I brought my favorite turquoise ring to a local jeweler to resize and when I went to pick it up he presented it back to me newly polished and with a nasty vignette of black staining around the stone. Yikes. This was once a pure and even blue stone with a matt finish. I left the ring with him to try and clean up but at this point I’m nervous about what to expect from him. I don’t know for certain but I’m guessing his silver cleaner is responsible for this. You can still see black residue in the silver details. Here’s a photo of the damaged ring and I’ve inset small photos of the ring before this happened for comparison.
Any thoughts or advice from the group are greatly appreciated.
I made some jewelry fixing mistakes early on from taking it to a local jeweler in IN that had no idea how to handle Native American jewelry. In the future send it out somewhere to get fixed, like Perry Null in Gallup, NM. I’ve sent many pieces to a couple different places in New Mexico, and was thrilled with the work they did. Even then, specify that you don’t want it polished.
@Sal Hmmm…I wonder if they used a laser, or soldered to size the ring. Turquoise is very heat sensitive; if they soldered, I’m wondering if they removed the stone. When soldering a silver ring, the entire ring heats up to sodering temperature (silver is a great conductor of heat) and can damage/destroy the turquoise.
I’ve had numerous rings sized; my jeweler always removes the stone, and they come back perfect.
sorry about your ring!
@Bmpdvm I was wondering the same thing; whether it was damage due to the heat from soldering. But I wondered if that might be expected to crack the stone rather than discolor it like this?
@Sal I am sorry about the damage to your ring. The polishing was presumptuous and ill-advised of the jeweler without first checking with you, but a patina can eventually be reacquired with time. The damage to the stone look permanent, though. Unfortunately most jewelers outside of the Southwest do not know how to work with this type of jewelry. If you can’t find someone locally who really knows what they are doing it’s really best to send your pieces away. As @Bmpdvm said, turquoise rings generally cannot stand the heat of soldering and are therefore a little more difficult to resize. A lot of jewelers will tell you they “can’t be resized” which is untrue and a little annoying, but it’s better than them ruining your ring. Usually the stones have to be removed. There is also a specialized laser solder that can sometimes be used, and I even had one jeweler describe to me creating a heat sink by submerging the turquoise in wet sand while they worked on the jewelry.
I’m thinking the damage is likely permanent, sadly. Turquoise is porous and sensitive (to heat, oils, soaps, almost anything!).
I’d certainly tell the jeweler what they did and make an argument that they owe you a replacement If it isn’t fixable…and especially since turquoise is so individual and each piece unique. If it’s any consolation, it is still a beautiful piece and you could say it’s got a history now no matter how dubious.
I’ll be watching this thread to see if our experts can advise (@Jason, @mmrogers , for example–I’m sure I’m missing our other jewelry pros, sorry!).
@OrbitOrange Thanks for pointing that out. I was mainly focused on the smokey discoloration. I don’t see any obvious cracks, so it makes heat damage less likely. @Sal I’m wondering if you could take or send it to a quality Native American gallery that does repairs. They may be able to determine the real cause of the discoloration and if it can be repaired. Or, as @Xtina said your jeweler should cover replacing the stone. Good luck…
Hard to tell how damaged the stone is from the photograph. What I can tell you is that the proper way to resize this type of ring is to completely remove the stone first, and reset it once the work has been completed.
If the ring was soldered with the stone remaining in the ring during the soldering process, the likelihood of permanent heat damage is almost certain.
Thanks everyone. The jeweler concedes the ring is unrepairable. In compensation he offered that I could pick something out from his shop but his stock of vintage turquoise is a little thin and frankly, the ring won’t be replaced so easily. I’ve dealt with him a bit over the years so I told him he owes me one. I bought the ring 25 years ago when my wife and I were dating and on a road trip following the original alignment of Route 66 and sleeping in my van. We spotted it in the gift shop of the Desert View Watchtower at the Grand Canyon. It was sold as old pawn. I’ve been wearing it ever since. I like it because it’s simple and very well made and it stands out without being too flashy. I appreciate all your good comments and advice. I’ll be on the lookout here for something special to replace this ring.
I was going to suggest the same thing. @Sal that’s a beautiful shank, and the stone was beautifully bezeled. A good Native Am jewelry repair person with a decent stash should be able to locate a reasonable substitute stone.
Cutting a stone to fit the setting is pretty straightforward. Start with a cut stone slightly larger than the setting, and simply have it shaped to fit the bezel.
Thunderbird supply in Gallup or Albuquerque usually has a pretty good supply of ready cut cabochons on hand at fairly reasonable prices, and may even have one close to the size and color you need.
Yes, Thunderbird has some nice cabs and reasonable prices. I was looking at their Turquoise cabs yesterday. You will need to provide a size in mm, colors and any other info for your perfect cab.
They currently have some Kingman ones and others from AZ.
I am lucky to live near Thunderbird Supply. I buy my sterling sheet and wire from them. I’m sure they could point you to a great silversmith who could replace your stone.
I think the dark discoloration is from the buffing compound. Heat will darken and also crack the stone. (Don’t ask me how I know!) I guess the jeweler didn’t know that the buffing compound would impregnate the turquoise.
So, this ring has a special place in your heart. I’d try to find an appropriately sized cab to replace the damaged turquoise an$ keep the setting. Maybe Fox or Cripple Creek would have a similar look.
I’ve included examples of Fox turquoise, a Nevada turquoise typically a green-aqua color that might be a good choice ( from Gene Waddell).
no matter how dubious.
