Whether you inherited a family heirloom or just like the vintage look, restoring and remodeling antique jewelry is a great way to make any piece of jewelry last. Part of the fun of antique jewelry is that each piece has its own character. No two pieces are exactly the same. The problem is, with years of love and wear, jewelry can begin to wear down and lose some of its strength and luster. The good news is there are several ways that you can restore or recreate these unique treasures!
One way to repurpose beautiful vintage jewelry is to create your own design and reset the gems. Antique jewelry usually sports beautiful quality stones but is sometimes in an outdated setting. In cases like these, you can salvage those stones and design your own setting that is more modern to match your style. This allows you to maintain the sentimentality and character of an older piece of jewelry while also staying true to contemporary fashion.
Another way to bring life back to an antique piece of jewelry is to restore it. In many cases, older pieces of jewelry become worn down over time and are unable to be worn regularly. By doing some maintenance to strengthen the metal and secure the stones you can make an old dainty piece of jewelry just like new!
Restoring antique jewelry maintains the unique original setting but refortifies it to bring out the luster and beauty that it originally had.
Invaluable.com gives several key questions to ask yourself to determine what kind of restoration or maintenance you want to be done to your antique jewelry.
- Does the original piece suit you or the intended recipient?
If the answer is yes then you might just need to do some maintenance to secure and fortify the piece. If the original piece doesn’t work for your needs then it might be a good idea to repurpose it and make it into something you’ll love!
- How much are you willing to spend?
If you aren’t looking to spend a lot then some basic maintenance might be all you need. If you’re prepared to throw some money into it then you might want to customize the piece to your liking.
- Are you looking to make some money or is this a sentimental piece for you?
Gemstones are usually very durable but antique jewelry is often scratched or even cracked which could mean you need to have it recut. Re-cutting might lower the price due to loss of weight.
When you’ve decided what kind of services you need for your vintage jewelry, come see us at Isbell Jewelers! We love to take your antique jewelry and make it exactly what you’ve always wanted, whether that means restoring a piece to its original glory or repurposing it to make it something new!
One of our clients brought us her grandmother and her husband’s grandmother’s rings that she had inherited. We restored one with a little maintenance. We completely recreated the other that had deteriorated to the point it couldn’t be worn. She LOVED it! One of our favorite things is to bring old treasures back to life so they can be enjoyed for years to come. Come in and see us for all of your antique jewelry needs!
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