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Post by fantastic5 on Jun 6, 2015 13:59:01 GMT -5
My best friend loves to find deals and she showed me this cab and asked me how she could fix it. My first thought was to scrap the bezel and reform the cab, but that is completely unacceptable to her. She knows that the whole thing is artisan made and wants to preserve as much of it as she can. So any advice would be most helpful. Tina has a lot of jewelry making experience, but very limited cabbing and smithing. I thought that once she straightened out the bezel there might be a way to pour a clear epoxy into the gap where the stone in broken. Also any idea what the stone might be? I thought the green portions looked like variscite, but never having seen it in person I'm not sure. Sorry for the blurry second picture. I was taking these on my cell phone while she and I were at work and didn't realize that the pics were blurry until I enlarged them.
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Post by orrum on Jun 6, 2015 16:03:46 GMT -5
That's a tough one. Reform the cab is my thought but where to go with the bezel I haven't a clue.
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Post by stardiamond on Jun 6, 2015 17:26:15 GMT -5
Some things can just be accepted as they are. I don't know how to make jewelry. It might be possible to glue some thick silver wire around the edge of the face to cover the void or fill with some kind of resin that would blend in with the stone.
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,666
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Post by Fossilman on Jun 6, 2015 21:25:51 GMT -5
Will the works polish back up,to bring the cab back into focus-to match the setting?
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victor1941
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2011
Posts: 1,959
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Post by victor1941 on Jun 6, 2015 21:41:55 GMT -5
If this piece were mine I would straighten the bezel and then try to mix a red epoxy to blend in with the surrounding color. I would keep the epoxy dull on the repaired surface.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,605
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Post by QuailRiver on Jun 6, 2015 22:16:09 GMT -5
Fantastic5, I like your first instincts, "scrap the bezel and reform the cab". But if your friend insists on repairing this piece I guess that's not an option. If I am seeing the problem correctly it looks as if this piece was dropped and it bent the bezel of the setting and chipped out a piece of the cab? If so the cab could probably be repaired in the same way ceramics are cold repaired. There are several web sites and videos devoted to ceramic repair or china repair that show how to do this with "cold" methods which do not require firing in a kiln. Just Google "ceramics and china repair/restoration". And not sure if it's my monitor but the color balance appears to be off in the photo so it's kind of hard to ID. But my best guess from what I can see would be that this stone may be Sonora Sunrise. Larry C.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,605
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Post by QuailRiver on Jun 6, 2015 22:51:42 GMT -5
I tried playing around with the color balance on your photos and wasn't able to do much with the first photo but was with the second photo which I posted below. I still don't know if I've gotten the color balance correct but judging from the backside of the cab I would now guess either Parrot Wing Chrysocolla, Sonora Sunrise, or maybe even Ruby in Fuchsite. Would have to have a better photo or see in person to say for sure. Larry C.
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Post by fantastic5 on Jun 7, 2015 7:37:41 GMT -5
Fantastic5, I like your first instincts, "scrap the bezel and reform the cab". But if your friend insists on repairing this piece I guess that's not an option. If I am seeing the problem correctly it looks as if this piece was dropped and it bent the bezel of the setting and chipped out a piece of the cab? If so the cab could probably be repaired in the same way ceramics are cold repaired. There are several web sites and videos devoted to ceramic repair or china repair that show how to do this with "cold" methods which do not require firing in a kiln. Just Google "ceramics and china repair/restoration". And not sure if it's my monitor but the color balance appears to be off in the photo so it's kind of hard to ID. But my best guess from what I can see would be that this stone may be Sonora Sunrise. Larry C. I tried to edit to get the color balance correct, but on a cell phone under fluorescent lights is difficult for me with limited resources. The red is translucent agate for sure, but the green portions is what is confusing. The green does not transmit light and the 'blobs' are metallic looking. I thought Sonora Sunrise at first until I saw that the red is translucent. Thanks for the info on cold ceramic processing. I will pass that info to Tina.
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Thunder69
Cave Dweller
Thunder 2000-2015
Member since January 2009
Posts: 3,101
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Post by Thunder69 on Jun 7, 2015 19:53:19 GMT -5
I would pop the cab out and glue a thin clear quartz backing (doublet) ,The stone could be fragile,Then cab it to the bezel again..then reset it back in.. Or take the cab out reshape it and cut the bottom of the bezel and resolder the bezel to fit the stone...JOhn
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Post by radio on Jun 7, 2015 20:51:32 GMT -5
Don't want to offend here, but the silver work is so amateurish and the cab so gorgeous that it begs to be re worked and set in a new mounting worthy of the cab. It would be pretty simple to slightly reshape the cab to eliminate the missing chunk. The open back really showcases both sides, so the new mounting should also be open. If patched, there is no way I see to make it blend in and it will be quite noticeable even to the untrained eye. IMHO, both the eye appeal and value would be greatly increased by remounting instead of repairing I have my asbestos flame proof suit handy just in case
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