You’ve removed the old rhinestones, cleaned the cavity, removed any residual glue and tried to return the setting to its original metal color. Now you can set some rhinestones.

To GLUE IN a new rhinestone, first you must choose one that is the right size for the cup setting. I do this by dropping the rhinestone into the setting to make sure it fits correctly. Compare it to the others in the setting to see if they match in color and size. Don’t replace a shiny new rhinestone with others  that are a little more lovingly worn, for instance.

 I repair quite a bit of jewelry and have a fairly large supply of suitable stones on hand. Nothing is worse than spending all this time on the repair and having a piece where the rest of the stones look different.

 I purchase my stones from a wide variety of sources. If you are purchasing rhinestones for repairing vintage jewelry make sure that the stones are from “vintage stock” or “new old stock” not newer stones. Collections of vintage rhinestone jewelry are a great source for both vintage findings and rhinestones. Auction sites are a wonderful source- like eBay for buying lots of vintage rhinestone jewelry for “scrap or repair”

 Putting the stone into the setting and getting it straight takes some practice, but there are some easy ways to do this. A pair of long and very pointed stone setting tweezers is very useful to have but, use them only for setting stones and keep them clean. Don’t be tempted to use them to pry out the stones, for instance. Otherwise, you will have a rhinestone removed, and then won’t be able to hold the new one well!

I suggest practicing first with stones that aren’t indispensable. That way, if you lose one as you attempt the restoration, you won’t be heartbroken. Lay the stone on the table with the flat side down. Place the tweezers parallel to the table top and squeeze lightly then roll your hand over  the stone so it will be at the correct angle to fit into the cup. Practice, practice, practice-you will soon get it.

If you won’t be repairing often and don’t want to invest in the tweezers, you can just use a small piece of scotch tape and attach it to the flat side of the rhinestone and then lower it into the space. I’ve also heard of using a tiny piece of Blue Tac (for hanging posters) or beeswax on a toothpick. There are lots of different techniques for getting the stone into the channel without it going in upside down. I recently purchased a tool by Bead Smith called a Jewel Setter. I bought it to glue flat back rhinestones onto my hand embellished vintage purses. (Fabulous Bags!) They work very well for this but I do have to do some extra cleaning after the glue has dried to get residual wax off the stones. The wax on these blue plastic sticks reminds me of the wax my kids have used on their braces.

Resetting a prong set stone is a little easier. Set the stone into the setting. Be sure it is sitting evenly. You will need to roll the prongs back into place. You do this with any flat tool - tweezers, a thin, knife, even a pair of closed pliers will do. Work again in pairs. Push them lightly down on the first go round and then more firmly on the final pass. You will want to make sure that the stone doesn’t move at all in the setting and sits straight when you are done. Again this takes patience and some practice.

To remove a stone set with prongs try, if possible, to use a non metal tool. Sometimes you can reuse the stone and you don’t want to damage the foil backing or scratch the surface of the stone. You can get a prong setting tool from jewelry supply stores or craft stores such as this one:

Once in a while you will come across a stone that has been prong set but also glued in. In that case please refer to my posting about removing glued in stones. This applies only if you want to save the stone. I generally don’t save the stones I am removing because they are dull, flawed, chipped or are in less than satisfactory condition. So I use another one of my favorite tools from the dentist- the flat dental pick. It comes to a very thin edge and is small enough to fit under the prong yet strong enough to chip away at tartar! So I know it will lift the prongs for me.

Please be careful when lifting prongs. Too much pressure and you can break the prong and your repair has become much more complicated. I always work in pairs when I am lifting prongs.  I will lift one prong slightly- go to the prong directly across from it and do the same. Then I return to the first prong and lift it a little more - back to the second one….etc…until I have them lifted high enough to release the stone. I have pretty good luck with releasing a stone by lifting just two of the prongs. If you need to lift more then proceed just like you did for the first two. Working your way gently back and forth between prongs. Remember to be careful- take your time- do not over work the metal -you can cause it to become brittle and to snap the prong right off the setting.

After you have removed the stone clean out any glue, dirt, etc from the cavity. Use your acetone in the cavity to try and get the metal back to its original metal color.

My daughter is getting ready to attend a wedding tomorrow. She found this wonderful little dress in a sage green color with medium sized off white polka dots. There is a big bow on the back and there is a bit of tulle peeking out from under the skirt. It’s a short dress and even though it is new it is very retro in style. Think classic Barbie- before the Malibu tan! She just left the studio with the following vintage pieces to set off her dress:

A Fabulous Bag hand embellished by me with a rhinestone martini brooch, olives and swirls and of course crystals.  She then chose a pair of  vintage rhinestone studded white plastic earrings and this matching bangle bracelet.

She looks absolutely fabulous. Don’t you agree?

