A favourite ring breaks, a chain snaps, a stone falls out, and you are left with the same question every time: is it worth fixing, or is it time to start fresh? It is not always an obvious call. A repair that looks cheap on paper can turn out to cost more than the piece is worth, and a piece you assumed was a write-off can sometimes be brought back to life with a small intervention. Here is how we think about it at our workshop on 5 Mary Street, and how you can make the call without paying for advice.
Start with what the piece actually is
Before you weigh up repair against replacement, you need to know what you have. A solid gold ring with a hallmark, a vintage piece, or anything with diamonds or gemstones almost always deserves an honest assessment before it goes in a drawer or a recycling pile. A fashion piece made of base metal or plated wire can't be repaired with the same methods as jewellery made of solid gold. It is usually not worth the labour of repairing. We test pieces in person and tell you what they are, the same way we do for our cash for gold service.
Sentimental value changes the maths
This part is personal and important. Sometimes the piece is a wedding ring, an heirloom, or a gift from someone no longer with us. In those cases the financial maths is not really the point. We have seen plenty of rings come into the workshop where the metal value would not cover the repair, but the piece is irreplaceable. We are very careful with those. If you are wondering what level of fix is realistic, our guide on what can and cannot be fixed sets honest expectations.
When repair is almost always the right call
Some repairs are routine, affordable and absolutely worth doing. A snapped gold chain can often soldered back together cleanly, depending on the desing. A loose stone can be tightened. A missing claw can be rebuilt. A ring that no longer fits can be resized. A stone that has dropped out of a setting can be replaced, and we cover the process in our piece on stone replacement. For a real-world example of what these repairs look like in practice, have a look at our piece on repairing an engagement ring.
When replacement is the honest answer
There are a few cases where we will tell you straight: the repair is not worth doing. Titanium and tungsten rings cannot be resized or worked the way precious metals can, which we explain in our piece on the disadvantages of titanium and tungsten rings. Heavily damaged plated pieces are usually not salvageable, because once the plating is gone the base metal underneath is the problem. A piece where the cost of repair is significantly more than the cost of a comparable new piece is another. We will not quietly hide that from you. It is your money, you should know.
The middle ground: trade-in
There is a third option people often forget about. If a piece is not worth repairing as it is, the gold itself still has value. You can put it towards a new piece through our cash for gold trade-in and buy something completely new.
Get a proper assessment first
Before you decide, get the piece looked at by a jeweller in person. We will weigh it, test it, examine the damage, and give you a clear quote with options. That conversation usually takes few minutes and costs nothing. With the facts in front of you, the repair or replace decision tends to make itself. Have a look at our jewellery repairs service for what we cover, or simply call into us at 5 Mary Street and bring the piece with you.