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.

Spring Cleaning

Un-wearable old stuff courtesy of Pack Rat

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.

Everyone has a box of jewelry lying around that’s either broken or missing a part, has fallen out of favor, or was never quite right in the first place. Do you a. toss it, b. melt it (if it’s precious), or c. recycle it? If you picked “c”, then grab that pile o’crap and contact me for a no strings attached consultation. Meanwhile, here’s a case study on recycling a problematic piece of jewelry into something the client could actually wear. Check back in the future, for examples of re-styling different types of jewelry.

Pictured above are some lovable, colorful, hand painted wooden beads purchased on a trip to India. Problem: beads are loosely strung on unappealing white thread with no clasp or way to shorten length.

Solution: ream bead holes, re-string beads on heavier black waxed cotton cord and add a new sterling silver Bali bead slide to adjust necklace to desired length. Cost: $25 for labor + materials.

Leave me a comment about your unworn jewelry of any material or send me a picture, via Blogger, 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.