When it comes to manufacturing, designing or repairing jewellery there are no areas I am not familiar with. If you have any jewellery that is worn out, broken or badly damaged, it may be possible to restore it to its former glory, just ask me.

If you have jewellery you no longer wear because it's outdated, old fashioned or, you've 'just gone off it', let's see about having it melted up and make something with it you will wear (see some of the testimonials).

You may have jewellery that was once worn by someone you loved that has passed away, don't leave it in the draw, let's melt the gold up and make a keepsake that you will wear with affection, always.

You young lads, you may want to surprise your girlfriend with a beautiful piece of jewellery, as a gift, or, with an engagement ring. That is something I do often, is make engagement rings that the lucky lass knows nothing about. I do this with the utmost discretion and in conjunction with your ideas on design and within your budget (remember I make for the jewellery trade and your price will be 40% off the usual retail price).

John also does valuations for your jewellery so that you can have the most up-to-date value for insurance purposes. Each valuation includes a photo of the item. Below is an example:-

Valuation 29/11/06

18ct white gold diamond engagement ring. The brilliant cut diamond weighs .25ct and is G Si & channel set in a U setting.  The weight of the ring is 4.3 grams & the valuation is $1,895.00
Signed John McGeorge JP. 

PEARL TESTING (trade secret)
If you are looking at pearls & wish to know if they are genuine or imitation, there is a simple way to tell. Rub the pearl against your teeth, if they feel “gritty” they are genuine & come from an oyster (salt or freshwater), should they feel smooth then, regardless of price or colour, they are imitation.

WHAT GOLD IS THAT?

Pure gold is 24ct & once refined has a very rich gold colour & is quite heavy, with a specific gravity of 19.3. Gold is alloyed down for various uses, including that of making jewellery. In Australia we mainly use 18ct (stamped 750) or 9ct (375), but across the world there are many carats used, 10ct (416), 14ct (585), 15ct (625), 20ct (833) & 22ct (916).

SILVER is also alloyed down to Sterling Silver (925). Like gold the alloy is added to toughen the gold (or silver) & make it more durable. In most cases the alloy is copper (in silver) & copper & silver in gold.

In making a WHITE GOLD the alloy can be a number of differing alloys depending on the purpose of the finished metal. Pure gold can be alloyed with nickel, palladium, platinum, possibly silver or a combination of any of these. Invariably white gold is usually NOT very white & the finished article needs to be Rhodium (Platinum) plated to get the high finish demanded in quality jewellery.

PLATINUM
This is the heaviest of metals, its specific gravity is 21.45 (nearly twice that of lead 11.34) so an article in platinum will be considerably heavier that the same in, say 18ct (16.7) or 9ct (10.5). Both platinum & white gold are favoured for claw settings as they wear so well. It’s not unusual to see rings 10 or 20 years old with claws in good condition, made of platinum.