As a jeweler, your repair tools are your most coveted assets. Without your working tools, you can’t create and repair the beautiful jewelry that you’re so passionate about, so it’s important to find the best jewelry repair tools for you.
But because all jewelers have specific taste when it comes to their repair tools, it can be hard to find the right tools — especially as a new jeweler. In this blog, we’ll explore the top five jewelry repair tools every jeweler needs.
Let’s dive in.
Related Read: Best Practices for Jewelry Repairs in Your Store
1. Workbench Specifics for Jewelers
One crucial repair tool jewelers need is a good workbench. The workbench is where you perform all of your repairs, so it’s important to do your research and find out what suits you and your jewelry store best. Here are a few things to look for when deciding what you need in your workbench:
- A high railing around your table to keep your materials from falling
- A metal lined drawer at the base to catch all of your shavings
- Bench pins and holes to hold your ring mandrels
- Drawers to hold the rest of your repair tools
Workbenches are typically made out of wood and sit just high enough that you don’t have to hunch over while working. No matter what repair bench you choose, make sure it’s comfortable to use and fits the needs of your jewelry store.
2. Magnification Tools
Another tool you want to remember when assembling your toolkit is a magnification tool. Jewelry repair is nearly impossible without proper magnification. With proper magnification, you’re able to repair small details like thin necklace chains, tennis bracelet gem prongs, or intricacies on an engagement ring.
Magnification tools are pretty simple, but as always, you need tools that work for you. Every jeweler works differently, which means every jeweler may need to use different magnification. Typically, these tools come in a range of magnification power — 1.0X to 10X. Jewelers most commonly use magnification tools with a 2.5X power.
Whether you prefer jewelers' loupes, microscopes, a magnifying glass, or a mixture of everything, we recommend you go with a hands-free option, so you can use both hands consistently for repairs.
Related Read: How To Open a Jewelry Store (& Start Making Money)
3. Precision Hand Tools
Precision hand tools are where the real work takes place. First and foremost, you want to make sure your tools are comfortable to work with. Working with small pieces of jewelry can take a toll on your hands if your precision tools are worn down or not up to par with standard jewelry repair tool quality.
Here’s a list of jewelry repair tools you need to ensure that your customers leave your store with a smile on their face:
- Jeweler’s saw
- Needle files
- Jeweler’s pliers
- Flush cutters
- Ring mandrel
- Jeweler’s hammer
- Bezel pusher
- Stone setting tools: prong pushers, bezel rollers, stone setting pliers
- Calipers
- Jeweler’s scale
- Drawplate
- Dapping block and punches
- Engraving tools
Every jeweler is different. You might not need to use all of these instruments, but this is a great list to start with so that you can easily repair any and all pieces of jewelry that come your way.
4. Cleaning and Polishing Equipment
High-quality cleaning and polishing equipment is important because it gives your customers the beautiful shine they’re expecting. Using a burnisher, ultrasonic cleaners, and polishing machines are a sure way to restore the jewelry’s sparkle.
Just like every other tool, each brand of polishing equipment will work and feel different to the jeweler. Talk to other jewelers, read social media forums, and see if you can try different brands of polishing tools, so that you can see what you prefer.
You also need to make sure that you have the correct cleaning solutions — different solutions will be used based on the material of the band, the gemstone, and the amount of dirt and grime on the jewelry.
You don’t want to simply buy the cheapest solutions. Find a high-quality, jewelry-specific cleaning solution that keeps the integrity of your pieces while restoring their beauty.
5. Soldering Equipment
Soldering equipment allows you to attach all of the metal pieces together to make your jewelry. However, it can also be used as a jewelry repair tool if your customer fractures part of their piece like the basket or post of an earring. The equipment you need for soldering includes:
- Soldering torch
- Soldering block
- Pick
- Flux
For the safety of your customers, your employees, and yourself, make sure you have a properly ventilated area to work in when you use your soldering equipment.
Related Read: 6 Top Jewelry Inventory Management Software Providers
Complete Your Toolkit of Jewelry Repair Tools With Jewel360
You have your repair tools — which means you have almost everything you need to start repairing your customers’ jewelry. To complete your toolkit, you need a proper point of sale (POS) system to organize and take on all of your work orders.
Jewel360 is a POS solution that streamlines creating and managing work orders by allowing you to organize your repairs with jewelry-specific terminology. It’s both user-friendly and has POS capabilities, so you can combine all of your needed software into one. Plus, it’s made specifically for small jewelry businesses just like yours.
Schedule a demo today to learn more about how Jewel360 can streamline your work order process.