Almost everyone has one, a drawer, a jewellery box, a small dish by the sink, holding pieces that stopped getting worn because something went wrong. A clasp that snapped two years ago. A ring that's been too loose since you lost weight. A chain your grandmother wore, sitting there because nobody's gotten around to having it looked at. None of it was ever a decision to stop wearing the piece, it just happened gradually, a broken clasp today, a missing stone next month, until the drawer quietly fills up with things that used to matter more than they currently do.
The holidays are a good, concrete reason to finally deal with it. A piece that's been fixed and cleaned looks like new again right when you'll actually be wearing it, at the dinner, the photo, the gift exchange, the family gathering where someone always asks where a certain ring went. It's also simply easier to act on a deadline than on vague good intentions, "before Christmas" is a real date range in a way "eventually" never quite becomes.
Our holiday hours: open December 24th until 4pm, closed December 25th through 28th, open again December 29th through 31st (closing at 4pm on the 31st), closed January 1st through 3rd, and back to full hours on January 4th. Repair work doesn't happen on the days we're closed, so a piece dropped off right before December 24th is competing for the same narrow window as everyone else with the same idea.
What's Actually Worth Repairing
Almost everything is worth at least asking about, but a few categories are the ones people underestimate most. A broken clasp or snapped chain is one of the cheapest, fastest fixes there is, and yet it's the single most common thing sitting unused in a drawer, simply because it feels like a bigger job than it actually is. A ring that doesn't fit anymore is the same story, resizing is often more contained than people expect, and a ring you can't wear isn't doing anyone any good sitting in a box. See our jewellery repair services for the full range of what we handle.
Loose stones are the category people most often get wrong in the other direction, assuming a small issue can wait. A prong that's worn thin doesn't announce itself, the stone just sits there looking fine until the day it doesn't, and by then it's not a repair question anymore, it's a replacement question. Catching it early is one of the cheapest things we do, and one of the easiest to put off precisely because nothing looks broken yet.
Where it's worth a real conversation rather than an assumption either way is anything with sentimental weight behind it, a ring, a pendant, a watch that belonged to someone. These are exactly the pieces people hesitate on the longest, worried the cost won't be worth it or that it can't really be fixed. Often both worries turn out to be wrong, but the only way to know is to bring it in and ask, rather than deciding from the next room over based on how bad it looks in a drawer.
What Restoration Can Actually Achieve
Restoration is a different job from a standard repair, and it's worth understanding the difference before you bring something in. A repair fixes what's broken. Restoration brings an older piece back closer to how it looked and wore originally, worn-down prongs rebuilt, dulled engraving re-cut, a tarnished or thinned setting reinforced. Older pieces need to be properly assessed first, since metals and settings from decades ago don't always match modern standards, and that assessment is what tells us what's realistic for your specific piece rather than guessing in general terms.
A lot of what comes in for restoration is inherited, a piece that's been in the family for years, sometimes handed down more than once, with real history attached that makes it worth more than its materials. Treating that kind of piece with the right care, rather than running it through a standard repair process, is the whole point. See our custom design service if a piece needs more than restoration, sometimes the right answer is reworking it into something new while the original gold or stones carry forward.
We're Closed for the Holidays, So Earlier Is Better
Like most businesses, we're closed during the holidays, and repair work doesn't happen while the shop is closed. That means a piece dropped off in the last few days before the holidays has a real chance of not making it back in time, through no fault of anyone's, there simply isn't bench time left on the calendar once those closed days are subtracted from it. The queue also gets longer as December goes on, since everyone has the same idea around the same time, a repair that would be routine in October can end up behind a dozen others by the third week of December.
Bringing a piece in now, rather than waiting for the week of, gives it the best realistic chance of being ready, worn, and not still sitting in a drawer come the holidays. If a piece turns out to need more work than expected once a goldsmith actually looks at it, an early visit leaves room to deal with that. A last-minute one doesn't.
Our Festive Sale and Christmas Collection
If you're coming in for a repair, it's also a good time to browse. Our festive sale has pieces across rings, earrings, necklaces and bracelets, in gold, silver, diamond and gemstone, currently at 20% off. For something built specifically for the season, our Christmas collection is built around ruby, emerald, garnet and snowflake pieces, the kind of colour and detail that reads as festive without needing to say so. It's a practical pairing either way, a repair drop-off is already a trip out, and gift shopping for the same holidays is one less separate errand to plan around. No repair appointment needed to look, both collections run in-store and online.
Bring It In
Whatever's been sitting in the drawer, bring it in and let us take an actual look rather than guessing whether it's worth it. Visit our page for Jewellery Repair in Chilliwack and Maple Ridge, our Ring Resizing in Abbotsford and Mission page if it's specifically a sizing job, or contact us with a description or photo and we'll give you a straight answer.
Holiday Repair FAQs
1. What are your holiday store hours?
We're open December 24th until 4pm, closed December 25th through 28th, open again December 29th through 31st (closing at 4pm on New Year's Eve), closed January 1st through 3rd, and back to full hours on January 4th.
2. When should I bring my repair in for the holidays?
As early as possible, and ideally well before December 24th. Repair work doesn't happen on the days we're closed, and the queue fills up as December goes on, so earlier gives your piece the best realistic chance of being ready before the break.
3. Will my repair be ready if I drop it off on December 23rd or 24th?
It's genuinely unlikely for anything beyond the simplest fix. We close at 4pm on the 24th and then don't reopen until the 29th, so there's very little bench time left in that window, and it's already filled with repairs dropped off earlier. Coming in well before the 24th is the only reliable way to beat the closure.
4. Is it worth repairing an old or inherited piece, or should I just replace it?
Often it's worth repairing, especially if there's sentimental value attached that a replacement can't recreate. Bring it in and we'll give you a straight answer on what's realistic, including whether custom design might suit it better than a standard repair.
5. What's the most common repair you see before the holidays?
Clasp and chain repairs, and ring resizing, both relatively quick fixes that bring a piece back into regular wear right when people want to actually wear it.
6. Can I browse the festive sale or Christmas collection while I'm in for a repair?
Yes, our festive sale and our Christmas collection are both running in-store and online, no repair appointment needed to look.
7. Do you repair jewellery not purchased from Lanka Jewels?
Yes. We repair and restore jewellery regardless of where it was originally bought.
8. What if I'm not sure whether my piece is worth repairing?
Bring it in anyway. A lot of pieces that seem like a lost cause from a drawer turn out to be straightforward once a goldsmith actually looks at them, and we'll always give you a straight answer rather than talk you into anything.
Lanka Jewels has repaired and restored jewellery across the Fraser Valley for over 45 years. Contact us to bring your piece in before the holidays, or browse more on our blog, including Jewellery Repair in the Fraser Valley: What Can and Can't Be Fixed and How Long Does Jewellery Repair Take? for more on what to expect.
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