Most repairs at Crown Jewels & Coin run between $25 and $150. A clasp replacement starts around $25, ring sizing runs about $35 to $75 depending on the metal, and complex stone resetting or head replacement runs $150 and up. Every estimate is free and given before any work begins.
Jewelry and Watch Repair in Albuquerque, NM
Crown Jewels & Coin has repaired Albuquerque's jewelry since 2006, and every job is done at our own bench on San Mateo Blvd. Our jewelers size rings, retip prongs, reset loose diamonds, solder broken chains, restring pearls, and restore turquoise inlay, most of it while you wait. Bring in any piece from any jeweler, including work other shops turned down. Estimates are free, and there is never any pressure. If a piece isn't worth repairing, we'll tell you that too, and you can ask about selling or trading it in instead. Call (505) 884-4888 or walk in.
Every Repair Happens Here, Not in a Shipping Box
Most jewelry stores in Albuquerque mail your repair to a wholesale bench in another state. You wait two to three weeks, and nobody who touched your ring ever spoke to you. We do not work that way. Our bench is inside this building, our jewelers are on staff, and you can talk to the person doing the work. That is also why we can finish so many jobs the same day.
Ring Sizing and Resizing
We size rings up or down in yellow gold, white gold, rose gold, platinum and sterling silver. Most sizings are finished the same day while you wait, and we inspect your prongs and setting at no extra charge while the ring is on the bench. If a design cannot be safely sized, an eternity band set all the way around, for example, we will tell you before we take your money and walk you through the alternatives.
Prong Retipping and Replacement
Worn prongs are the number one reason people lose diamonds. If a stone rocks when you push it sideways, or a prong catches on a sweater, bring the ring in now rather than next month. We retip or fully replace worn prongs with a laser welder, which means no heat travels into the stone and no visible seam is left behind. Rings worn daily should have a prong check every six months, and ours is free.
Diamond and Stone Setting
A loose stone is one doorframe away from being gone. Our setters work in every style: prong, bezel, channel, pavé, tension and flush. If a stone is already missing, we match it from our in-house diamond and gemstone inventory, so you are usually not waiting on a special order. Every stone we set gets inspected under magnification before the piece goes back in your hand.
Chain and Bracelet Soldering
We repair broken links in box, rope, figaro, cable, curb, snake and herringbone chains, in gold, silver and platinum, including the thick diamond and Cuban link chains we sell. The repair is polished back so you cannot find where the break was. We also replace worn clasps of every type: lobster, spring ring, toggle, barrel and box clasps, and we can add a safety catch to a bracelet that keeps coming off.
Ring Head Replacement and Shank Rebuilding
The head is the small mounting that grips your center stone, and after enough years it cracks or splays. We remove the old head, solder on a matching replacement and reset your stone. We also rebuild worn shanks, the thin band underneath your finger that wears through first on rings worn every day, and we can add sizing beads or an arthritic shank if the ring keeps spinning.
Rhodium Plating and Gold Plating
White gold is not naturally white. It is plated with rhodium, and that plating wears off and lets the yellow underneath show through, usually within twelve to eighteen months on a ring worn daily. We replate in under an hour, and the piece comes back mirror bright. We also gold plate and re-gold plate worn yellow and rose gold pieces, and refinish sterling silver that has gone dull.
Turquoise, Silver and Native American Jewelry Repair
Few Albuquerque jewelers repair Native American jewelry; the techniques differ from fine jewelry, and mistakes ruin the piece. We do this weekly: resetting popped turquoise bezels, repairing channel and mosaic inlay, restringing heishi and squash blossom strands, straightening silver stampwork, and replacing findings without altering original character. Turquoise is soft and porous, no ultrasonic cleaners, no standard torch heat. We work around the stone, handling Navajo, Zuni, Kewa Pueblo, and Hopi pieces, including signed artist work, with care.
Clasps, Earrings, Engraving and Small Repairs
Broken earring posts and backs, bent ear wires, screw backs converted to friction backs, engraving and monogram touch-ups, rosary and religious medal repair, eyeglass frame solder, pewter and costume pieces, and untangling a chain that has knotted itself beyond hope. Plus free cleaning and polishing on anything you bring in, whether we are repairing it or not. Nothing is too small.
Pearl and Bead Restringing
Pearls should be restrung every one to two years if you wear them often, because the silk absorbs skin oils and stretches long before it snaps. We restring on natural silk with a knot between every pearl, so a broken strand costs you one pearl instead of all of them. We also restring heishi, turquoise bead strands and coral, and we can replace a worn clasp at the same time.
Jewelry Resetting and Remounting
If you love the stone but not the setting, we can move it. Resetting takes your existing diamond or gemstone and secures it back into its current mounting. Remounting moves it into a different setting entirely, which is a common way to turn an inherited ring into something you will actually wear. If you want a piece designed from scratch instead, that's our custom design service.
Watch Repair, Batteries and Band Sizing
We handle the watch work most people actually need, and most of it is done while you wait. If a repair isn't worth the cost on an older piece, it may be time to browse our pre-owned watch collection instead. Battery replacement takes about ten minutes, including a fresh gasket and a pressure test on water-resistant cases so the seal goes back the way it came. We remove and add bracelet links to size a watch to your wrist, swap out worn leather and rubber straps, replace broken spring bars and pins, and fit new crystals on many cases. For mechanical and automatic watches, we handle crown and stem replacement, band and clasp repair, and we can advise you on whether a full movement service is worth the cost on a given piece. Estate and vintage watches are welcome. If a watch needs to go to a factory-certified service center, we will tell you that up front instead of taking it apart first.
Emergency Ring Removal and Ring Cutting
If a ring is stuck and your finger is swelling, come in. We cut rings off safely with a ring cutter rather than the pliers-and-panic method, and in almost every case the ring can be soldered back together and resized afterward so you would never know. Walk in, no appointment. If this is a medical emergency, go to urgent care first and bring us the ring afterward.