Jewellery Makeover

It is becoming increasingly common for our customers to request a jewellery makeover. This involves electroplating a precious metal over an existing precious metal, or even over non-precious metals such as stainless steel as can be seen in the images below. The image below shows the stainless steel ring polished prior to gold plating.

Currently platinum over gold is very popular as is silver over copper. We can give your existing jewellery a makeover in any of the following precious metals; 9-24 carat yellow gold plating, white gold, rose gold, platinum, palladium and silver. We can even selectively plate your treasured piece in a combination of precious metals, for example, gold and platinum for a 2-tone finish. See our gallery for examples.

The following image shows the ring in its completed state – 9 carat gold plated.

Palladium is one of the six platinum group metals and is becoming increasingly popular due to its platinum-like appearance. Palladium is a less expensive alternative to platinum and offers excellent durability.

Having a jewellery makeover will not only greatly enhance its beauty and give it a new lease of life but is hard wearing and will last for many years if cared for properly. If you would like a quotation or advice please use our contact form.

Desert Eagle .357 Magnum

The Desert Eagle hand gun is one of the most popular firearms in the world, due to its size and numerous roles in movies, first appearing in ‘The Year of the Dragon’ a 1984 action movie starring Mickey Rourke and in video games such as ‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’ on the PS3. The Desert Eagle Magnum has since become a legend.

The desert Eagle .357 Magnum, pictured below, came to us in its original factory black finish and had to be stripped and mirror polished prior to the final finish, as per our customer’s request.

The gun can be seen below finished in chrome prior to reassembly. The same mirror finish could have been applied in any of the precious metals we electroplate, including; silver, palladium, platinum, rose gold, white gold and yellow gold 9-24 carat.

The Desert Eagle provided superior power in a fast-firing automatic pistol design. How serious? From the Desert Eagle’s 6″ barrel, the larger .50 AE cartridge will shoot a 300gm bullet at 1500 feet per second. Basically, 40-50% more punch than .44 Magnum six-gun offers.

The Desert Eagle .357 magnum is considered the king of handguns.

Gold Plated SAS Knife

The Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife pictured below shows the typical before and after images of the type of work we can do and the finish we can achieve. The image below shows the knife prior to stripping, polishing and electroplating.

The following image shows the completed knife which has had the blade thick nickel plated with a 24 carat gold plated grip.

The knife is double-edged with a foil grip developed by William Ewart Fairbairn and Eric Anthony Sykes in Shanghai before World War II. This was made famous during the War when issued to British commandos, including the SAS. The knife is so symbolic of British Commandos that a solid gold Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife is part of the commandos’ memorial at Westminster Abbey. The knife features in the insignia of the Dutch Commando Corps, founded in the UK during WWII, the Australian 2nd Commando Regiment, and also the British Royal Marines.

Antique Silver Restoration

Antique restoration is a skill that requires great attention to detail and respect for the item being worked upon. Silverware ranging from antique hollowware, including cups, bowls, and the like and flatware such as trays, plates and dishes are all ideal candidates for restoration. Due to their age, antiques are often fragile and require a delicate hand. However, just as important, is the attention to preserving the original integrity of the piece. Interestingly enough, what gives an antique its charm and value, often referred to as patina, must be matched carefully when performing restoration. This way, the antique will be preserved rather than ruined.

One way to restore silver antiques is by re-plating the old surface with a new one. Commonly employing silver plating to do so, antique restorers will cover the old, damaged surface with a new coating of silver. Easy in theory but in practice a lot more work is usually involved. In the example photo below you can see how an item often comes in to us for restoration. This antique flatware required a large amount of prep work including four polishing stages before the electroplating took place.

Finally, the application of silver was done through a process known as electroplating. Electroplating involves coating a conductive surface with an electrolyte containing the actual silver. This is an excellent method to brighten up and restore new life to antique silver pieces such as silverware, bowls, teapots and like items. In preserving the original shape of the object, its function is preserved while its look is greatly enhanced as you can see in the image of the finished item below.

The trick with antique restoration is to take away or cover just enough of the damage in order to allow the natural age, and the beauty that comes with that age, to shine through. One must keep in mind that they are restoring rather than remaking. If the owner of the antique wanted a brand new sugar bowl for their table, they would simply go to the store and purchase a new one. Instead, they choose to retain their antique piece and, with a little gentle antique restoration, bring out its unique and original charm.

For more information, or if you would like your antique silverware restoring, please use our contact form.