Re-working old treasures

One of the jewellery design services I love to do is re-work vintage jewellery and family heirlooms into new pieces to be worn and cherished. It is not unusual for us to have a treasured piece of jewellery that has been in the family for a long time or belonged to someone we loved who is no longer with us but we don’t wear it as it is maybe the wrong size or not our style. A lot of people are now having these loved pieces re-worked into jewellery they can wear every day.

During Dorset Art Week I met a lovely lady that wanted to remodel her engagement and wedding rings given to her by her late husband into a new ring for her daughters 21^st birthday. The rings were extremely sentimental but my client wanted a new and more modern ring to be a future family heirloom for her daughter. The engagement ring was a stunning ruby and diamond ring and beautifully made. My client had a very clear vision on what she wanted and we designed a new ring. It was hard to cut open the engagement ring as it was so stunning and I knew how important it was so cutting it open was a hard act to do. The gold was melted down to make the new bands and I made the settings for the stones out of some new gold I added.