Australian Opal Inlay Ring Repair
This client found me by watching some of my inlay repair videos on YouTube and knew I could help repair her inlay ring.
She purchased this 18k Australian opal inlaid ring when she was on vacation in Australia, but the stones in it quickly cracked.
She mostly wanted to be able to have a ring that was durable and could handle being worn everyday without having to worry so much about the stones cracking again. A few alternative stones she was interested in were turquoise and onyx.
I made a few quick renderings with those stone options. She ended up preferring a mixture of both onyx and turquoise (in the bottom right image) for a more funky, artsy look!
Once I got her approval, I started the process of removing the stones and the gold banding in the inlay.
It was no surprise that the opals cracked: there was only about 2mm of opal actually in the inlay even though the inlay channel was much deeper.
So when I went to cut the stones to fit her ring, I made sure that they were set all the way down to the bottom of the ring so it would be very strong for lots of wear and tear.
Pardon my crusty, work-worn fingers, but here is what the ring looked like with the stones recut and then affixed in the ring using a high-strength, water-clear epoxy.
Once it cures, I’m able to cut all the stones flush and give it a high polish before it’s all done!
My client was absolutely thrilled with this transformation of her special, dainty little ring!
