WORKING -- ROCKY DENNIS
HE IS
Deftly resuscitating ailing antiques
A CRAFTSMAN
Dennis, 41, is a silversmith at Brierwood Jewelry in Fountain Valley.
“Essentially, I am a full-service jeweler,” he said. “I do quite a bit
of work with sterling silver. I do a lot of restoration work on antiques,
silverware, flatware and holloware.”
DELICATE JOB
Dennis said what makes his job so unique is the challenge to preserve
an item’s patina -- the natural oxidation that appears on an aged or
antique object, which is then often valued aesthetically for its color.
He added that every piece is unique, which makes every job different.
“I have a lot of clients who are antique dealers where it is critical
to preserve the patina,” Dennis said. “For instance, if you put heat on a
piece it will change the color and burn off the oxidation. A couple of
months back, I had a piece that was originally commissioned by King
George II, and there was 300 years of patina on that -- so I had to
create a special way to treat it.”
ONE OF A KIND
Able to work on silver from any era, Dennis keeps quite busy and is
one of the rare few who is experienced and talented enough to get the job
done properly. He said the King George II silver holloware he just worked
on was probably the most expensive antique silver piece he has ever
handled.
“I’ve worked on a lot of expensive stones, but with silver, the King
George piece was the most expensive,” Dennis said.”It just resold for
$65,000.”
PLEASING CUSTOMERS
Having more than 20 years of experience with jewelry, and seven years
with antique silver pieces, Dennis has not just earned his talent, but he
is also very content with what he does for a living.
“My favorite part of this job is when I present the finished piece to
the customer,” he said. “That’s where you earn the other part of the
paycheck. It’s a happy job because a customer may come in with a broken
piece and unhappy. But by the time I am done, they will always leave
happy.”
Story by Torus Tammer, photo by XXX
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