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Re-birth Rings: making your old jewellery into a new custom piece

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UPDATE: See our page on renewing your old rings:!

You may have seen that I spoke on a panel discussion about gold last week. Not your usual conversation about this precious metal! The Shadow of Gold is a beautiful piece of storytelling about some very harrowing truths: the documentary highlights the perils of extracting this gorgeous metal from the earth. I want to thank director Robert Lang for bringing us this important film, and for graciously joining the screening and panel discussion in Halifax.

powerful film, followed by a great discussion

I will talk more about my gold sources in another blog post. For now, I thought I’d better follow up with a bit more information about re-using YOUR gold, since I have been getting a lot of questions about that.  I thought I’d explain how that whole thing works.

This is half-way into the process …
Finished!
The client was pretty excited when she came to pick up the ring. She later dropped me a note saying “Dorothée,
I am thrilled with my ring!
Thank you so much. ” Made my day

Many people have gold jewellery kicking around which, for one reason or another, they no longer wear. These might be concerns of aesthetics, size, or they may be deep emotional reasons. Fire purifies and renews!
One way or the other: gold can most definitely be recycled, and made into something brand new. Here is how that works:

Taking apart one ring, and starting to make a new one with the gem

I’ll say right off the bat that it is a lot more complicated than you would think. I cannot simply melt the gold into a new ring; this would compromise the strength of the gold itself, as the precious metal could become brittle from being melted repeatedly. In order to do this correctly, your old gold will need to be refined first to 24k purity, then re-alloyed (mixed with other metals to make it 18k), and then used to cast a custom piece, or made into the 18k gold wire I use to forge you a new gold Onefooter ring from.

The result of the above image: a rebuild for a 20th anniversary

The way this works in real time is that I credit the trade-in value of stamped and hallmarked gold, and subtract that value from the price of your custom piece. Depending on the quality of the stones in your original piece(s), I may be able to use some, or all of them, in the creation of a new piece.

This simple solitaire and wedding band set are about to get a make-over

So come see me in my Halifax studio (make an appointment here), or call me with your questions: 902.422.9460. If you don’t live here, we can work remotely. I can safely ship your materials to my studio, not to worry. 

Here are some examples of rebirth rings I have made for my clients:

18k palladium white gold for the new version of this old engagement ring
This massive Amethyst was the client’s grandmother’s . It looked great in its rebirth form atop a 18k yellow gold Twofooter ring
A completely newly imagined version of the ring that originally held these stones. This one is 18k palladium white gold – no rhodium plating needed!
This full carat stone got a new home in a 18k yellow gold Onefooter ring
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2 Comments

  1. Beautiful, Gorgeous Creations Dorothée! I especially love the 18K white gold Palladium ring with the three diamonds………Something to think about for the future.

  2. I’ve been getting a lot of inquiries following this post – don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions about repurposing YOUR jewellery!

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Custom 18K Yellow Gold Ring with Diamond and Sapphire by Dorothée Rosen
People tell me they make it their Sunday morning ritual to read my letters. It's a personal look into the life of an artist, with intimate stories, care tips, and of course some exclusive jewellery previews as well.