How I turned something old into something new (and saved my client a ton of money in the process)

Platinum and Diamond Studs

Over the years, many of us start to build an amazing collection of jewelry. Our parents gift us things for important birthdays and events, a love buys us a special gift that was coveted until the relationship crumbled, we splurged on something expensive and special that we swore we would wear all the time but to no avail, it’s not really our style anymore. It’s disappointing because there is emotion, sentiment and a sense of attachment to these pieces, even if we don’t wear them anymore. But what’s a gal to do?

What if I were to tell you that you can wear these pieces? I have a little story about how I turned something old into something new again and saved my client a ton of money in the process. You can do this too. Let me explain.

Recently, I was speaking with a client who was having me design a pair of chandelier earrings for her. She was venting about how she was tired of her old jewelry, many of the pieces quite expensive or missing a parts. She also had a lot of old gold jewelry that she really never wore anymore and wanted to do something with it. I encouraged her to gather the things she not longer wanted or that needed repair so I could take a look.

She had some really great pieces in there, but also lots of out of date expensive jewelry that was just sitting there never to be worn. Quite a shame, right? We spoke a little about what she wanted which was actually a little vague since she just wanted something new. One of the main comments was that she is a mature, fun loving woman and loves “bling” but felt that her diamond studs just seemed too small to wear in her more mature years. Let me tell you, the diamond studs were not small at a little over 1.5 carats per ear, but she wanted something that made more of a statement.

She handed me the box of old jewelry that I spoke about earlier and included in the “box” of jewels was a pair of broken platinum and diamond swirl earrings, a bunch of gold tidbits and settings that were missing stones, and a few other random pieces of jewelry parts.

We sat down and came up with some ideas and she gave me a little direction, but really she is one of those dream clients who just likes everything I do, so she just gave me creative license to take what was given to me and create something amazing for her.

I divided the jewelry in the box up into 3 categories: trade in for cash (the commodities markets are high so its a good time to trade gold in), repair and redesign. I turned half of the box into cash for her new project, I repaired a piece that she did love and I took the old pieces that had good parts and started working on a redesign.

I am still working on a few pieces, but the end result of the first project is this amazing pair of platinum and diamond studs that were created with pieces that were already owned by her. This saved her a ton of money because I was able to use the income from the sale of her old gold towards the project and most of the materials were things that she already owned. It’s a no brainer. She received them last week and was so ecstatic and is very excited that her diamond studs are now wearable and more “blingy” than before.

These eco-platinum and diamond studs feature two approximately 1.55 carat center stones and are embellished with approximately 1 carat of accent stones. The edges of the scalloped floral motif are finished with pave and mill-grain details. Although not pictured, the back is created out of an open framework floral gallery. Best of all, the piece was designed from components that were just sitting in her jewelry box.

I love doing this work and if you have some old fine jewelry just sitting around, let’s talk about how I can make it cool, stunning and wearable again. Take a look at some of the other pieces that I have designed right here and remember Mother’s Day is right around the corner. Maybe the perfect gift is just something that you already own that needs a little spicing up?

I love to hear what you think! Tell me and write in the comments below.

Remember, Mother’s day is right around the corner. I can help you procrastinators create something amazing for your favorite mom. Let’s get the ball rolling-contact me.