If you have a piece of jewelry or two that you suspect might be in need of some repair, you may be wondering if there is a place to go that you can get free repairs.
Let’s explore if there are different options available to you.
The first place to start is by checking with the place of purchase. If you have a piece of jewelry that was purchased from a fine jeweler, they will most likely offer complimentary repairs. This is especially true if the piece needs to be repaired due to a manufacturing defect.
In this article, we will discuss 3 things that you should know about free jewelry repair.
We’ll also talk about what you should consider before taking your jewelry somewhere for repair, because when it comes to any type of repairs, you’ll likely end up getting what you pay for.
Table of Contents
The Truth About Free Jewelry Repair and How It Works
A store advertises to potential customers that they are offering (for a limited time only of course) a little bit of something for a whole lot of nothing.
The potential customer just happens to be going to the area and sees the advertisement windows of the store painted in bright and colorful “Hurry”, “Limited Time”, “Act Now” colors and there are also several tall banana shaped circus looking flags, flapping around in the wind out front.
So they go inside that store to claim their free service thinking “hey, why not, it’s free.”
Upon entering the store, the customer is greeted by a salesperson wearing a super welcoming grin, a Rolex, strong cologne, and begins dazzling them with technical jewelry jargon between insincere chuckles.
But you’re a sucker for free stuff, aren’t you?
So you convince yourself that the salesperson is nice, albeit a little strange.
They will start asking personal questions and pretend to be interested in the universal well-being of said customer. They figure that a higher percentage of customers actually enjoy all the attention during this schmoozing period, and they actually do end up getting their ring cleaned for “free.”
Yes, it is free, but that is where the “free repair” part ends.
A cleaning does not qualify as a “jewelry repair” because all they did was drop it into an ultrasonic cleaner for a few minutes while they kept applying more Schmoozing.
Didn’t anyone teach you that there are no free lunches in this world?
Let’s look at why.
In much of the grocery world, a loss leader is an item that is sold at a price below the actual cost to bring people into the store with the hope they’ll purchase other, higher-margin items.
However, free jewelry repair is a different story.
Not only is it not usually a real service, but the “free” part is also a bit misleading. Free jewelry repair generally only applies to very minor repairs, such as tightening a loose stone or replacing a watch battery.
For more involved repairs, such as ring sizing, soldering two pieces of metal together, or fixing a broken chain, you will likely be charged for materials.
But here is the thing: The materials are significantly marked up to make up for the “free service.”
Cons of “Free” Jewelry Repair Services
Sometimes it does make sense to take advantage of a free jewelry repair service, particularly if the repair is very minor and won’t take much time. However, there are some things to watch out for:
Free Cleaning is Common
Free jewelry cleaning is a common marketing tactic.
Many stores offer this service as a way to get customers in the door. But an actual repair thereafter is never free because the bench jeweler must be paid for the work they do, parts may need to be ordered, and material costs need to be covered.
Those particular services are not included in the “free” part.
Just the cleaning part is.
Not the polishing either.
There’s Always Something To Fix
Much like a shady car mechanic, a “free cleaning” or inspection will usually result in finding something wrong with the jewelry you are wearing, even if it is brand new once the free cleaning is done.
While looking through their loupe, their tone of voice will suddenly change as they point out in horror that your piece of jewelry is about to lose stones any second if you don’t get all of the prongs replaced immediately, and they will strictly emphasize that you definitely should not wear it another minute.
Not to worry, you have come to the right place and they will save the day!
Of course, the service to replace and/or re-tip all the prongs cannot be done for free, because again, the bench jeweler services were never meant as being a part of the advertised promotional “free” offer.
But you now have been riled up enough to leave your item with them for repair costs that are not free after all.
Ah come on, didn’t they just clean and inspect your jewelry for free?
Verbal Appraisals Are Meaningless
What about a “free appraisal?”
Uh huh. Is it written? Didn’t think so.
Not written means that their mere words are not even worth the breath that it took to utter them since you cannot actually do anything with a verbal appraisal.
