Many of us end up with precious metal jewellery in our lives that we don’t wear for many reasons, both practical and emotional. Whether it’s a loved engagement ring that has been damaged over the years, or a sentimental family heirloom that’s no longer in style, remodelling is a great way to turn a treasured piece into a piece you’re excited to wear again.
Here are 5 ideas to inspire your jewellery redesign.
1. Re-create an heirloom design
Heirloom jewellery that has become too worn and fragile to wear is often banished to a drawer, from fear of damaging it if you wear it. If you love the design, and want it to be part of the jewellery collection you wear, it’s possible to re-create it so that it’s strong and sturdy once more. The existing gemstones can be reworked into a new ring frame, to the same design as the original piece. Re-creating an heirloom in this way means the piece you love so much is strong enough to wear as part of your jewellery collection, instead of stashed away.
A loved original ring with worn out settings, before it was recreated.
The recreated ring is now strong and ready to enjoy wearing, without fear of damage.
2. Modernise your heirloom jewellery
Although fine jewellery trends aren’t as season-bound as clothing, jewellery designs do shift in styles over the years. Styles that were once very common decades ago may no longer be to your taste. Perhaps the setting style or band width is no longer what you like to wear, or your tastes have shifted to prefer more minimalistic or minimalist designs. This is very common for pieces we inherit as family heirlooms - the meaning of the piece may be hugely significant, but the style of generations past may simply be nothing like what we like to wear today.
Whatever the shift, it’s possible to reimagine the gemstones into a more modern jewellery design that better suits your current taste. The new piece keeps its sentimentality by including the original gemstones, except now you find joy in wearing them.
An heirloom emerald piece before it was remodelled.
The emerald ring remodelled into a more modern design that better suits the new owner.
3. Merge multiple jewellery pieces into one
For many, we end up with multiple pieces of jewellery in our unworn jewellery collection, with no specific attachment to any given one. Perhaps you’ve acquired a jewellery box of old treasures where the story of each piece individually isn’t significant. Or, you have smaller items that are made of precious metal, but your tastes have moved on as you’ve added others to your collection. A ring here. A pendant there. And it feels like a pile of gold and gems we don’t want to simply discard, but have absolutely no idea what to do with.
Remodelling these pieces into one single piece you love to wear, can transform these items into an everyday piece that becomes a beautiful part of your collection. It can be tricky to visualise a design that could possibly incorporate all the pieces you have, which can be the biggest barrier to making this happen. Though with a bit of inspiration from a jewellery designer, you might be surprised at what beautiful pieces can be made from old jewellery that become an irreplaceable part of your life.
A collection of jewellery that was no longer worn, before it was remodelled.
The remodelled piece, incorporating all the gemstones into one now loved piece.
4. Change the metal colour of your jewellery
Many of us have a strong preference for the metal colours we like to wear. Although it’s perfectly fine to wear different metal colours together, we often lean strongly toward yellow, white, or rose gold tones in the jewellery and accessories we choose to wear.
Sometimes our fine jewellery sits unworn because it’s not the colour we prefer - either because our tastes change over the years, or because we inherit pieces from loved ones who had a different preference. If you love the design of a fine jewellery piece, but hesitate to wear it purely because of the metal colour, remodelling it into your preferred metal will get you reaching for it as part of your everyday treasures.
An original white gold engagement ring, before remodelling.
The remodelled engagement ring, now with a rose gold band.
5. Create a replica of an original piece.
For some jewellery pieces in our collection, remodelling the original piece isn’t the right option. There are many times where creating a replica may far better suit your reasons for not wearing a piece in the first place.
Sometimes we have such a strong attachment to the history of the item in its original state, and want to keep it as it is. We not be wearing it because it’s damaged (or we’re scared of damaging it) but can’t bear the thought of remodelling it. If it’s a design you would otherwise love to wear, commissioning a replica allows you have a version of the piece and the story it holds that you can wear as part of your everyday life, while preserving the original.
Other times, a piece may be an heirloom that has been passed down in a family with multiple children, who all have a strong attachment to the piece, and would love to wear it. Gemstones can be sourced that match the original piece, and brought to life in a piece that matches the original design, so that they all have a version of their own to treasure in their lives.
An heirloom handed down to two sisters, who both love the ring and memories it holds.
A replica of the heirloom, incorporating coloured gems, and shaped the way the original would have looked when new.
That wraps up 5 ways to remodel jewellery, to inspire you. If it’s time to get those heirlooms out of the drawer, book an appointment to explore your options for making you excited to wear them.