Repair work is how most bench jewellers earn while they learn. It arrives steadily, pays fairly, and every job handed back better than promised builds the trust that later sells commissions. But repairs carry traps that making does not. Here are the jobs you will actually see, and how to approach each one.
Ring sizing, up and down
Sizing is the job that walks in most often and the one to learn first — the full method is in our guide to sizing & stretching a ring. Sizing down means cutting the shank, removing a measured section, closing and soldering, then truing on a steel mandrel from our mandrels & sizing range. Sizing up is stretching or adding metal: a manual ring stretcher takes a plain, unset band up a half size to a full size cleanly, while stone-set, patterned or hollow rings must be cut and have metal let in. Difficulty is low on plain bands and climbs sharply with stones. Map every stone before the torch comes out: very few survive direct heat, and even diamonds can crack if they are dirty or included. Decline full eternity rings — there is nowhere to cut — and offer a remake instead.
Thin shanks: patch or replace?
Years of wear thin a shank at the back until it bends oval or splits. Be honest in the assessment: if the lower shank is below roughly half its original thickness, patching the split is false economy, because the metal either side will fail within the year. Quote for a half-shank instead — cut back to sound metal around four and eight o'clock and let in a new section of matching alloy. Old repairs complicate things: previous solder lines melt before your new joint seals, so if the shank is a patchwork of past fixes, say so and price for replacement. Clean joints on worn metal are a discipline of their own; our guide to soldering sterling silver without pitting covers the preparation that makes them reliable.
Claws: re-tipping and tightening
A loose stone is often the quickest win at the bench. Hold the ring steady in a leather-jawed ring clamp, then close the claws a fraction at a time with prong closing pliers, working opposite pairs so the stone stays centred. Re-tipping — building up a worn claw with a pallion or a fitted tip — is a step up in difficulty, because the torch is now millimetres from the stone. Often the right call is lifting the stone first: claw & stone removing pliers ease it from the seat without levering on the girdle. The geometry that makes settings last is covered in claw & prong setting for beginners. Never re-tip with an emerald, opal, pearl or any glued stone in place — remove it, or send the job to a specialist.
Chains, catches and findings
Establish what actually failed before quoting. A jump ring that has pulled open needs two pairs of fine pliers from our pliers & cutters range, a twist to close and a dab of solder if it should be permanent — minutes of work. A snapped link on a fine curb or rope chain is harder than it looks: neighbouring links soak up heat and fuse in a heartbeat, so isolate the joint at the edge of the block and use the smallest pallion you have ever cut. Replacing findings — bolt rings, lobster catches, butterfly backs, snapped ear posts — is quick, profitable and appreciated; keep a small stock in silver and 9ct. Plated chains are the trap: solder heat burns through the plating and leaves a bare patch no polish will hide. Warn the customer first, or decline.
Polishing out wear
A clean-and-polish is the most common request at the counter. Removing light scratches by hand — the full sequence is in how to polish jewellery by hand — is low-risk and transforms a tired piece. But polishing is subtraction: every pass removes metal. Go gently over engraving and pattern, keep edges crisp, and never polish across a hallmark — softened marks are irreversible, and on older pieces they are the provenance. Difficulty is low; the judgement about where to stop is the skill.
Pricing repairs — and declining well
Price repairs as skilled labour, not a favour: bench time, findings, consumables and risk all belong in the number, and the logic in pricing jewellery: trade vs retail applies to repair work just as much as to making. Photograph every piece at intake, note existing damage on the ticket, and put the estimate in writing. Practise declining, too: costume pieces with glued stones, heavily plated items, rings on their third re-shank. A clear, kind refusal with an alternative — a remake, a specialist — protects your name better than a failed fix ever could. Handled this way, the repair queue becomes exactly what it should be: steady income, and a line of customers who already trust you when they finally want something made.
A modest repair kit earns its keep faster than any other tools at the bench. Start with our mandrels & sizing range and build from the jobs that walk in.