Lots of clients ask for a video of their old jewellery being torched and I'm happy to oblige. It means something different for everyone but they all agree that it's satisfying. In this case, I melted an unwanted ring from a complicated relationship. You can see the video on my instagram here.
There doesn't always have to be meaning to the new pieces by the way. Sometimes I make sentimental pieces. Sometimes I literally make something because it's cool. Pick your own adventure 😎
Sapphire and diamond pendant
On today’s lesson of what to do with leftover stones from old jewellery you’ve had taken apart: make a stunning bezel cluster necklace and then find the perfect light to take a photo in!
Engraved Signet Ring and Lab-Sapphire Collab with Warren Smith
I work with some amazing people! This lab-created sapphire was cut by the talented Evan Gross and the ring was engraved by Warren Smith.
This ring was actually for Evan and I’m honoured that he picked me to make it! I used an old silver ring he had and turned it into a signet ring.
You can see what Evan has in stock in his Etsy shop here, and you can see more of Warren’s amazing engravings at his website here.
Lab diamonds versus mined diamonds
Imagine finding this under your Christmas tree! This lab-diamond beauty is a whopping 4.22 carats of magic.
So what’s the deal with lab diamonds versus mined diamonds? First, price. Lab diamonds are much less than mined diamonds. That being said, mined diamonds hold their value whereas lab diamonds don’t. Second, lab diamonds don’t carry all the potentially shady mining baggage. I mean, lab diamonds are a drain on the environment, but I guess so are mined diamonds as we rip up mother nature to find them.
People either LOVE lab diamonds or refuse them. There is no happy medium. I haven’t had a single customer debate which one they should get! What are your thoughts?
2 in 1 Diamond and Emerald Ring
Usually when I melt down old jewellery, it’s to make something totally new. But not this time! My client had a ring with a great design but poor construction. Although we talked about different designs, she kept coming back to her old ring. So I just remade it!
It’s a 2 in 1 ring that can be worn together or separate. We changed the setting of the stones in the new version to a) protect the emerald better, and b) showcase the diamonds better as they really weren’t twinkling at all in the old design.
Do you have a ring that you would want to remake?
Signet Ring Collab with Warren Smith
Look at this incredible engraving! Like, who cares who made the ring (me)…the engraving: just wow!
Not many people have this engraving skill. There are certain skill-sets in my industry that no longer flourish the way they use to. People are no longer trained the way they used to be and thanks to machines, there are certain things people don’t need to worry about anymore. Thanks to machines, we can repair things we couldn’t repair before. But also, because of machines, skills like engraving, aren’t very common anymore.
I made this ring using my customers old gold and I subcontracted the engraving to Warren Smith from Coast Handworks. You can see more of his incredible work at his website here.
A makeover for me!
Makeover Monday: this one's for me! 4.45carat emerald set in 18k yellow gold. Got the original ring for mother's day last year and finally made myself a new ring for mother's day this year.
My husband bought the ring for the stone. Neither one of us cared for the original design so I made a new one! I always liked the emerald and then Atlas was born in May (emerald birthstone), so it was meant to be! Although Atlas was almost born in April which is diamond birthstone... wouldn't that have been a funny story!
BEFORE
Engagement Ring Makeover
Has your style totally changed from when you first got your engagement ring? My customer still likes her original ring but wanted something that reflects who she is now. She prefers yellow gold over white and something with a low-profile that doesn't catch on things.
I kept the old ring as is for now since we'll eventually use the white gold and small diamonds for something else. Or maybe she'll want to put the diamond back into her original ring!
Updating engagement rings is common although a touchy subject! Have you updated your engagement ring? Do you want to? Do you feel bad about wanting to change it? Tell me your secrets!
BEFORE
Small but mighty makeover!
Do you have a piece of jewellery you don’t or can’t wear but you’re sad to melt it down?
My customer had her dad’s ring. She was really close to her dad and was on the fence about melting his ring but she couldn’t wear it because it was way too big and hard to size down because of the design. I suggested melting down the band but keeping the face of the ring and turning it into a pendant. That way she has the best of both worlds! She has the most important part of her dad’s old ring and she was able to make her and her daughter new rings using the leftover gold.
Not all makeovers are big. Some are small but mighty!
Makeover Monday: Wedding set update!
