the original as 
possible.
    And often that involves using old methods and intensive labor. And
    very often it's been worked on over the years - I call them booby
    traps for obvious reasons. As many have said here, first I inspect 
it,
    and then we discuss the issues. But the assumption is always there
    that what is wanted is not repair, it's restoration. A much bigger,
    and often expensive, word. Even if they don't want to pay the price,
    even more than that they don't want you to butcher grandma's
    engagement ring. And I also agree, though I didn't say it at first.
    From the description it sounds like the work WAS poor.... 

http://www.donivanandmaggiora.com
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