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