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Rambling ahead (I'm so sorry but hopefully it helps, even if just a little bit!)

I haven't spoken directly with many customers, instead I have store employees calling from wherever their respective store is to either harass us about getting stuff done two days ago or 'this repair was done wrong omg how could you we know more than you do stop explaining just work your sorcery correctly this time or else!'

Just remember the majority of your customers aren't going to have a damn clue how repairs work, nothing about jewelry maintenance and care, and little to no knowledge about stones, aside from 'my grandmother got it from her blahblahblah in ww1 and she was blahblah and it means a lot to me blahblahblah it's irreplaceable oh it's also etc etc etc....' and what they've seen on tv or read in passing.

When in doubt, CYA CYA CYA!! Photograph the pieces before doing work. Specifically photo the damage or focus area if it's in for more than a clean and polish. Color photos are better than black and white, but anything helps. Print the photos, have customers sign off on it, whatever. Anything you do, HAVE THE CUSTOMER PHYSICALLY SIGN ACKNOWLEDGING THEY ARE AWARE. If a stone is clear, diamond test it before taking it in, verify that it is what the customer says it is (or isn't), whenever possible, and verify with the customer. Many center diamonds in engagement rings are inscribed with their own id # somewhere along their girdle. Ask if theirs has one, and check under a scope. Again, verify! Anything and everything you can do to protect yourself. People are idiots, assholes, and generally a pain. Idiotproof yourself as much as possible, so that you can't be taken advantage of. Repair is the branch you'll be dealing with that the most.

As far as not having much knowledge and not going to GIA, don't worry so much about it. I'm unschooled and put out extremely high quality repairs and restorations without. You know where you can learn a bunch? Other jewelers. The internet. Books. Tons of great references, just look for them. Research what you think will help you. I obsessed over gems when I started so I knew as closely as possible what they could be as they came in. A really great book to have on hand? This. Out of all my books, it's the only one I have found that has gemology information catered specifically for jewelers, and it's completely worth every penny!

I also found and talked to loads of jewelers in person in the shop, at other shops, at trade shows, at gem shows, online, anywhere and everywhere, and I still do. There is so much you can learn just from asking people.

But! Get a heat tolerance reference chart of some sort (or make one!) to follow for your gems. Learn about the differences between why metal A does this but metal B does that. Same with stones. Opal loses its color flash when heated but if it's not fried that flash (opalescence) comes back. Amethyst loses its color under heat. Natural pearls don't like pickle or rhodium! Blah blah. You should invest in some gem goop for soldering, like Thermoshield or Kool Jool. I use Thermoshield and it's saved more stones than I can count - it's a weird texture and looks like vaseline, but it keeps the stones cool. Pull stones out before solder work if it's easier for you to reset them than use goop. There are tons of references all over the place for just about everything.

I've rambled too much but look into that book and check out Ganoksin if you haven't yet, tons of info there, for free. YouTube is great for learning certain techniques if you're curious or would like pointers for improvement. If you're on fb? Young Jewellers Group. I recommend all my new and old jeweler acquaintances try connecting with this group, as there are SO MANY jewelers from all over the world (they're based out of AU) and each has knowledge they can share. Photos, progress, group venting about idiot customers, anything. It's a good group. And never forget Google. I abuse it like a madwoman when I'm hunting for information. Let me know if there's anything I can help with. I'm around. :)

This isn't silly or naive :) it is something important to you, and these are things that a jeweler could help you with.

The term I think you are probably looking for is "plated" rather than poured. A jeweler could put a very thin layer of gold on top of the metals; this would make them look like gold, add another layer of metal on top of them, and would allow all of the details show through. I have heard that chain is more difficult to plate than a solid object, because you have to be careful not to plate the links together. I haven't tried to plate chains myself, but I know that it is possible.

You didn't say if you were planning on wearing the quarter on the chain, or keeping them separately. If you did decide to make the quarter into a pendant, I might suggest putting a frame around it rather than drilling it. This way the quarter won't be damaged as much through wear. You could buy one online Like this one on amazon or have the jeweler make one for you.

