REMODELLING YOUR JEWELLERY
Whether you’re thinking about having an heirloom piece completely remodelled, have stones you’d like to use in a new design or old gold you’d like melted down; this blog post talks you through everything you need to know when you’re considering commissioning a remodel.
Compared to our normal bespoke process, remodelling requires a lot more fabrication and has many more variables to work with. Therefore, it’s important to have a full understanding of your options beforehand.
STONES
If you have stones that are sentimental or from another piece that you just love, we can work with you to incorporate them into a new design. The first step is to book a consultation to let us inspect them. Some stones are softer or may have damage if they are antique or well-worn which determines whether we can work with them. Katie will be able to advise you on their stability and condition and, all being well, discuss design/setting options with you.
A remodel using a sentimental white sapphire and commissioned by Amy for her wedding day
METALS
When it comes to metals, we can only remodel gold. Unfortunately not platinum or palladium.
If the piece(s) you would like remodelled don’t hold any sentimental value, you can choose to have your gold scrapped for scrap value and use it towards the cost of your final piece.
Alternatively, the existing piece(s) can be melted and reworked. If this is your preferred option, there are a few things to consider first:
A wedding band for Rachel using remodelled heirloom gold
Mixing metal colours
We can mix metals, i.e 9ct yellow gold and 18ct white gold, though this is a bit like mixing colours and the final result can be varied. If you are hoping to match an exact colour, then mixing metal colours might not be the best way to go.
Mixing metal carats
If you choose to mix different carats of the same metal, i.e 9ct and 18ct yellow gold, you will, in theory, get a middleman carat, like 14ct. This depends on quantities of the metals being mixed and can affect the hallmark. We can add a further higher carat, like 22ct, to the melt to get a higher carat, though this will add more cost.
You also need to consider all of the above when it comes to to hallmarking your remodelled pieces …
HALLMARKING
A hallmark is a set of component marks applied to precious metals. It means that the piece has been independently tested and guarantees that it conforms to all legal standards of purity (fineness) and also its provenance by telling us where it was hallmarked, what the piece is made from (metal and carat), and who sent it for hallmarking.
We take hallmarking as gospel, so if something says it’s 18ct, a quick test will confirm this.
However it’s important to remember that if your piece has had various work carried out (resizes/additions/repairs etc) this can affect the accuracy of the hallmark due to things like contamination during soldering.
Other factors than can affect the accuracy of a piece’s hallmark are its age (hallmarking processes are much more accurate now) or if it was hallmarked in a different country where regulations differ.
When sending a piece to the Assay Office for hallmarking, the method is so definitive that if a metal falls shy of a hallmark even by 0.01 of a carat, it has to be marked down to a lower carat. For example, if a piece is originally hallmarked as 18ct gold but is sent for testing and marked at 17.45ct, it would then have to go down to a 14ct gold.
As explained above, if the carat of the metal is important to you, there are ways of boosting the metal to make sure it hits the desired carat.
TIME & COST
There is a lot of extra labour involved in remodels, so it’s normal for the cost of our time doing the work will be more than the cost of the materials used. Of course, this does depend on the metals and stones used in your final design.
Because the process is so time intensive, we have set a minimum budget for remodels at £2,000. This covers all design work, consumables and stone/metal inspections and tests. After your consultation, Katie will fully lay out the expected cost of your remodel before any work is carried out. It is good to have an overall budget in mind beforehand as this makes the whole process more efficient for you and for us.
We advise a 6-8 week timeframe for remodelling work but this may change according to the individual work involved. Katie will advise you more specifically during your consultation.
WAIVER
For every remodel we will ask you to sign a waiver of written consent, which is a written statement confirming that all pieces to be used in the remodel have been given permission for use by the legal owner. We don’t want your granny upset that her wedding band has been melted down!
As always, we will be as transparent as possible with every commission, especially remodels, and keep you up to date on the process. It is of the utmost importance to us that we treat your treasured heirloom pieces with serious respect and care whilst they are with us.
Please take a look at our other blog posts on the bespoke process, budget and metals which will give you a further insight on commissioning a piece with us. If you have any questions, just use the contact form to get in touch.
Ready to get going with your remodel? Great news! Book a consultation here and we’ll get the ball rolling.
- TEAM KLJ
