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For more information on repairs and restorations, please visit our newest site
Crystal-Fox.com
 
CRYSTAL REPAIRS AND RESTORATIONS BY 
TOMAS MAEBRAE      CANADA

Description: For PROFESSIONAL SWAROVSKI crystal RESTORATIONS, REPAIRS, and BROKERAGE services, pleave email me at   crystalbeaver@sympatico.ca

13 Cardinal Crescent
Petawawa, Ontario K8H 3N9
CANADA

North America Toll Free Telephone: 1 - 866 - 312 - 6805
North America Toll Free Fax: 1 - 888 - 581 - 0917

International Telephone: 00 1 613 6878667
International Fax: 00 1 613 6871555

Hours of Operation
Monday to Friday ~ 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET
Saturday ~ 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. ET
Sunday ~ Closed
   The difference between
Repairing and   Restoring Swarovski pieces !
 Repairing Swarovski Pieces ...
The process of  reattaching broken, or slightly damaged crystal  components to other crystal components, or reattaching  bent, or damaged light metal components to crystal  components.  The resulting effect is a Swarovski piece, which although appears to be in very good to excellent condition, will definitely show obvious signs of minute damage when closely inspected. Repairing Swarovski  pieces is sometimes the only practical  solution, especially  when replacement components are scarce, or extremely costly due to the sheer rarity of them. 
         Restoring Swarovski Pieces ... 
The process begins  by removing all traces of broken,or slightly damaged  crystal components, or damaged light metal components  from a Swarovski piece.  The process then continues by  removing all traces of residual adhesive from the crystal, or light metal component contact areas.  The contact  areas on the replacement crystal components, or light  metal components are then prepared to accept the new bonding adhesive.  Once the crystal components or light   metal components are bonded together, the Swarovski  piece is then thoroughly cleaned to reflect the   magnificent  sparkle it once had.  After I restore any Swarovski piece,   you will not be able to tell it was
ever damaged or broken. 

   During any Swarovski Repairs or Restorations 
 I ONLY use GENUINE ORIGINAL crystal, or light  metal components.  ALL GENUINE ORIGINAL 
 crystal, or light metal components, are salvaged from  identical Swarovski pieces.  All replacement   components  are salvaged from slightly damaged, broken, or even MINT condition pieces on occasion. I ONLY use the same types of adhesives that Swarovski uses in their current manufacturing processes. 

 
My Customer Service Policies  and Guarantees !
    Customer Service Policies ...
I  answer all email inquiries  usually within 24 - 48 hours,and I look forward to assisting  all collectors in answering specific questions about their repair or restoration concerns. If I don't have an immediate  answer available to a specific question, I'll always email the  collector and let them know when they can expect an answer  back from me.  As a collector myself, I always deal with companies which make customer service their # 1 priority. 

                Repair/Restoration Guarantees ...
I FULLY guarantee  that the current market E.R.V. of any restored Swarovski piece will once again be regained.  ALL repair or restoration  work done by me is 100% fully guaranteed for 30 DAYS after the collector receives their Swarovski piece, or pieces back from me.  As stated above, if a collector finds any  defect in my repair or restoration workmanship within the first thirty days, I will restore the Swarovski piece(s) again at NO COST to the collector, including all shipping and postal fees.  In my business, you only get one chance to make a lasting first impression with collectors.  My reputation for Swarovski restoration services is spreading quickly, and I'm garnering the  highest of praise from satisfied collectors worldwide.  I'm always striving to improve my restoration services, and will always make an extra effort to have a collector feel good about the service  I'm providing them.  Please contact me with any Swarovski  repair or restoration related questions.  You'll be glad you did ! 


Please DO NOT SEND any items to me without contacting me first.

CRYSTAL FOX GALLERY HAS PROVIDED THIS INFORMATION ABOVE TO ASSIST YOU IN
LOCATING REPAIR SERVICES. THESE BUSINESSES HAVE BEEN REFERRED TO ME AS
VERY REPUTABLE. I HAVE NOT USED EITHER BUSINESS FOR REPAIR SERVICE YET.
CRYSTAL FOX GALLERY IS NOT LIABLE FOR ANY BUSINESS DEALINGS YOU MAY ENTER
INTO WITH THESE BUSINESSES.


Below is a letter one of his customers sent to me .


"We recently had our In Flight Gold Butterly restored by Tom Maebrae of
Crystal Beaver Collectibles.  What an outstanding job he did and the service
we received was just incredible! After we had sent the piece off to him, he
emailed us back  a few days later with numerous photos of the piece showing
the problem areas in great detail. He advised us on what repairs he
recommended done and exactly what it would cost to bring the piece back to
mint condition. It turned out one of the inner petals needed replacing. When
we received the piece back from Tom we could not even tell which petal had
been replaced. The piece was perfectly reassembled and it was nearly
impossible to even tell that a repair had been made.  We have been
collectors of Swarovski for over 6 years and can tell you THIS GUY KNOWS HOW TO REPAIR SWAROVSKI!  He has built his business on integrity, outstanding service and value and I can assure anyone reading this that we will do business with him again!  Thanks Tom! We appreciate your commitment to
providing such a wonderful service to collectors like us!"

Ted Dumont
Kevin Reeves
Salt Lake City, Utah

 SWAROVSKI    CRYSTAL     CLEANING TIPS

Morton's Crystal, Inc.    Crystal Cleaning
From Mortons Crystal Website

     "We do not recommend washing pieces or soaking.  Never place a piece in your dishwasher.  Rinse a piece if you must, 
     then dry with cotton Swarovski gloves (you can purchase these at most dealers).  Swarovski also sells a cleaning kit 
     that has gloves and a brush.  The brush is helpful on hedgehogs and those hard-to-reach places on pieces.  Most times 
     I just wear the gloves and clean the piece with no water or glass cleaner; picking a piece up and bringing out of a 
     cabinet is a time when pieces get damaged.  We also wash the Swarovski cotton gloves periodically as we use them 
     constantly with all the pieces we inspect.  The Swarovski gloves seem to have less or no lint to them and are easy to 
     use - flexible.  And here is the best method of all and the one I now use all the time!! 