All that said, there are a few rather blurry laws about defacing U.S. currency. Specifically it says that you cannot lower the value of a coin or bill intentionally or make it appear to be something other than what it is with malicious intent. That law shouldn't be an issue here, but some people may wonder about it a little and be hesitant to alter the coin in an official business setting. I'm not sure what you'll hear when it comes to plating the coin, but I don't really expect you to have any issues. :)

I am a little curious, if your main goal is to protect and preserve these items, why gold? Gold is pretty, valuable, and great to work with, but it is pretty soft and will wear off faster than some of the other metals you could plate it with. I only ask because you said so many times that it wasn't about the value of the gold. (though it is perfectly alright to just have a personal preference)

Ok, so these are two totally different processes. My guess is your only option will be cold enameling. It’s basically a pigment in resin, like this

Mix it according to package directions and fill your embossed regions using a dowel rod, metal tool or whatever fits best. Even a disposable pipet would work well. The resin hardens at room temp. Issues can include swirl marks on the surface, so practice applying to scrap pieces first. This is a really pretty easy process with minimal tools needed. It’s not a “traditional” process though, and definitely not regarded as “fine jewelry”. Edit to add: your metal must be extremely clean before applying resin. Grab a toothbrush and scrub it up with dawn dish soap (sometimes diluted with ammonia). Pumice powder is also an excellent cleaner. I gotten finish with a rubbing alcohol wipe as well.

Vitreous enameling is a very traditional process, and it’s very fussy. Glass melts at a higher temp than solder flows at, so for one thing you cannot solder a piece together and then enamel it (unless you use IT solder). Thompson enamel is the industry standard brand, available through rio grande. Your metal surface must be impeccably clean first, and generally pure metals are best (copper, fine silver, 22k gold. Not 14k, brass or sterling though).

There are many enameling techniques, but the most basic application is to sift the powdered glass through a tiny sieve onto a metal surface. Other techniques include wetting the powder and then packing it into cells (google search champleve or cloisonné). The piece is placed into a hot kiln (around 1450 deg) for a few minutes until the glass particles melt and fuse together. There are additional finishing processes necessary after firing, especially in champleve and cloisonné to perfect the surface. There are other processes and techniques I’m not going to discuss here. Enameling is a very fussy, tedious process which requires a lot of forethought (no soldering, so assembling a piece has extra challenges) and specialty tools like a kiln.

Hope that clarified the two processes and gave a little insight into enameling! It’s a process I love and am happy to answer any more specific questions you might have.

It is a mother of pearl inlay. I bought a "jewelry resin" off Amazon that is really a two part epoxy to fill the chipped inlay. It has dried and I polished/buffed it and turned out okay, except since the epoxy is clear it doesn't look as much like the inlay as if it were black or silver.

This is what I used:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B007PZW60U/

Here's a picture of my ring
http://www.reeds.com/images/products/11/11-2/d.11-2798C-G.jpg

My ring is a Triton tungsten carbide ring with a mother of pearl inlay. We contacted the jeweler she purchased it from when it chipped as it was still under warranty but Triton no longer makes them and there were no more in my size available (anywhere). They offered us a very generous replacement credit if we sent it back but it had too much sentimental value.

All my wheels are treated muslin (they're yellow as opposed to the untreated which are white), 50 or 60 layers thick and probably 6 rows of stitching, leather centers. The number of stitching rows will determine how hard the wheel is: a few rows will leave the layers floppy and loose; many rows will insure that one row of stitching will always be close to the edge of the buff as it wears down, keeping the layers tight. Bobbing compound for cutting, White Diamond for prepolish and Dialux Blue for silver and 18K palladium white, Dialux red for 18K yellow gold, and that Japanese blue compound for platinum (same type of buff; there must be a good reason for having a specially-treated fabric for platinum compounds but I haven't had any problem with my current setup). I work mostly in 22K and never put a high polish on it. To be honest, I use the 3" 6-ply 3M radial bristle brushes in 220, 400, 6 micron and 1 micron grits more than buffs nowadays. I have a buff charged with Tripoli for steel and one with Fabulustre for refacing hammers and polishing tools. Rio (and I think Eurotool) carry buffs sewn out of layers of Sunshine polishing cloth that I've been meaning to try for quick fingerprint removal and touch ups.

