Remodelling Heirloom Jewellery

Almost everyone has one: a ring or a brooch inherited from a grandmother, valuable in every sense except that nobody wears it. Remodelling takes the stones that carry the meaning and puts them into something that suits the person who has them now.

Starting with an honest assessment

Not every piece should be remade. Some are worth more intact — genuinely fine period work, signed pieces, anything of real antique value. We say so when that is the case. Most inherited jewellery, though, is of its time rather than of lasting design significance, and its value to you lies in the stones.

What carries over

Stones are unset, cleaned and examined. Older stones were often cut to different proportions than modern ones, which gives them a softer, warmer character worth designing around rather than correcting. Old gold is usually recovered toward the cost of the new piece rather than reused directly, since alloys and working properties vary.

Designing from several pieces

A common commission combines stones from two or three inherited pieces into one, or divides them between siblings so each has something wearable. Both are straightforward, and both tend to matter a great deal to the families involved.

• Photograph the original before anything is unset.
• Expect some older stones to show wear at the edges — this is normal.
• Ask about keeping an original element, such as an engraved band.
• Have the finished piece valued for insurance afterwards.

Bring the pieces in and we will look at them with you. There is no cost to finding out what is possible, and no pressure to proceed.