Friedman Silversmiths specializes inmetal repair and restoration of silver antiques silverand gold plating and polishing

                                     A day in the Life of a Silversmith...

      I have decided to start a 'BLOG' so I can tell you all about what I do and how the
restorations are completed. I see so many interesting metal items that come to me in all
kinds of conditions. Some of you ask me questions about your restoration requirements
and it seems to me that I could give you a better understanding of the world of Silver
Repairs by showing and talking about the restorations first hand. They say "a picture is
worth a thousand words..." So, here goes...

April 9, 2008
A 'RUSH' job came into the workshop this past week. Another workshop that typically buffs brass and
copper items received a job to clean and polish a French Art Deco Mirror Plateau 'frame' only. The
mirror glass was already removed from the frame. By the time I received it, it was badly bent and broken
in numerous places. My thinking was that it got CAUGHT in their buffing machine and by the time they
were able to rescue it out, it was in 5-twisted and mangled pieces. Click photo #1below to see the full
size before photo of the deco mirror frame. This was a very difficult repair since I had to get all the twists
and bends out, cleanly, neatly and smoothly solder the pieces back together (click photo #2), and then I
was asked to silver plate the frame (click photo #3). I'm proud of the results. Please check it out.

                  5-Broken Pieces                            Repaired                              Repaired & Plated

March 7, 2008
I had an interesting occurrence today. A customer sent me a grouping of flatware for 'silver plating'.
After careful examination, most of the flatware was French sterling silver which requires buffing and
polishing (not silver plating) to bring back the lustre. My wife asked me what I thought other vendors
might do if presented with an unknowing customer who requests silver plating (again, you do not want
to silver plate over sterling silver). Would they just go ahead and re-silver the sterling and charge the
bigger plating price? Or, would they do the right thing, inform the customer and polish only for a much
lower cost? We decided that a more factory type operation would probably just follow the customer
instructions because they don't have the same trained eye looking at each piece as a professional
silversmith. So, I guess I'm saying, you have to know who you are dealing with.

February 29, 2008
This weekend I am teaching a class "Collecting Silver Antiques--Tips of the Trade" at the local
Community College. I wanted to show the students a good example of 'before' and 'after' silver
re-plating and chose this wonderful set of Art Nouveau Lady Candlesticks.   (Click photo to enlarge).
This was really a challenging restoration because the one candlestick I restored
was so badly oxidized and corroded that it required extra time in cleaning and prep
before I could even begin to start repairing and polishing in prep for silver plating.
But, you can see after you click on the photo that the results are quite dramatic.

February 15, 2008
Last week I received two trays from a customer I have had for many years. We have probably known
each other for over 10-years now and as is the case with most of my clients, you send me your things
on and off as needed. He found these 2-trays and wanted them restored. 'Click' on the first photo which
is of the larger tray prior to being Silverplated. You can click directly on the tray to enlarge it so you can
see the 'real before picture of a gorgeous tray, some might say 'good bones', but in very poor condition.
As you look at the tray, see how it compares to one that you may be considering sending to us. It has
the copper showing through because it is a "Silver over Copper' tray, made in England. The details are
still nice and crisp, but there is very little silver still remaining on this tray. The first thing I have to do is
'strip' all the old silver from the tray which I do in my plating department. Then the metal gets thoroughly
cleaned and I perform all the repairs. This tray had numerous dents and bends and needed
considerable straightening. Then it gets highly buffed and polished to a jewelry finish ready for silver
re-plating.

Friedman
Silversmiths
since 1972

The (Dave Friedman) Silversmith
BLOG
Photo Gallery of Repairs
Before and After Repair Photos
Your Silver Repair & Restoration questions
My thoughts in general...

1323 Euclid Ave.
Bellingham, Washington 98229
(877) 255-0193 Toll Free
Email: davefriedman4repair@gmail.com

Before

After

Friedman Silversmiths 1323 Euclid Ave., Bellingham, Washington 98229
Toll Free (877) 255-0193 E-Mail: DaveFriedman4Repair@gmail.com

Repair and
Restoration of a
Large Victorian
European Silver
Basket
Click to enlarge
photos

Before and After of
severe garbage
disposal damage to
a baby spoon.
Click to enlarge
photos.

Before and After of Silver
Re-Plating to a pair of
Victorian Goblets.
Click to enlarge photo.

Before and After of Silver
Re-Plating to a 4-piece
set of Flatware.
Click to enlarge photo.

Before and After of
Silver Repair and
Re-Plating to a pair of
Candlesticks c. 1900.
Click to enlarge photos.