Care & Craft Editor
London, United Kingdom · Bench jeweler, 14 years
Nora is a working bench jeweler who has reset, resized and rescued several thousand pieces. She writes about how jewelry is made and how it fails, and she is firmly of the opinion that most damage is preventable with a loupe and five minutes.
Care
A metal-by-metal and stone-by-stone cleaning guide from a working bench jeweler — what is safe, what causes damage, which stones must never see an ultrasonic, and how to store pieces so they stay clean.
Nora Whitfield · Updated September 16, 2026
Care
Replacement, fair market and liquidation value differ by a factor of two. What an appraisal needs, what it costs, who should write it, and how fraud hurts you.
Nora Whitfield · Updated September 17, 2026
Care
Lost-wax casting, die striking, electroforming and laser sintering — what each method does to a piece, how to spot porosity and hollow work, and what you pay for.
Nora Whitfield · Updated September 15, 2026
Care
How far a ring can be resized, why pave and eternity bands cannot be touched, what it does to the metal and the hallmark, and how to get the size right first time.
Nora Whitfield · Updated September 14, 2026
Fine Jewelry
Nickel causes most metal allergies and 'hypoallergenic' has no legal meaning. What the EU Nickel Directive requires, which metals are safe, and what to do.
Nora Whitfield · Updated September 15, 2026
Care
Prong retipping, chain soldering, shank replacement, resizing: what repairs really cost in 2026, when to repair rather than replace, and how to find a jeweler.
Nora Whitfield · Updated September 15, 2026
Care
Storage causes more damage than wear. A bench jeweler on boxes, rolls, anti-tarnish chemistry, humidity, travel cases and what should never share a drawer.
Nora Whitfield · Updated September 15, 2026
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