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