Reusing Jewellery

Reusing Jewellery

Have you been meaning to do something with that old ring? Reusing jewellery is the most environmentally friendly way to make jewellery. Some new material may be required but for the most part, nothing will be removed from the earth. It is a beautiful and cost effective way to preserve the sentimental value of an heirloom.

Here are some useful pointers about reusing jewellery:

Recycling Precious Metals

Some metals are better for re-purposing into new jewellery than others. Reused white gold is very brittle and prone to cracking. Our first recommendation to clients would be to recycle their white gold in exchange for a credit towards your purchase. We send your item to a foundry where it is refined back into its base metals, re-alloyed and cycled back into the market. This is a very good way to obtain credit for jewellery you otherwise have no use for.

Reusing Precious Metals

If you absolutely must have your white gold reused, then it will come with added costs and some risks. First of all, we will need to add new metal to your old metal to make it manageable for reworking. Secondly, it will require an “organic” design to disguise potential blemishes. The only way to find out if it will work is to try it. The worst case scenario is to melt it and do it again! What you will need to cover are our design and labour costs.

You may not find it cost effective to reuse your old silver items. The labour involved with redesigning silver jewellery is usually much higher than the cost of the metal itself. The better alloys for re-purposing into new jewellery items are platinum and palladium, with yellow or rose gold being the best.

We cannot change the colour of your gold. If you want to go from a yellow gold to a white gold ring, the best option would be to recycle your yellow gold ring for a credit towards a white gold ring.

Sometimes we have to add new material to your old item in order to create a new piece for you. This is true even when you require an old ring redesigned into a new one of the same size. During the casting process, we feed the molten metal into a cast through a channel called a sprue.  We require sufficient metal to form this sprue “handle”. At the end of the process, we cut off the sprue and can either give it to you or recycle it for a credit.

Reusing Gemstones

We first need to examine your gemstones to determine if they can be reused. Sometimes blemishes are visible right away. However we often discover obscure chips or damage after removing the stone from its setting. We will request your permission to remove the stone to examine it. There is always a small risk of damage associated with doing this, especially for stones that are smaller than 2mm.

Enhancing with New Gemstones

If you require more stones to enhance the look of your new piece, we have a wide variety of genuine and synthetic ones to pick from. Matching old stones can be tricky because of the cut. Whatever the case, you will receive our expert opinion on how to best reuse your gemstone before we begin any work on it.

We source our gemstones from reputable, family owned businesses that remain committed to ethical sourcing practices. In addition we offer Canadian diamonds and many lab created stones such as moissanite and Chatham created coloured gemstones.

Recycling or reusing jewellery can breath new life into an old piece of jewellery. And our team of designers will ensure you love it and use it for a lifetime.