Have you ever wondered if you could take an inherited piece of jewelry and make new rings out of it?
I inherited jewelry from my grandma, I want to use it to make something new, but also keep the sentimental value. Is this possible?”
Answer: Yes, you can! We understand the importance of keeping the sentimental aspect of inherited jewelry. This means that new jewelry can be created using the existing gold, diamonds, or gemstones. (Have your own question? Ask us! )
Before
The original looks like the ring itself was the product of a redesign. The reason I think this is because there were many varying stones sizes and different cuts as well.
The ring design also features a lot of gold! It’s almost as if all of the jewelry of the original owner was combined into the one ring. This free-form style is interesting, but it looks pretty outdated.
In order to make the ring more modern, we had some fun coming up with ideas on how to redesign and repurpose this old jewelry.
Pulling The Stones
If you want to repurpose jewelry, the easiest thing to do is to use the existing stones. If your jewelry has diamonds or gemstones, they can usually be safely extracted from the old ring to be put to use in the new design.
Many people think they need to sell their old jewelry and use the money they get from the diamonds to buy a new piece of jewelry. This is actually the wrong way to go about it!
Selling used jewelry is incredibly hard to do unless you are willing to settle for pennies on the dollar. The best option would be to take the existing stones out of your old jewelry and put them into new jewelry. You can reuse them! This is not only the more economical choice, but it also maintains the sentimental aspect of the stones.
The New Ring Design
The fun part about redesigning an old piece of jewelry is coming up with the idea. In this case, the granddaughters wanted to take their grandmas old ring and make three separate rings out of it!
The great thing about CAD renderings is you are able to get a vision of what the jewelry project will look like before it is cast in metal. To learn more or start the CAD process, visit our custom jewelry page.
The new ring design features a thin 1.5 millimeter band with a 3 stone bezel setting. Since there were so many stones to choose from in the original ring, we used slightly larger stones for the center and smaller stones on the sides as accents. The original diamonds shine to create beautiful new rings!
From CAD To Reality
The process goes from CAD to metal by printing a 3D model of the rings in wax. These models are then attached to a sprue, invested, and cast in gold using the lost wax casting process.
After the rings are cast they are cleaned up and prepped for stone setting. Once the stones are set in place the rings are polished to bring out their final beautiful form.
Final Results
The final result of the ring designing project was a success! 3 beautiful rings were created using inherited jewelry. A modern and minimalist look was achieved and the sentimental aspect remains!
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: “How much does it cost to redesign a piece of jewelry?“
A: The starting price for a jewelry redesign is $295. The final cost depends entirely on the scope of the project. The good news is you can save a lot of money by using the existing metal and stones towards the new ring. Contact us for a free quote!
Q: “Where should I go to sell my old jewelry?”
A: Many people assume they can get a decent amount of money from selling their old jewelry. The problem is most gold buyers will not pay the full amount of what the scrap value is worth. When redesigning your old jewelry, you can use 100% of the scrap value towards your new piece.
Q: “I want to repurpose my old jewelry but am unsure about what style I want. What are my options?”
A: The best thing you can do is start simple! Think about what type of jewelry you would like to wear. For example a ring, necklace, earrings, etc. Once you have a general idea of what you want, a goldsmith can help you with the new design!