Is it possible/easy to remove gems in a pave setting?

[FreshFund]

Hello all, I'm just wondering if it would be possible to remove all the cz gemstones from a paved piece to replace with something else?

Attached is a photo of the piece I want to remove the stones from.

The pendant is 2"wide and 2.5" long with bail.
I don't know the size of the gems though.
The base material is 10k yellow gold.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

[ps_bond]

Technically? Yes, it could be done. Mostly the prongs would need to be cut away with a graver (because you're unlikely to bend them back successfully); you'd need to cut the seats with an onglette to free the stones off too (as the walls of the seat hold the stone as much as, if not more than, the prongs. Obviously this would leave you with a piece that needed new prongs attaching - I'd laser them on. Then you'd need to set new stones. Alternatively, with a small punch you could smash the stones out.

In practice, the labour would be many, many times the purchase price of a piece like that and it'd be a better use of money to have a new one made from scratch. And if you're doing that, might as well go for 18ct.

[josef1]

Commercially it can be done buy dissolving the base metal with acids. As peter said not really worth it for CZ's though. Not something you would want to do over the kitchen sink though.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYFVM9JKuO8


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYFVM9JKuO8

[ps_bond]

I confess I'd assumed the piece was to survive...!

[FreshFund]

Thank you so much! Will look into dissolving them out, as one of my favorite hobbies is organic chemistry. "EDIT: I just watched the video in the link you posted and although very interesting - sort of the opposite of what I need to achieve. Im looking to dissolve/remove the gems to leaving a pronged piece waiting to be set. Will still be saving that video for future reference though�� Thanks again"

Although, when you say that I could smash the stones out with a small punch, does that leave the sockets open for replacement with minimal reworking? The cz are garbage to me at this point, and don't need to keep any of them except for maybe a size reference.

I've looked into recasting this piece, and since its out of my scope of experience I needed to seek professional help - but every time I get an absurd price. Even though I am supplying the base material.

[enigma]

You could try smashing the stones, I would use my hammer handpiece to do it, if you can break them they should then poke out.

[FreshFund]

Thank you, I think smashing the stones out might be the way to go. Thank you all for your input!

[josef1]

Ah ok didnt realise you wanted the metal and not the stones !!

[FreshFund]

Sorry to bump an older thread, and thank you all for the previous input!
I forgot to ask if though; once the CZs have been smashed out, would it be simple to pop in some new stones? Or would it require some intricate work?

[josef1]

I would imagine it would be a pain to do you would need to reset it all

[enigma]

I agree with Josef, I think it would take a while and you may well need to solder in some new settings too as its likely that some will get damaged in the process of removing the stones.

[FreshFund]

Ah, ofcourse, thank you.
I had a feeling it wouldn't be so straightforward. Nothing ever is it seems. This is a personal piece so I'm not to worried about the perfectness of it. I have a bit of a gameplan but it seems too straightforward in my head.. I know it's going to be more difficult than I imagine but anyways here's what I've got so far.

1. Prepare stones of the same size as the smashed out CZ

2. Get a set of burrs the same size as stones/Cz

3. Start gently to firmly try to insert stones, if excess force is required then stop and try to manipulate the metal with various tools

4. Try again to insert stones, if excess force is again required stop

5. Carefully Dremel Small bits of metal as needed

6. Attempt to insert stones

7. If excess force is required GO FOR IT :mad:

8. Prepare soldering torch, flux and gold solder

9. Learn to solder gold

10. Repeat step 9 until comfortable

11. Repair any damaged metal from forcing

12. If failure, quote repairs from a trained professional

13. If over budget, (which likely will be since recasting the piece and having the gems inserted for me was waay over budget) then just aldrite the darn things in there - I really don't want to do this, but would actually prefer that over having CZs in there for some reason


Does this seem like a viable game plan or should I go back to the drawing board on this one?