My great-aunt's 1920s cameo brooch just snapped in half at the clasp

It happened yesterday when I was taking it out of its box to show my niece. The thin metal pin that holds the clasp together just gave way, and the whole thing came apart in my hands. It's been in the family for nearly a hundred years, passed from my great-grandmother. I'm torn between trying to find a jeweler who specializes in antique repairs, which could be very costly, or just keeping the pieces safe in the box as they are. Has anyone here had a similar break with a delicate heirloom and decided to fix it?

2 comments

2 Comments

hunt.kevin11d ago

The clasp just gave way while you were taking it out of the box? That's such a quiet, awful moment. A hundred years of careful handling and it breaks during a simple act of showing it off.

river_adams2511d ago

Wait, a hundred years of careful handling and it breaks now? That's brutal. @hunt.kevin you really nailed it with "quiet, awful moment." It's not some big dramatic crash, just a tiny snap and everything changes. Makes you feel like you messed up even though you didn't. That thing survived so much just to give out during something simple. Honestly that's just the worst kind of luck.