12 Oct Make New Rings Out Of Old
Occasionally we get a request to have old rings of sentimental value, to be reused in the making of a new ring. Generally they are the engagement, eternity or wedding rings of a relative.
We have approached this in a number of ways over the years. So Starting with the metal.
THE MELT ?
“Can you please melt down my ring and make a new ring out of it?” We can but we’d rather not; here are a number of downfalls to this method. You don’t get as much gold back, you always lose a bit when you melt it down and roll it out so you may not end up with enough gold to make a new ring. So then you have to add more gold which might be a slightly different colour due to minute variance in the alloy of 18ct gold. Older yellow gold tended to have more. Its hard to tell exactly what the alloy of metals actually is and this can make for difficulties when the goldsmith is working with it. On small scale melt you can end up with minute impurities which can make the metal brittle in places.
THE FORGE
A combination of heat and hammer ( and some more complicated tools of course). We can reshape texture finish size etc revamping an old ring into an unrecognisable new ring. The downfalls, there is only so far you can push the 18ct gold so the design is limited by the original piece.
CUSTOM FITTED WEDDING BAND
THE COMBINATION
Add some new to the old! Forging your old ring into new shape and adding a different colour metal or setting new stones in it to make it really stand out This is possibly the most straight forward and effective way to incorporate an old ring with a new. The downfalls are the same as with the forge, in that you are limited by the amount of metal involved.
TWO TONE GOLD WEDDING BAND
THE INLAY
A really beautiful thing can be done taking out the old stamps/hallmarks from the original ring and inlay them on the inside of the band of the new ring. You get the best of both worlds with this, you get to incorporate the old ring into the new without any of the limitations of recycling it. We can then take the rest of the ring and melt it down and roll it into a tag or flat pendant which you could have engraved or simply leave as it is. This can be ideal for older rings which have been worn down over the years.
PRINCESS CUT DIAMOND WEDDING BAND
THE RESETTING
A lot depends on the quality of the diamond or other gemstone, the older cuts just can’t compete with the brilliance and fire of the modern round brilliant. However some people like the older cuts for the style as opposed to the quality of the diamond. This does mean reusing these diamonds is best done by making an imitation antique style ring, something we have done many times using modern and old cut Diamonds and Gemstones.
GREEN EMERALD WITH DIAMOND HALO
THE REBUILD
Occasionally someones approaches us with an engagement ring the were never happy with. This is perhaps the easiest upgrade as most of the value of the ring is in the diamond. Our Antwerp goldsmith will take the diamond and craft an entirely new ring for you from our design sheets.
1ct ROUND BRILLIANT SOLITAIRE ENGAGEMENT RING
THE VERDICT
To sum up there is a lot you can do with old rings but generally speaking its not going to save you a huge amount of money, it is done more for the sentimental attachment to the old ring and in wanting to wear at least a part of it.