Judaica Repair & Restoration
Sterling Silver Kiddish Cup Repair
Repair of this 20th century sterling silver filigree Kiddish Cup was complicated by the badly damaged filigree stem and cabochon stones on the side of the cup. I can repair the silver filigree, but in an effort to reduce the cost of the repair, the damaged filigree stem was removed, and the cup was attached directly to the base. This worked out to be an attractive solution. Cutting off the damaged stem (which was relatively weak and delicate) and fitting the cup into the base was a strong and attractive repair that cost considerably less and the cup is still usable.
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Menorah Polishing restoration and repair
Menorahs or Hanukkiahs for Chanukah always have 9 candles and possibly several arms. This makes them especially vulnerable to problems typical of candelabra and candlesticks. A frequent inquiry is about replacing a missing Shamash. There are no replacement parts available, but I can make anything. Please inquire about fabricating a missing Shamash.
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Sterling Silver Plate for Shabbat Polished
This beautiful plate arrived with many deep scratches and knife marks. The only option was to burnish the scratches and knife marks for hours before polishing. Then I polished it super carefully will small wheels polishing around the engraving. It turned out fantastic.
Shabbat candlesticks
Sterling Silver and Brass Shabbat CAndlestick Restoration and Repair
I can repair and restore your family Shabbat candlesticks taking a very conservative approach.
spice Box Besamin Restoration
STerling silver Besamin Spice Box
This sterling silver besamin spice box in the shape of a flower arrived with a leaf broken off which meant it fell over to the side. For this example of Judaica, the attractive leaves on the side provided stability. Fortunately, I was able to repair the leaf adding an attractive patch on the back for additional strength.
Torah Finial/Rimonim Restoration
Sterling Silver Torah Finials/Rimonim Restoration
It was an honor to work on these mid-20th Century sterling silver Torah finials/Rimonim. I’ve never seen anything quite like these and they are very rare and unusual. As you can see in the photo to the right, there were significant dents and an entire leaf was missing.
Fabricating the new leaf was challenging in many ways. Firstly I had to figure out the leaf shape to cohesively match all the other leaves which are all very different in shape and size. The fabrication, which is barely noticeable, was riveted and soldered in a way to strengthen the entire leaf piece and prevent it from breaking off, the extra work is worth the effort to keep the integrity of the overall piece.
For two missing bells, I was able to save the customer money by utilizing two of the bells hidden inside the dome instead of fabricating entirely new ones, which is a time-consuming and costly process. The replacement bells matched perfectly.
A previous repair included a silver plated brass bell with a poorly soldered lead seam (see the below photos). I was able to clean it up and resolder the seam. The customer chose not to replace this at the time and was satisfied with the work I did to improve the appearance.
Many of the bells were missing clackers. The new clackers were individually hand forged and tapered to match the existing ones.
Judaica Jewelry Repairs
Sterling Silver mezuzah pendant Missing its cap
The cap on this sterling silver mezuzah necklace was lost, leaving the prayer scroll inside open to the elements. A new cap was made out of sterling silver to fit snugly into the top of the pendant. With the prayer paper safely tucked inside, the cap was riveted in place.
This was a more permanent and very secure solution, but the cap can still be removed and reset by a local jeweler. Another solution to this problem could have been a brass screw (see photo below).
This removable cap idea would work better for someone who wanted to access their prayer at any moment. The owner of this mezuzah necklace decided they would prefer a more permanent solution, and opted for a more subtle, attractive rivet rather than the brass screw. (See rivet in the photo below.)
