How to repair a titanium ring?
November 17, 2010 12:41 PM   Subscribe

Fiance's ring came apart. What's the best way to put it back together?

As an engagement ring, I bought my fiance this ring from Macy's. It's black titanium with three small diamonds set in white titanium (I'm assuming that's what it is). He knocked it against a counter, and noticed that the silver part had slid out a little bit. When we looked at it, it became clear that he'd knocked it completely loose; the only thing holding the silver part against the black right now is the fact that it's snugly fitted. When we pulled the silver part out completely, we could see that there's some kind of glue residue left over.

The ring isn't under any kind of warranty. Based on the fact that it was just glued to begin with, I'm assuming that if we take it to a jeweler, they'd just glue it again. Is there a particular reason that taking it to a jeweler would be better than fixing it ourselves? Could they make a more permanent fix, or would we be smarter just to glue it ourselves and save some money?
posted by specialagentwebb to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (12 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
You could probably clean up the old residue and reglue it with superglue, but I'd be tempted to chat with a small jewelery shop to see whether they can suggest a more durable fix.
posted by jon1270 at 12:50 PM on November 17, 2010 [1 favorite]


If there are diamonds and expensive metals that could potentially fall out and get lost, I think a jeweler is your best bet in the long run. It might cost more up front, but less than replacing everything if the ring falls apart when nobody's paying attention. I'd also factor in the stress levels -- if I was constantly worried that my ring might fall to pieces, it would distract me from everything else. You want to enjoy touring reception sites and tasting cakes, without having to check every 5 minutes to make sure half the ring didn't fall off in the parking lot.
posted by vytae at 1:03 PM on November 17, 2010


Well, probably not the best solution. But I'm just gonna be the one to throw it out their; JB Weld.

A tiny dab applied from the end of a toothpick would be more then enough to hold the two rings together. But be careful, once it sets, it wont unset.
posted by token-ring at 1:05 PM on November 17, 2010 [2 favorites]


How long ago did you buy it? Since it's still for sale there, I would start by going to Macy's and seeing if they will replace it (or send it for repairs, if you have a sentimental attachment to that particular actual ring). I know there's no warranty, and they're not obligated to help you in any way, but this isn't a toaster - it's a diamond ring, and more than that, it's (in your case) a diamond engagement band. From a customer service perspective, a manager would likely offer to help out if you give them the details and seem sufficiently unhappy. Otherwise, I nth the advice to go to a jeweler. If the construction is shoddy, you could just as easily lose a stone, and that costs a lot more to replace than a bit of glue.
posted by Mchelly at 1:16 PM on November 17, 2010 [4 favorites]


JB Weld's pretty thick; you might find it difficult to get a meaningful amount between the two pieces. I tell you, I'd try superglue before heading back to the jewelry store (but, admittedly, I'm not the sort of person to stress about such things).
posted by MrMoonPie at 1:18 PM on November 17, 2010


take it back to macy's. if you still have the receipt, even better. even if you don't, big department store chains like macy's are pretty accommodating about fixing/eschanging things like that. you should also ask them to alert the manufacturer about the issue and ask for any advice should it happen again in the future.
posted by violetk at 1:46 PM on November 17, 2010 [2 favorites]


Try Macy's first as you might actually be able to get it fixed or replaced through them.

After it is fixed, get it appraised and insured. For my engagement and wedding band, we just had to send a copy of the receipt to the people who hand our rental and car insurance and now our rings are insured through them and I feel 100 times better.
posted by HMSSM at 2:41 PM on November 17, 2010


Best answer: Start by taking it back to Macy's. If they won't exchange the ring, take it to a jeweler.

I've worked as a production jewelry craftsman and as a jewelry repair person. A good repair will mean that they actually solder the pieces together. Although titanium solder is pretty notoriously difficult to work with, so you should have a good conversation with whomever you take it to. Discuss the kinds of solder they could use, and if you're okay with them using a quality gold solder to make the repair, that will probably cause the shop to breathe a sigh of relief. If they're willing to use titanium solder, that's even better, but my memories of the few times I worked with it are that it has a very high melting point and was difficult to get to flow properly.

