Christmas is the perfect opportunity to sift through your jewellery box for all of the biggest and brightest pieces to dazzle at your upcoming events. However, some of the very best designs may be woefully out of date or damaged, leaving these heirloom treasures forgotten at the back of your collection.
Precious pieces such as these should not exist only in the memories of those who observed their original splendour many years ago. They are little time capsules into the lives of those we have loved and lost, and if you’ve found one such piece, then you can bring out the magic trapped within its outdated design by working with a skilled jewellery remodelling team.
The possibilities offered by jewellery remodelling are endless, so here’s how you can transform your heirlooms into a timeless design for yourself, or a loved one, in time for Christmas.
Start With A Consultation
The first stage of any jewellery remodelling process is an in-person consultation with the specialist designers who will be undertaking your commission.
Remodelling jewellery requires an in-depth understanding of the story and significance of the original piece, and this initial meeting is a perfect opportunity for you to convey this to the design team. Whilst the piece’s monetary value may be evident from the first glance, its sentimental value is hidden deep within its setting, so go prepared to discuss its previous owners as well as any memories that you have of it being worn and loved on Christmases past.
Since Christmas is the season for giving, you should also keep the person for whom you are having the jewellery remodelled in mind throughout the consultation. Perhaps you’re gifting your grandmother’s brooch to your daughter, or a great-grandfather’s ring to your grandson? Take the time to consider their preferences, and remember that you are remodelling the piece to be worn again; not to be put straight back into storage.
Discuss Design Ideas
The purpose of jewellery remodelling is twofold; firstly, to preserve the significance of a beloved heirloom piece, and secondly, to transform it into a new design to be worn and loved again.
During the consultation, it is advisable to start thinking about the new design that you envision for the piece, and how much of the original this retains. Jewellery remodelling differs from repair in that it allows you to change almost anything you like about the piece whilst still retaining the raw materials, fixtures, and gemstones that made it so special, even if the setting itself needs to be extensively repaired or remade.
By going down the remodelling route, you are also no longer constrained by the form of the original piece. You can change a necklace into a bracelet, earrings into matching pendants, or brooch into a ring; anything you like, depending upon the amount of materials that are suitable to repurpose into the new design.
Finalise A Design
Don’t worry if you haven’t settled on a clear direction for the project before attending your consultation. The remodelling team should be able to advise you on the best way to make the most of the existing materials, and workshop ideas with you that preserve the significance of the original piece.
Following the consultation, the designers will compile these ideas together into several design sketches for you to choose from. Each one will include details of the elements that will be taken from the original, as well as the new items that will be incorporated into the design, to create a brand new heritage piece that will be kept in the family for years to come.
Once you have selected a unique design that ticks all your boxes, it’ll be time to either sign it off as it is, or to request as many edits as required until you are happy with it. The core aim of this endeavour is to transform an unfashionable heirloom into a wearable treasure, so don’t be afraid to fine tune the design as much as necessary to achieve this.
Receive Your Piece
Once you have approved the final design, the jewellers will get to work crafting the piece in their workshop.
Regardless of how much of the original you have decided to repurpose, the first step is always to disassemble the design and collect the raw materials required for the new one. Once the precious stones and intricate embellishments are out of their settings, they will be carefully assessed and set to one side, whilst the setting itself is checked to see if it is suitable to be reworked.
All of the elements are then cleaned and carefully incorporated into the remodelled piece. Stones will be reset, metals will be melted down and recast, clasps will be replaced, and all new fixtures will be reworked into an updated heirloom that is unique to your family.
Jewellery Remodelling Near Me
In their Staffordshire workshop, the remodelling experts at Allen Brown Jewellery are already hard at work repurposing precious pieces into new jewellery in time for Christmas, but don’t leave it much longer to reach out to them about your own remodelling project.
With a 6 week lead time, it’s advisable to take your pieces to the workshop in early November to receive your remodelled heirlooms in time for the festive season.