You wont be able to get an insurance policy for a piece of jewelry that does not have a written appraisal done by a person who has acceptable trade qualifications and Certifications.
A written appraisal will cost you an average of $100 per item.
Oh, but the store’s own written Appraisal will often not be done by a third party Certified Gemologist, but rather, by the written opinion of a store employee.
Where You Can Actually Get Free Jewelry Repair
As mentioned above, it is very unlikely to get a free, full-service jewelry repair in any meaningful way. In most cases, if the store is charging for materials, the costs will be significantly marked up to cover their labor and profit.
Warranty Service
If you purchased a piece of jewelry from a store and that item is found to have a defect (maybe an sharp burr in an area that rubs against your finger), or if it loses a gemstone before you have worn it a for few weeks, or even a month, then you should be able to immediately take it right back and have it repaired for free.
Hopefully they can see through their loupe that there are no indications to determine that you did not bash it.
Sometimes an area of quality control is missed during the jewelry making process and items can have a problem that will need to be addressed.
At The Time of Purchase
Also to be fair, you can actually get a “free ring sizing” WHEN you buy a ring from a jewelry store first.
Be advised that you will need to have the sizing done at the time of the sale rather than six months or a year later after you have decided to change the finger you want to wear it on, or your fingers have gotten smaller or larger.
The “Free Sizing” period is for application at the time of purchase because most stores will understand that the rings they have to sell are not one size fits all and sizing costs will have already factored into their price.
So if you see a “Free ring Sizing” sign outside, then know that it is only going to be free if you purchase a ring from them also.
Free Repairs By Students
Last, you may also get “free” repair services by Jewelry students who are learning how to do the work and are hopefully under the watchful eye of a seasoned professional.
You can find these Free services at Jewelry School campuses and very often at local trade shows. And expect to get what you pay for.
Do Jewelers Clean For Free?
Most jewelry stores will offer to do a “free cleaning and inspection” of your jewelry.
And they will indeed do just that, clean it and inspect it for you while you wait, but only if you are bringing them just one or two pieces for cleaning every once in awhile.
Free cleaning usually does not include free polishing, but will nearly always include a “complimentary free inspection.”
The cleaning and inspection are necessary in order to find out if there are any repairs that can be concocted, but the polishing will make a piece of jewelry look refreshed and like brand new.
You will likely be charged for having your jewelry polished out to look like new, simply because Jewelry stores are aware that doing so will likely result in you being pleasantly surprised or even shocked and will no longer feel it necessary to consider buying a newer piece of jewelry after all.
If you are bringing in your entire collection of jewelry for a free cleaning, you will likely notice raised eyebrows as you hand your pile to them, and the result will make you feel a tiny bit ashamed.
The jewelry store will inform you that you seriously misunderstood their advertised “free cleaning” offer because the average person would have understood that it was only meant for cleaning just one item (implications meaning your natural instincts and IQ are below average).
But wait! There’s more!
They will then rescue your dignity and happily offer to do the other pieces for a nominal charge. In addition to that, you WILL also end up being informed that many of your pieces are in dire need of repair.
Cha-Ching!
A jewelry store knows that if they can get a piece of jewelry disconnected from your body, then chances are that they are about to make some decent money for repairs.
They also know that if they can get your jewelry pieces that have the smaller pave set diamonds into their sonic cleaner, a stone will likely be violently shaken loose and will need to be replaced with new prong$ or tip$.
Cha-Ching.
Final Thoughts
Loss leader advertisements are a tell-tale sign that a store’s reputation is beginning to circle the drain by their own unscrupulous tactics and that they are now desperate enough to risk further loss of credibility.
“Free” is just a cloaked gimmick to upsell other services. Free is not really free. Free is just a sales technique to reel you in for the real upsells.
Don’t fall for it!
But if reading this pissed you off, and you still insist on finding a free jewelry repair service, then we will be happy to do it (only charge is for materials)!
🙂