Now, there may be some issues with this process. Heating metal can change its color, so it's possible that the reason the ring was glued in the first place was that it isn't possible to actually heat the band hot enough to get solder to flow and still have that black color. (I've never heard of black titanium before, so I'm not really sure what it's like to work with.)

Most important will be to do your research first. Don't shop around for the cheapest repair shop. Find someplace which comes well-recommended and deals in high-end jewelry. Preferably one which doesn't only do repairs but also creates their own pieces, either from casting or fabrication. What you're looking for here isn't just some monkey with an acetylene torch and some polishing clothes, but someone with real understanding of how jewelry is made and works. And don't be afraid to ask a lot of questions and not go with the first place you walk into. The good news is, the diamonds aren't really large enough to tempt a dishonest shop into swapping them out for slightly smaller stones.

If there was any plating or whatever involved (often jewelry is plated in a stone setting such as that to make the stones pop), you'll probably have to pay extra to get that re-done. But that should be a pretty minimal additional cost.

Putting those two parts back together shouldn't take more than a couple of good solder spots -- once metal has been bonded in that way, it's pretty strong and won't just come apart again unless it's exposed to a lot of stress or unusual conditions.

As far as the parts having been glued to begin with.... You'd be shocked at how much a little epoxy or superglue is used in jewelry assembly. It's one of the dirty little secrets of the industry.
posted by hippybear at 2:47 PM on November 17, 2010 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Oh, dear. I used to work at a jeweler. I fixed clocks.

I heard a lot of behind-the-counter talk about the "other" companies that were getting into the business of jewelry, but were not very professional. Timex was the brand they all complained about.

Still, whenever a client came into our store, their problem was our problem. Even if it was a Timex. We still fixed the problem.

My advice is this:

1) Go back to Macy's, and see if they will fix it for free.
1a) You did not lose any of the stones. That is of über importance. That indicates high quality work, and also indicates high reputation. Go back to Macy's and complain.
1b) If they do NOT fix it for free, they are NOT a jeweler. They then deserve to have their reputation tarnished. Report it here. At least the Meta folk will know.

2) Glue is not acceptable. Period.

3) Titanium is a difficult metal to work with. Standard press-fit anvils may not properly re-seat the parts of the ring. Macy's may take back the ring, then send it to another country for repair. This may take a couple weeks.

4) Worse come to worst, bring it to a true jeweler. Not the big-box jewelers that you find in the local mall (they will all be of the quality of Macy's). You want a mom-and-pop kind of store that you find in the old downtown of your city. They will fix it.

Trouble is, they may also take a couple weeks to fix -- AND then they will charge you money. After all, you did not buy the ring from them in the first place.

5) Gorgeous ring! You have great taste in modern design! I would really like to see a photograph or your ring in the sunlight. Not this pre-packaged, touched-up, sanitized photograph on the Macy's website. Your ring must be more beautiful than that.
posted by IvanKalinin at 3:33 PM on November 17, 2010


If you bought it with a credit card (or some banks debit card) you might have additional coverage through them.

Macy's is likely to help you out here, but if they won't. check into what your card company can do for you.
posted by bilabial at 3:57 PM on November 17, 2010


Take it to a dentist who does implants, the cement used to fix the crown to the implant is exactly what you need,as implants are titanium , using heat on colored titanium is asking for other problems. Lots of fine jewelry use adhesives and cements opal doublets and fine intarsias as example.
posted by hortense at 6:33 PM on November 17, 2010


Response by poster: Well, life got busy for a few months, but we finally got it all fixed up!

We took it to Macy's to talk to their fine jewelery department. The woman there told us that yes, Macy's would repair it, but that they'd pretty much just super-glue it and charge us $30. She told us to go somewhere else or glue it ourselves, because $30 for a dot of glue is stupid. I appreciated the honesty.

Then we discovered a little tiny jewelry repair shop tucked back by an emergency exit at our mall. We talked to the jewelers there about our options, about solder and titanium etc. $30 and one hour later, they had laser-welded it back together. No discoloration, the inset is aligned perfectly, and it's more secure than when we bought it! And SpecialMisterWebb gets to tell everyone that his ring is laser-powered.

Thanks, MeFi!
posted by specialagentwebb at 6:48 PM on February 6, 2011


« Older Chilly Outside, Chiles Inside   |   Is my fiancée mourning the loss of being alone Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.