Notably missing from the lyrics to "Diamonds Are Forever" -- dame Shirley Bassey's passionate musical tribute to sparkly stones -- is any reference whatsoever to their setting.
That's because while "unlike men, the diamonds linger," their settings seldom do. Stones pop out, metal becomes brittle with age and exposure, a delicate flourish of metal and stone catches on something and snap! So long, symmetry. . . .
"It's the bete noire of jewelry," says Penny Proddow, a jewelry historian and lecturer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. "You buy something, you walk out and you never expect anything to happen to it."
Most jewelers have at least some repair know-how, but when it's your cracked Bakelite brooch or heirloom diamond ring, you want more. You want the right craftsperson --one who's trustworthy and skilled in exactly the kind of repair you need. We issued an APB to members of L.A.'s army of stylists, curators, costumers and fashionistas for information leading to the identification of trustworthy craftspeople. At first, they didn't want to give up their sources, but eventually the fashion folk relented. And they offered a few general guidelines too.
If it's fine jewelry and comes from a known source -- be it Tiffany, Cartier or a small local designer -- that's where to take it when it breaks, whether the piece is recent or vintage. "If something I've made breaks, I want to be the person who repairs it," says Liseanne Frankfurt, a jewelry designer who opened a new boutique on Abbot Kinney Boulevard. "I think all designers feel that way."
If the maker is unknown, find an expert: "If it's an estate piece, find an estate jeweler," Proddow says. "If it's Byzantine, find a designer or dealer who makes or sells that style of jewelry. That's where you start." And if you find yourself at sea regarding whom to trust, go with seniority: "My quickest rule of thumb is if someone has been in the neighborhood forever, they're not ripping off the neighborhood."
Vintage costume jewelry is trickier, says Christie Romero, director of the Center for Jewelry Studies in Anaheim.
"Costume was never made to last," Romero says. "The metals are much softer and are usually alloys, which are much harder to work with. People take much better care of fine jewelry than they do costume and actually, fine jewelry is sturdier. Precious metals and real stones can take a lot more abuse."
