Do you have a little stash of Granny's old gold jewellery tucked away in a drawer? If it's anything like the jewellery I get to see at my bench on a regular basis, it will either be a bit worn, it doesn't fit you, it isn't your style or it is simply in need of a bit of love and attention.

Working in collaboration with my customers, I feel that I can work my magic with these hidden gems. I believe that jewellery should be worn and not hidden away, so this blog post is an insight in to that very process.

I wanted to share a commission that I worked on, not so long ago. This customer had that 'said stash' and I wanted to show my readers that you really can re-invent your heirlooms without losing their sentimental value.

With this particular stash, Granny had passed down a lovely yellow gold ruby ring, along with lots of other pieces of gold jewellery.

It was clear to me from the outset that the rubies wouldn't survive being re-set, so I knew I needed to work around this issue. The band on the ruby ring was in need of some attention. To re-invent the ruby ring, we used the head of the ring and added a new yellow gold band wider then the old traditional one and made using the other gold that we had refined (melted down and made in to workable bullion).

The head of the ruby and diamond ring with the re-refined gold

With the rest of the gold we melted it down, took all the alloys out getting it back to raw gold and re-alloyed it to make rose gold. With these 'new' materials we made two contoured rings that sat perfectly with the new improved ruby ring.

New and improved Ruby ring accompanied by two rose gold contoured bands.

Granny's gold became very wearable and practical again and as a gorgeous finishing touch, the customer decided to have each band engraved, with the names of her loved ones on them. I'm happy to say that my customer was delighted!

The finished piece, recycled, re-used and re-freshed gold Ruby and diamond rings.

The small print - a few things to know before going ahead:

A common misconception about using your own gold and diamonds to make something new, is that it is guaranteed to be more cost efficient than buying something new. Depending on the design it may well be, but you should always be aware that this may not necessarily be the case and there are often risks involved.

Some of the processes used to transform old jewellery into new can be complicated, time consuming and costly. Diamonds can break and using old gold some in different qualities, so unfortunately it's not usually as simple as putting everything into one big pot to make something new. Ensure that you ask all the questions that are on your mind before work begins so that you feel confident with the jewellery you are trusting your precious jewellery with.

Our tips:

be open, flexible and honest with the jeweller you are working with
make a realistic budget for you (and them) to undertake the work
be aware that most jewellers will take a deposit before undertaking bespoke commission work
believe in the fact you're creating a new heirloom to pass down

I'm confident that I can transform your heirlooms and I'd be happy to hear from you if you have stash, a commission idea or just simply want to see what's possible, please do get in touch with me: HERE.

Over the last couple of years I have had an increasing amount of customers come to me with a stash of old jewellery, wanting to up- cycle it in to something fab and new (and something that fits!)

Depending on the stash, it can be relatively easy to create something modern, wearable and new from Granny's much loved and well worn treasure.

This customer came to me with a necklace she had inherited and an idea of what she wanted it to be made into - a simple double hoop necklace.

The original necklace was a heavy and bulky gold pendant on a thick chain with a couple of really good quality diamonds and a generous weight of gold......perfect.

So I agreed a design with the customer and then set about turning the gold into workable bullion.

In this case I sent the gold off to my refiner who magically turned it into a perfect piece of gold wire and some gold tube.

First I worked the gold wire in to the hoops and the tube in to two settings for the beautiful diamonds, joined the two interlinking hoops, then added a delicate but sturdy gold chain.

Once the two settings were secured in to the hoops I attached the chain and polished the pendant, the last step is to set the diamonds. These diamonds were a high quality 'Brilliant' cut and had little wear so were perfect for re-setting.

Et Voila! A bespoke necklace is born from Granny's old gold and diamonds! Hopefully it is also a bit more pass-on-able when the kids grow up (well here's hoping anyways or I wouldn't have done my job very well!)

So, stash it till it comes back in to fashion.....start again make something new from it and show it off.....or scrap it and take a holiday! I know what I would do!

If you have your own stash or an idea for a bespoke piece, please do get in touch, this is what I love to do. Email me here.