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Any advice or help.
When the kids were little, we had fingerprint jewellery made for my wife in silver, a little heart and flower shaped pendant with a fingerprint of each of the kids and their names and ages.
As many regulars on here know my son is transgender and of course the pendant has his old name on it.
We can't get a new one - his finger isn't teeny anymore and besides it spoils the point of being the keepsake. I'd like to get the old name removed and new one added. It's a small adjustment - Elsa -> Elis How would you do it, can the name be polished off and then rescribed, does it need heating to sort it - any help welcome, 'cos it's a no second chances piece it has to be done right.
Is the name engraved or acid-etched?
I would contact whoever made it originally if possible or someone who makes and repairs bespoke jewellery.
I have a friend who does this if you need it. Based in Warwickshire.
The Jewellery bench
No idea.
The originals were made at a craft fair, she took prints of the kids on the day and then made the pieces and sent to us later, it was nearly 15 years ago and I have no idea how to trace.
Have emailed your friend
Whereabouts are you? I've had a few pieces of bespoke jewellery from the various fantastic little independent jewellers in the Craft and Design Centre in Manchester
If you took it in there, you'd definitely get it sorted
If it’s engraved it would be possible to polish it out but it would depend on the thickness of the metal and the depth of the engraving . If it is possible no heat is required ( only the friction heat generated by the polishing machine) and depending on where it is on the piece a fairly easy process. If it’s not possible then another option would be to cover the engraving with a another engraving pattern and write the new name on another part of the piece.
@admin can we remove my post above as individual no longer involved in Jewelry
I reported your post pedlad
I'm certainly no jeweller, but we have some of the fingerprint pendants you speak of. As far as I can tell they are made using a silver impregnated clay, which can be easily molded and shaped, hence taking on the fingerprint impression. It is then fired at a suitable temperature to burn away the clay and bond together the silver dust (sintering), leaving a solid silver piece. This means that the original maker, or anyone with similar tools or skills would probably not be able to modify it. You would need someone who can work in metal and either grind or polish to remove and add a new engraving as RoterStern describes above.
I used to do some jewellery and silversmithing work. I agree with crogthomas, almost certainly they were initially made using silver clay. This probably means that the ‘engraving’ was done with letters pushed into the surface rather than engraved afterward. The problem with that material is that it is effectively pure silver and my limited experience with it would suggest that it wouldn’t be easy to add material to fill any detail to re-engrave over so would probably need cutting back to remove all the original which might spoil the piece. A photo of the piece would help.
I'll see if I can do one later.
How about creating a mold from the original fixing the mold then recasting presumably you can do this then use silver clay again?
Then you have two versions.
I fully appreciate this might not reflect how your son feels about is previous name just spitballing.
It's a consideration, and to some extent might be easier.
But it's kind of personal / sentimental too. Not as old or materially valuable but kind of 'I lost the engagement ring that granny handed down to me, but it's OK, I've got a picture so I'll get a jeweller to remake it'
It wouldn't be the same one that Mum's worn every day, and now carries in her purse, for 15 years.