How do you feel about melting down wedding rings? Some people are appalled by the idea. Some people ARE HERE FOR IT!
I’m happy to fix up old rings and make them shine like new. I am also happy to melt down old wedding sets that no longer match your style or are broken. Even in a new form, the ring will still represent the memory of your love.
I recently melted down my customers old wedding set. It just wasn’t her anymore. She wanted something she actually wanted to wear and that was low-profile for easy every day use. We came up with a wider band style and set all the stones between tube-settings and flush-set into the band. If you head over to my Instagram (here), you can see what her wedding set looked like before I melted it!
What do you think? Would you melt down your old engagement ring or wedding band to make something new?
Commemorative Jewellery
I love designing jewellery that represents your special stories and moments ❤ I got to make this pendant for my lovely friend @michelemphotog for her ten year anniversary! Her husband and I worked together to create this yellow gold, white and grey diamond necklace.
There are ten diamonds total: the 3 white ones in the middle represent their family of 3! The original design inspiration had symmetrical rings but we decided on asymmetrical ones because not only does Michele love organic shapes, life isn't a straight line: our strength and growth comes from the asymmetrical ebb and flow of life experiences!
Looking for a meaningful commemorative piece of jewellery? I got you! Have your own design ideas? Let's work together to make it happen! I can provide the materials or melt down your old jewellery!
A colourful beauty for a lovely mixed media artist!
Kathleen Tennant is a mixed media artist based in Coquitlam, BC. She reached out to me awhile back about melting down all of her old jewellery to make one ring. It’s not often that 1) people have an assortment of stones that go wonderfully together and 2) they want to use them all together in one piece!
I loved the challenge of making this two-tone ring! The hardest part was soldering all the settings together because sometimes just when you think you have them in place, they start moving!
How about a Pearl jewellery makeover?
My friend Livian wanted to breath new life into her old pearl jewellery and since I love a good jewellery makeover, I couldn’t resist!
I swapped Livian's yellow gold for white and added some cubics and voila, something new and much more her style! And now to make something with a beautiful light purple amethyst she left me!
Need a mortgage broker? My friend Livian was voted one of the best Mortgage Brokers in the Tri-Cities! Get in touch with her at her website here.
PS- please excuse the sub par before photo on the right. I seem to be really good at deleting photos I need right before I delete them. So I used what I had on hand!
COMMISSION: LOGO PENDANT
This commission is a representation of work and life and was ordered from a friend to his partner.
From his Instagram: "The 5 lines represent us four and the life we share. #lucky8 triangles of constant change. 11 years of still flying with infinite laughter and love".
LOCKET COMMISSION
So when I changed careers over two years ago, one of the wonderful people that I used to work with commissioned me to make her a personalized locket. She figured it would take me awhile but I didn’t think it would take me two years! Sorry Debbie!
To be honest, I didn’t think about the locket much during my first year of my goldsmith apprenticeship. I had much to learn so making a locket wasn’t a priority. I took out her drawings every once and awhile and thought about how I was going to make the locket but then put the drawings away realizing I had no idea what I was doing.
She wanted the locket to have four pages, a leaf border on all the pages, and a tree without leaves on the front. I wasn’t able to add leaves to every page for structural/weight reasons but I ticked everything else off her list.
When I felt sort of ready to tackle the project, I sat down with my dad and started experimenting ways to make the locket. I tried making a locket by hand but it was bulky and didn’t work out very well. I also bought a tree which I melted. I wanted to make the whole thing from scratch but realized that lockets are usually machine-made and I would be better off buying a pre-made locket and modifying it.
So I bit the bullet and bought a locket. I modified the clasp and bail. I made the frame of leaves and tree by hand. I made a few different leaf borders until I made one that I was happy with (in other words, until I made one that looked like it had leaves and not blobs that could be leaves). I also made a bunch of trees. The first few were weird-looking so I finally just printed a photo of the one I had originally bought (and unintentionally melted) and copied it (I literally traced it out on the silver copying all the lines and grooves…I know, not very original, but the alternative was my weird trees).
What did I learn from this project? Sometimes you just have to cut your losses and buy something pre-made. Sometimes you have to stop looking at projects like they’re big and scary: if you don’t start them, you won’t finish them. Sometimes you have to make things over and over again in order to realize what you should have done from the get go: practise makes perfect or close to it. Sometimes you just have to fake it til you make it!