Repairs

Ketterman's has six bench jewelers in-house with over 150 years combined experience working on all types of jewelry and design.  Because our jewelers are on site, we are able to offer complimentary, while-you-wait repair estimates as well as cleaning and checking of your jewelry.  Our normal turnaround time is one week on most repairs, while most custom projects range from two to eight weeks.

How to care for your Jewelry

    Never expose to bleach or any chlorine product
    Do not lift weights or other heavy objects in your rings 
    Making beds, putting away laundry, and cleaning (harsh chemicals) are just some of the tasks that often damage settings (along with bricklaying, catfish noodling, and horseback riding)
    Bring in your rings every 3-6 months for cleaning and checking. All jewelry requires regular maintenance. It is not uncommon for some stones to loosen slightly in the setting with everyday wear, if it is caught early, they can be tightened with minimal effort. If a diamond is allowed to remain loose, it can cut its way out; the edge of a diamond is sharper than it’s setting.
    Always INSURE your piece. Ketterman’s cannot guarantee that your piece won’t be in an accident. Ask your insurance agent to guide you in what type of insurance you need.
 

In-Store Jewelry Maintenance

In an effort to fix any problems that may have been previously overlooked, it is important to bring your jewelry in every six months for inspection. Not only can this potentially save you time and money - it will also catch any gemstones that may be loose before they have fallen out.

Bent Prongs

Bent prongs can occur for a number of reasons, whether its because you’ve accidentaly dropped a heavy object on your ring, the prongs have been caught by cloth, you closed the door on your ring or it was slammed against an object. In these situations, you run the risk of one prong or several prongs being misshapen, pulled off of the diamond or broken off entirely. After you’ve identified the damage, you should bring in your ring to your local jeweler to get it properly assessed and fixed.

Loose Side Stones

If you find that any of your side stones are loose, have a reputable jeweler tighten the prongs or metal surrounding or holding the stone.

Missing Side Stones

If any of your side gemstones are missing, it is critical to bring your jewelry in to any reputable jeweler to assess why it happened and the cost to replace it.

Bent Bottom Shank

Picking up heavy weights (with most of the weight resting on the bottom of the ring,) hitting something too hard, or any strenuous work could ultimately result in bending the bottom half of your ring. In the event of this happening, take it to a reliable jeweler to assess the problem.

Ring Stuck On Your Finger

In the event that your ring simply will not come off, it is best to seek a reputable jeweler to cut off the ring for you; they typically insert a ring cutter that fits between the bottom of the ring and your finger to carefully cut a very small section off. Once this is complete, you can slowly pull the ring apart and bring it over your knuckle. After this process, it is still possible to repair the ring; ask the jeweler about the cost associated with fixing the missing piece of metal.