     Buy the gallon container of automobile windshield wiper fluid.  Pour some into 
     a spray bottle.  Place the piece you want to clean on a layer of paper towels 
     out of the way of everyone - spray it down really well with the windshield 
     washer fluid.  Let it drip dry......and VOILA!!!   Sparkling clean with no damage 
     or fondling!!!!  Now why does this work so well??  The windshield washer    fluid has a drying agent that 
     makes it dry very  quickly and doesn't saturate the glue on the piece.  Additionally, it is much stronger 
     then household window cleaner.  It disintegrates most of the dust if not too much is there.  If the piece 
     has a lot of dust on it, after it dries, you can also 'blow' dry the piece with your blow dryer, preferably on 
     cool air setting. This will also blow off the particles of dust that may be substantial.  This works 
     wonderfully.  In fact, since I am not allowed to fondle the crystal in our home, I sneak and clean it like 
     this when Tony isn't looking!!!   He says I should just leave it alone....but you know how we women 
     are...clean clean clean!!!   Ideally, keep your crystal in a 'dust-proof' cabinet.  The most breakage and damage is done  when pieces are cleaned 
     and re-located around shelves or the cabinet.  Remember - long sleeves will catch on something!!!  Take off bracelets, 
     rings, watches etc. to clean or dust or relocate pieces. Believe me, the extra minute it takes to do this first will be well worth it. 
     Personally, we never light candles in our candleholders - we use Lucite candles to show the piece to its true beauty. 
     Lucite is acrylic and should never be lit. 
     Also, many pieces are made up of components - and therefore, glued.  We do not keep our pieces in constant direct 
     sunlight.  We are not sure what the glue will do over time." 

More suggestions for your crystal from other collectors

Cleaning Tips
        Some people clean their Swarovski with a mild soap and water as recommended by the manufacturer.  This is fine but it could be risky.  You see, when the crystal is wet and soapy, it is also slippery.  The soft cloth they recommend could also be detrimental.  The cloth could snag on the piece and break it oreven worse, make it fall out of your hands.  I came up with a saferand more effective way to clean them with minimal risk. 
  Go to any automotive store (like Autozone, NAPA, Pepboys, etc.)and buy a gallon of windshield washer fluid.  This only cost about$1.00.  Mix this gallon 50/50 with distilled water.  Place atowel on a glass top table or a kitchen counter.  Put your Swarovskipieces on the towel spreading them out at least 6" apart.  Spray the mixture or washer fluid and water directly on the crystal.  Be generousand spray them till they are dripping wet.  THAT'S IT!  Come back to them in about 1 hour.  They willbe dry and dirt and dust free.  No rubbing or wiping is needed. Place them back in your cabinet.  I do recommend using the gloves provided in the Swarovski Cleaning Kit to handle your newly cleaned andsparkling pieces.  If you don't have one, they can be purchased onthis website. 
SWAROVSKI CLEANING KIT

 
Displaying
Many collectors are set in their ways of displaying Swarovski. No matter what type of crystal it is, the more direct light each piece gets the more it will shine and show its true colors. If your display cabinet has recessed light at the top, middle and bottom, the following isn't asimportant in displaying as for those of us who only have lights shiningdown from the top only. Never place solid stands (wooden or plastic) onthe top shelf. This only blocks the light for the pieces displayed on themiddle and bottom shelves. Try to arrange the larger pieces on the bottomor middle shelves. This will help the light shine more freely thru theglass shelves. More importantly, this will minimize the weight on the topshelf thus making it less likely for the top shelf to break causing severedamage to the entire collection.You hear horror stories from people who had the top shelf break because of the weight or the plastic tabs thatsupport the shelf getting brittle from the heat of the lights and/or theage of the supports. Most cabinets come with an 1/8" thick glass shelf.This could be a serious problem. For every square foot of shelf the glassneeds to increase 1/8". In other words, if each shelf is only 1 squareft., 1/8" thickness is fine. If it's 2 sq. ft., 1/4" thickness is recommended,3 sq. ft., 3/8" is fine and so on. If you have those plastic tabs supportingyour shelves, change them! You can buy metal one in a variety of colors from home improvement warehouses or glass companies. 
Dust Proofing
If possible, dust proof your cabinet. This reduces the frequency of cleaningand the risk of damage doing so. If your cabinet or curio doors are glass,chances are they are made too small. There always seems to be a large gapbetween the outside edge of the door(s) and the wood of the cabinet itself.If you have 2 doors that meet in the middle, there is usually an excessivegap where they meet. These gaps are the largest source of you dust problem.Measure the opening and have the largest glass door your cabinet can useto minimize these gaps. I promise you won't be cleaning your crystal nearas often. Do you have a cabinet or curio that has wooden framed doors? 
This is the easiest type to remedy. Simply place self adhesive weatherstripping around the inside of the frame. You may have to readjust the doors so they close completely but still seal. 
  Crystal Fox Gallery does not assume responsibility if these suggestions are not successful in cleaning items. 
Crystal Fox Gallery suggests before you try any new method of cleaning, that you try  on ONLY 1 piece before cleaning your entire collection.
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NancyStokes
owner, Crystal Fox Gallery
 Nancy Stokes
ORDERS (800) 277 8539 
Located at the Monterey Plaza Hotel - 
381 Cannery Row - Monterey, CA 
93940 
nancy@crystal-fox.com
(800) 277 8539 

 
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