Good As New

Re•cy•cle (rē-sī'kəl) To process used or abandoned materials for use in creating new products; synonyms: hand-me-down, nearly new, not new, passed down, pre-owned, worn.

Here’s another installment of what to do with your old jewelry that sits in that fancy box in your drawer and maybe makes you feel just a bit guilty you rushed into buying it in the first place. Above is a “before” picture of a pair of very fine pair handmade Tahitian pearl and black diamond earrings the client found un-wearable. They were too long for her face and the screw tops just too plain looking.

We discussed the problem, and the client agreed to let me peg set two of the black diamond beads into the screw tops and re-wire the drops one bead shorter, neatly solving both problems. Cost: $66 for labor and new materials.

Leave me a comment about your problematic piece or send me a picture, via Blogger, of your unworn jewels of any material, with a brief description of the problem, and I’ll email you back a free consultation on how to re-style your piece and what it might cost.

A Golden Voice

Lori Cotler is an amazing vocalist and a dear friend. Her range runs from Jazz standards to South Indian Konakkol, her voice a percussive instrument of rhythmic precision. My favorite is her cover of Nature Boy, but give everything a listen. Lori's music is rare treat.


We did an impromtu photo shoot of Lori, one afternoon, and she chose some simple jewelry to wear, from the 18k gold Link Collection. Her favorite item was a pair of delicate chandelier earrings with tiny oval links, pictured above. Lori tells me comfort is essential on stage, and these long , shiny gold earrings are incredibly lightweight and catch the light from a distance. You can see other styles in the gold gallery on CynthiaRybakoff.com, including these one-of-a-kind bluish grey Umba sapphire briolette drops.

Cynthia Rybakoff 18k gold cascading link earrings, $1,100, by request at CynthiaRybakoff.com.