…This is a question I’m often asked
It alway’s goes something along the lines of”Hi Debra I have an old ring of my Grandmothers-can you use the gold in it and the stones and set them into a new wedding ring for me?’
O.K. it may not be a wedding ring or even a ring for that matter-but it’s a question customers are often curious about.
Once upon a time I would have said “Yes’ to reusing the gems,diamonds-and “no” to the gold.Back then I did’nt have the knowledge or equipment to use your old gold-but now I can -however there are a few way’s and things to consider firstly before we go ahead.
I’ll try to explain it..
Yes,I can melt down your old gold and use that EXACT gold in a new piece.This is great especially if the original jewellery holds sentimental value.
*Keep in mind often there is’nt actually enough gold weight in old or antique jewellery,I will weigh your pieces to give me some idea,often we may need to add extra gold to achieve the complete piece.(my work is rather heavy compared to other jewellery)
When this happens I subtract the weight of your old jewellery off the weight of the new gold I’ve just purchased-this should save you a little.
Of course you still have to pay for all the work involved-so if your after a bargain-sorry..it ain’t like that!
Yellow gold is by far the easiest gold to reuse-rose can be also reused -but sometimes white gold has too many other things mixed *(such as platinum and silver)with it and then it has to be refined before using.
We can’t MIX gold carats or colours together unfortunately.
I’ll make all this perfectly clear before we start -with free quotes,estimates etc BEFORE we go gung ho into it!
So many examples are on my site -mainly rings these show how I’ve reset clients gems or diamonds.
Chandra,Elaine,are 2 such examples…
Some stones such as emeralds are just too soft to set into styles such as the EROSION rings-but we can claw set or bezel set.
The other day a customer ordered a BLACK DAHLIA ring,she bought in a few old gold chains she never wore,some rings,a pendant..In fact a right old collection of old golds in various carats.After much discussion we figured out she did not ACTUALly like gold and prefered silver…In that instance I bought the gold off her as scrap ,made her a $550.00 Black Dahlia ring-set with 3 small diamonds taken from one of the old rings.
That ring only cost her $50.00-due to her selling off her old gold as scrap.
So come talk to me sometime about the option -lets work together to create something AMAZING!!!!
