Recycled jewelry

I admit this is a strange way to photograph jewelry, but my husband mistakenly thought I wanted to sell this pendant on ebay.

This is the recycled version of a necklace that my parents gave me when I graduated from college back in the 1980s. The old version was very “modern,” and apropos of the era, it was asymmetrical. There was a lot more gold, sort of twisting and winding its way around the stones and taking center stage.

I wish I had thought to take a photo of it before I recently took it to a jeweler to have it remade. It had been sitting in a box in the top drawer of my dresser for over twenty years, and I knew I would never wear it again but didn’t really have the heart to get rid of it.

Luckily I had the idea to have it remade when I realized that I might actually wear it if the design was more classic and less trendy. So I got a recommendation from a friend, and took it to a jeweler. The small diamond was from my grandmother’s wedding ring, and I was going to have it set above the amethyst, but the jeweler suggested leaving it off to the side and just removing most of the gold accents. I liked the idea and this is how it came out. I love it!

And the best part is that not only do I have a lovely “new” piece of jewelry to wear, it cost me nothing because the price for the redesign was paid for by the extra gold that was removed.

So if you’re craving some luxury but can’t afford anything new, I suggest you raid your jewelry drawer for something that can be refashioned.

Have you ever remade/recycled fine jewelry? Please leave your stories in the Comments section.