3 Ideas for Unworn Heirlooms in Your Jewelry Box
Whether it’s your grandmothers engagement ring or a single earring from your mother’s collection, jewelry is meant to be worn but styles come and go tastes don’t always align and pieces can get damaged or lost. What is one supposed to do with jewelry that has accumulated in their collection but isn’t actually worn?
These rings are in for a transformation. The diamonds were removed, gold recycled and a new ring was created. See the end result below!
The first option is the easiest- keep on keeping on. Some pieces are so sentimental to people and they cannot bring themselves to alter a treasured heirloom- even if they don’t like the way it looks. As a jeweler I see both sides of this, it’s emotional to change a ring grandpa gave grandma and she wore as a sign of their love for 60 years but also it’s sad for that ring to sit in a box unworn and no longer enjoyed. I can’t speak for your grandparents but my grandmother wouldn’t be pleased if her ring was collecting dust.
If you aren’t a jewelry wear-er you might consider selling the pieces. Some jewelers will buy unwanted jewelry at a scrap price, I do this for clients. The return isn’t great unless you have a few substantial pieces of gold jewelry but it could be a few extra bucks to put towards something you enjoy more than dad’s gold cufflinks.
The third option is hand those babies over to a jeweler and have them make you entirely new pieces in your style. Shocker this is my favorite option- I love taking these tangible, precious memories and reimagining them with you. Depending on what you want I pull any stones from the jewelry and use them in the new piece. The value of the scrap metal is deducted from your cost.
The finished Re-Design:
