Polishing silver at home without wearing it away
A soft cloth does more than a dip, and takes less metal with it (sample).
Read the marks inside the band
Larkin Yard (sample) is a small jewellery shop in Springfield with its workshop behind the counter. Everything we make or sell carries small stamped marks that say who made it and how much of it is pure metal. Here is how to read them.
Maker's mark
Who made it. LY is Larkin Yard (sample); every maker registers their own.
Fineness
750 parts in 1000 are pure gold: 18ct. The clipped corners say gold.
Date letter
The year it was hallmarked. The letter and its shield change every year (sample letter).
Wren signet ring
18ct yellow gold, oval face, hand-polished; engraved by hand on request
$890
US 5 to 11, made to order in half sizes. The three marks beside it are struck inside its band. Example prices.
On the tray this week
Six pieces from the bench and the counter. Most are made here in small numbers, so ask before you travel for one size.
Example prices. The punch at the top of each piece is its fineness mark.
Four collections, one bench
Rings, earrings, necklaces and bracelets in silver, gold and platinum. Everything is on the counter to try on.
Metals we work in
The fineness number is how many parts in 1000 are pure metal. The rest is a mix of other metals that makes it hard enough to wear.
9ct gold
375 in 1000
Hard-wearing and paler in colour. Where most people start with gold.
18ct gold
750 in 1000
A deeper yellow, softer and heavier. The usual choice for wedding bands.
Sterling silver
925 in 1000
Bright white. It darkens in the air and polishes back with a cloth.
Platinum
950 in 1000
Heavy and white for life; it never needs re-plating, only a polish.
Pure gold is 999. Our gold is recycled where we can buy it (sample).
Made at the bench behind the counter
Two jewellers work in the room behind the shop (sample). A plain band takes about a day; a signet ring with an engraved face, a week.
1
Cut
Silver and gold come to us as sheet and wire, mostly recycled (sample). Every band starts as a length sawn to your size.
2
Shape and solder
Bent round on the mandrel, the join soldered with a torch, then hammered true.
3
File and fit
Filed and sanded inside and out, stones set, the size checked again on the gauge.
4
Mark
We strike our maker’s mark and the fineness. Heavier pieces go to the assay office to be hallmarked (sample).
5
Polish
Polished on the wheel, cleaned, checked under the loupe and laid on the tray.
Find your ring size
Measure the inside of a ring that already fits, in millimetres, and find the nearest row. Wide bands, over 6 mm, fit tighter: go half a size up.
US
UK
Inside, mm
5
J½
15.7
6
L½
16.5
7
N½
17.3
8
P½
18.1
9
R½
18.9
10
T½
19.8
11
V½
20.6
Repairs and resizing
Bring it in, we look at it with you under the loupe and give you a price before we start. Most jobs are ready in five working days (sample).
- Bring the piece, and the box if you want it back in one
- Tell us if it has been resized before
- We check every stone and claw for free, even if you came for something else
Resize a silver ring
Up to two sizes
$35
Resize a gold ring
Platinum from $90
from $60
Solder a broken chain
from $25
Re-tip a worn claw
Per claw, gold or platinum
$45
Engrave inside a band
Up to 20 letters, by hand
$30
Re-thread a pearl necklace
from $55
Clean and check your stones
Free
Example prices.
One of one
Single pieces: old stones re-set, a ring made for a show, the last of a run. When they go, they are gone.
$1,450
Sapphire ring, old cut
18ct yellow gold, a 1920s cushion sapphire, re-set here
Only in US 6.5
Example prices.
Bench notes
Why a resized ring keeps its marks
Where we cut a band, and why the maker's mark stays where it is (sample).
Soldering a chain: what happens at the bench
Five minutes with a torch, a soldering block and a very steady hand (sample).
Find the shop
Larkin Yard (sample)
4 Larkin Yard, off Cutler Street, Springfield
Tuesday to Friday
10:00–17:30
Saturday
9:30–17:00
Sunday and Monday
Closed
Workshop drop-off
Tuesday to Saturday
Opening times (sample). The yard is step-free from Cutler Street.