A flex-shaft is a great all-around tool, but you'd have to get one that has a drill press attachment for the hand tool for that specific function. The set I know of with that configuration is the Foredom flex shaft and drill press.

You can also get similar functionality out of a dremel drill press that works with most current dremel tools.

Jewelers Rouge is great for getting a mirror finish on a piece of metal, but depending on how satin your finish is currently, you might want to start with a lower grit and work up.
You’ll also want a separate cloth for different polishing compounds.
Clean with a mixture of soapy water and ammonia after you’re done with each compound.
(Buffing wheels would be a lot faster than using these by hand with a cloth.)
(You might want to re-sharpen the knife when you’re done.)
I bought this when I first started polishing

Pick up a copy of Bead Setting Diamonds With Pave Applications by Robert Wooding--it's available used on Amazon for 15 bucks--and first acquaint yourself with the process. I don't want to discourage you, but bead setting is a very demanding technique and requires a number of specialized tools and really presupposes some familiarity with engraving and the proper sharpening of gravers. The Wooding book is the best source of information on the subject and I highly recommend you read it through before purchasing any tools.

Thank you exactly what I needed.

Found a cheaper alternative on amazon as well:

Center Shelf Rest Clip & Rubber Cushion for Brackets to Hang Glass, Wood Or Metal Shelf, 10 Pack https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FKXKBKD/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_ekW-BbVNK5RBA

Try Simichrome. I found that it works great on flat areas on silver. Use a soft cloth and the compound.

Simichrome 390050 All Metal Polish Tube - 1.76 oz. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002YUQ4E/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_S2d8CbHMHRMM5

meat shears! it sounds weird, but they're good for snipping small gauge wire without getting those sheared ends.

The most advanced "valuation in personal property, in the gems and jewelry field" education that you can receive worldwide is through the American Society of Appraisers (You have an ASA up your way; Adrian Smith out of Scotland), www.appraisers.org. I can't remember whether or not they still have correspondence courses. The National Association of Jewelry Appraisers does have a correspondence course.

As far as education in antique and period jewelry- that's a tough one and you'll have to travel for that. The ASA offers some. You can also go to Jewelry Camp in NY, NY, offered every summer (http://www.jewelrycamp.org/).

Gemology basics can be learned with reading. Gem-A is GB's gemological course- which is top notch. If you're looking for reading, start with Richard Litticoat's book on gemology (Call the GIA bookstore for this) and Richards Wise's book (https://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Gem-Trade-Connoisseurs-Gemstones/dp/0972822321/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1500599511&sr=8-1&keywords=richard+wise+gems)

Also- join the forum on www.gemologyonline.com

I like my orca torch very much... I upgraded from using a basic propane torch attachment (https://www.amazon.com/BernzOmatic-Basic-UL2317-Pencil-Propane/dp/B00008ZA0C/) on a regular small green propane tank.

Something like [this] (http://www.amazon.com/Ring-Snuggies-Original-Adjusters-Assorted/dp/B0014DGXU8) might work (though I've never tried them myself). It's a clear rubber tube that attaches to the underside of the band to add some thickness in one area. For really cheap rings I've also wrapped thread around the band in one spot and glued it down, though that's not really a professional solution.

you want the black flux

Go forward with brass to make your life easier. If you're still not getting solder to flow then it's the torch. A common favorite is the mini-torch, but you'll need the tank setup.

Heat the area evenly then go in for the flow by focusing a little more heat onto the soldered joints. Be mindful not to put too much on the wire prongs otherwise they'll melt before the solder does.

Maybe pendant wasn't the right word. It's just a container that holds the ashes and has a hole in it; I can easily switch out the necklace.

Which I've done, twice, with this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017J1TE72/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You can see the clasp in the images there. I just don't want to replace it with another clasp that is going to break.

https://www.amazon.com/PROSTEEL-Sterling-Italian-Necklace-Layering/dp/B07JFCNFHY. Plenty of other options on amazon. Macy's is selling something basically identical for $1000.