What!?! you mean you want me to REMOVE a rhinestone from it’s setting? Well yes, actually, there are times when this is necessary. First of all not all rhinestones are set in the same. Some are set with glue and some are prong set. Your job is to determine which way your stones have been set.

Glued in rhinestones may or may not have prongs. Prong set rhinestones have very definite prongs on them.

If the stone is glued in then you will need to gently pry it out of the setting. Some people use a thin pointed knife or a toothpick. My tool of choice is a dental pick. So if you come across any dental tools or are in good with your dentist and can ask for some old tools add this one to your tool box! It is priceless. 

Removing glued in stones is generally never easy and pretty much always frustrating. You have to be so careful that you don’t damage the setting. Sometimes a previous owner of your piece will have already removed the stone and re-glued it using the wrong glue.  First thing to try is hooking the edge of the stone and trying to pry it out. If you are lucky it will pop right out. If that doesn’t work then you can try dipping a cotton swab in nail polish remover with acetone and dabbing it over the surface of the stone and around the setting to loosen the glue. Try with your dental pick again to pry it out. If that doesn’t work you have to go for more drastic measures…

…soaking the piece in nail polish remover with acetone for about 30 minutes is the best solution at this stage. After soaking you will generally find the loosened stones at the bottom of your dish. CAUTION: do not soak hand painted or enameled pieces- the nail polish remover just might remove the color. This course of action generally won’t damage the metal of your rhinestone piece but I would use caution when soaking any piece of rhinestone jewelry in any kind of liquid. And remember to make sure it is completely dry before storing it.

Sometimes after all this you may find that the only way to get rid of the stone is to crush it in the setting. Again, I must emphasise caution. Rhinestones are made of glass and you could send slivers of it shooting off so please protect your eyes. Also make sure the damage is done to just the stone and not the setting.  Once you have crushed the stone clean out the cavity and discard the debris.

Generally I do not re-use stones that I have removed from settings. The foil on the back of the stone can damage very easily and the last thing you want to do is to put a stone in that looks dead. You’ve gone to all this effort to remove it so replace with a new stone!

Please remember that once you have removed any glued in rhinestones that you must removes any residual glue from the setting or you won’t be able to re-set the new stones. Use a cotton swab soaked in acetone based nail polish remover to clean out the cavity where the stone was to loosen any left over glue. I also find that using my dental pick gently I can get into the tight spots. Using my soaked cotton swab, I try to get the finish back to its original metal color.

Now that you have your cleaning kit assembled it’s time to tackle  those vintage rhinestones pieces in your collection that need some cleaning.

First step is to gently brush over all the stones to loosen dirt and grime. EXCEPT for aurora borealis stones because they scratch very easily- use a soft cloth on these stones. Sometimes this is all you need to do in order to clean your piece of jewelry. If the piece still looks dirty then proceed to the next step.

Using your hat pin carefully loosen any accumultaed gunk arouns settings or prongs- you shuld be able to lift this dirt away from the stones easily and with causing damage to the stones.

Next, using your soft cloth that has been sprayed with Windex or a cotton swab that has been dipped in rubbing alcohol you can gently clean each stone. Remember not to saturate any part of your vintage jewelry piece with moisture of any kind. Do not spray the Windex directly on the stones! Continue gently cleaning the stones until you are satisfied with their overall appearance. Do not rub too hard with your cloth- you may accidentally loosen the prongs that hold the stones in place by catching the cloth on the prongs.

Make sure you leave your newly cleaned piece of vintage costume jewelry out to dry thoroughly before putting it away. An hour should be long enough and I will turn my pieces over to make sure that any moisture that I might have introduced in the setting can flow away from the piece. Sometimes I will use my blow dryer on a low cool setting to speed up the drying time or just to make sure I got the piece completely dry.

If you collect vintage costume jewelry then you should make up a kit of items to be used to clean your treasures. My kit contains the following items:

Soft bristled brush- a baby’s beginner’s toothbrush is wonderful to use

Sable artist’s brush- great for getting into the underside edges of open backed prong set rhinestones

Small hat pin- or a dressmakers pin would work too- this is a great tool for loosening dirt

Rubbing alcohol and Windex- both are great for cutting through grease and won’t leave a residue on your jewelry like other cleaners with wax in them can do.

Soft cloth- an old cotton t-shirt works great. I happen to have a set of cotton flannel sheets that finally needed to be re-cycled so I tore them into 12″ squares and now how a nice stack of soft cleaning cloths for all my cleaning needs. I keep my jewelry ones separate from the rest so I don’t get any other cleaners on them.  

Cotton swabs- to be used with rubbing alcohol

Jeweler’s polishing cloth- like the Sunshine cloth- to give your pieces a final once over

Once your kit is assembled you are ready to start cleaning and caring for all those wonderful rhinestone jewelry pieces you have been collecting.