I do a lot of vintage jewelry repairs for people. Most of the time it involves re-stringing the piece so the owner can wear it. Let’s face it when many of these wonderful pieces were created the stringing materials were pretty much mono filament, cotton string or silk string. All of these materials eventually wear out. Mono filament gets brittle over time, silk and cotton can fray with time and all of these result in a necklace breaking at a very inopportune time and place.

Which brings me to a question of ethics. Is it OK to restring vintage pieces with newer stronger stringing materials?

Well that depends- you knew I was going to say that.

When I am repairing/restringing a piece it is usually for someone who wants to wear the piece.  So I use today’s better stringing materials on the pieces. I never use mono filament because it does get brittle and I do not like the way the necklace lays with it. I have many beautiful leaded crystal strands of beads that have been strung on mono filament. I won’t wear it or sell it if it is strung on this awful stuff. Usually the stringing material is so tight that the crystals actually grind against each other. I think in general that necklaces should be rather fluid- not tight and kinky. Vintage necklaces that I have that are strung on cotton or silk are either too loose- the fibers have stretched perhaps under the weight of the beads- or they are frayed and on the verge of breaking. Again - this is not an acceptable presentation in my studio to sell a piece like this. So I restring the pieces.

I let my clients know that the piece has been restrung. The clasp fits nice and tight and all the jump rings are replaced if necessary or shaped back into perfect circles with ends that align properly.

What about replacing missing beads? Or totally refashioning a necklace? The best policy is to be open and upfront about it when selling a piece. I think there are many vintage pieces out there that have been re-worked or repaired at one time or another.

This Haskell choker was too small for the owner to wear it. She needed it to be about an inch longer to be comfortable. I restrung it exactly like it was to begin with but added in black vintage seed beads on either side of the round black beads through out the entire piece. One would never know that it hadn’t been designed this way in the first place. The client was happy with the solution because she really liked the piece and wanted to wear it and we didn’t want to just add an extender to the clasp.

This necklace was one long strand and the customer just didn’t like it. After careful examination I believe it had at one time been a double strand necklace that some one had restrung into a single. It was really designed to be a double. The pattern that the beads were in did not make sense for a Haskell and the stringing material  was too new. I had no idea what the original patten was of the double strand but was able to put this configuration together using all the beads from the single strand. I used vintage double strand spacer findings so the patina of the metal matched that of the clasp. 

Is it OK to do this? Yes because the client requested it. If it were mine I would make full disclosure that the piece had been reworked. Most of us are buying these glamorous old beauties because we want to wear them and we do. They aren’t museum pieces and to be honest- something collectible is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

I had a bride contact me recently. She saw a hair clip in a bridal shop that would be perfect for her hair. She wanted to put it in her hair for the reception in place of where the veil was clipped into her hair. Apparently some of her recently wedded girlfriends did this and she loved the look. The crystal and rhinestone studded clip she liked was a little small and over $350! So she emailed me and asked if I could make something for her without the painful price tag. I have never made anything like this before and I always like a new challenge so I told her to let me play with it. After a few emails and pics back and forth and a couple of quick phone calls I created this piece for her hair.

I had an unsigned vintage rhodium finished necklace that would give me the perfect shape for the base. The Bride wanted a diamond shape and silver metal color.  I wired them together using fine beading wire and a perforated base metal rectangle. Then I used vintage AB coated clear and light topaz crystals across the center of the two necklace pieces. I also wired crystals to the edges of the piece in a lace like pattern. All of this was then carefully wired to a large hair pin. I made sure there were no wires sticking out anywhere to catch or poke. It turned out beautiful and cost only $50.00 Bride was happy- I was happy!

You have cleaned, removed stones, reset stones and done just about everything you can to get your prize into wearable shape. Now you need to look at the clasp. Maybe it’s missing or broken or it’s so worn it won’t hold anymore.

I buy huge lots of vintage jewelry at flea markets, auctions and on eBay just so I will have replacement parts for my vintage pieces that need repair.

Lobster claw clasps are a wonderful invention - so easy to open. But, they weren’t invented until 1990. Your main consideration for repairing or replacing a clasp is to find one that matches the metal color and is appropriate to the age of the piece. 

Clasps are easy to replace usually by opening the jump rings or other attachments and adding it to the neckline area. I open jump rings by using two pairs of needle nose pliers. I keep telling myself I am going to order one of those handy jump ring opening tools from one of my jewelrysupply sources but I just don’t do it. Jump rings should never be opened by pulling open. They should be twisted open like a bottle cap. Hold the ring in one pliers to keep it steady and open it with the other.

If you intend to sell your vintage pieces and you have replaced the clasp I would make sure the buyer is aware of this. I had a client send me a wonderful MiriamHaskell piece that just didn’t lay right. After checking it over carefully we both came to the conclusion that it had been repaired extensively. The gold chains did not match the metal color in the pendant. The MH oval hang tag wasn’t hanging in the right spot. It was two jump rings in from the clasp. We had an authentic Haskel clasp and pendant but the rest of it was all replaced. This client collects Miriam Haskell avidly and she did not notice these repairs and had paid quite a bit of money for it. So in the interest of good reputation please be upfront about your repairs when selling vintage jewelry.

I mentioned earlier that I like to make new jewelry out of vintage components. I have been converting old silver ware- mostly spoons- into unique bracelets. I have come across some beautiful old silverware patterns at my local thrift store. When making one of my bracelets I try to compliment the style of the silver with sterling silver beads.

Or, as in the case of this bracelet I mix crystal with silver. I have had clients come in with pieces of silver from their grandmother’s estate so I could make a bracelet that is personal to them.  This past holiday season I created 6 bracelets for one client and each one used spoons from her grandmother and each recipients birthstone. They turned out beautifully and my client reported that each recipient was touched by the sentiment attached to their bracelet.

I am one of those people who keep lots of stuff because you never know when you might be able to use or or make it into something new. I was doing some reorganization of some of my storage units for my vintage jewelry components and I noticed I had accumulated quite a wonderful assortment of crystal spacers. These spacers are referred to as rhinestone rondelles. They are found many times on strings of pearls to add some sparkle and they come in quite an array of color. They can be silver or gold plated. These rondelles got me to thinking so I started looking through my other drawers of components until I found a beautiful rhinestone studded multi strand silver plated clasp. With the rhinestone rondelles, the clasp and a broken vintage strand of pearls I set about to create a unique “new” yet old piece of jewelry. Before I even had this bracelet finished I sold it when a woman walked into the studio and fell in love with it.