Resetting Fine Jewelry

Where I get my jewelry from is one of my most-asked questions ever. I'm pretty sure my jewelry style can be summed up as 'simple, dainty, classic'. I'm not a costume jewelry person (but there is a time and a place/outfit for it) and I always prefer 'real' jewelry over anything else. I also always prefer something subtle that doesn't draw attention but just adds to whatever I am wearing.

I'm lucky enough that my grandfather worked in the fine jewelry industry and therefore, my Grammie and Grandpa have always given me the most beautiful pieces of jewelry.

I've grown up knowing a lot about fine jewelry. My dad worked for my grandpa for a while so he's passed down the knowledge to me and my sister. Growing up, my sister and I used to color on GIA notepads that had diamond diagrams and showed the grading scales for color/cut/clarity/carat weight.

I've discussed this before, but the rose ring you see above was given to me for a birthday and I absolutely loved it. However, as I got older, I was not wearing it because I thought it could be confused as an engagement ring. So, I had it reset into the necklace that I have worn every single day since. I never ever take it off and probably never will. It's very special to me. My sister also has this same necklace from our grandparents.

After I shared this transformation, I got questions about resetting jewelry almost daily so today I'm sharing another piece I had reset. My grammie recently gifted both my sister and I this dainty beautiful diamond ring. It was quite literally an engagement-style ring, though. So I took it to the jeweler and had the center stone and side stones reset. The jeweler came up with this bracelet design so as to incorporate all of the diamonds from the setting and I absolutely love it.

I think when you have a special piece with meaning, but it might not work for you, you should get it reset! There is no sense in having beautiful pieces just sitting in your jewelry box collecting dust. If you find the right jeweler, they will be able to create anything from super simple to a true work of art!

Also, once you have the stones reset, you can keep the setting and have something different set into it. For example, I am thinking that a pearl or sapphire would look beautiful in the rose ring setting!

I'm emotionally attached to the pieces since they have been gifts from my grandparents, but if you are not attached, you can sell the gold to the jeweler (depending on the jewelry) and that will take down the cost of the new piece!

You can also consider using extra diamonds from settings and incorporating them into your engagement ring or wedding band. You can even have settings melted down and reused for a new setting. It doesn't always work out perfectly, but if it does, I think that makes it even more special.

When you are having items reset, it's important to have a good jeweler that is well-skilled and extremely knowledgeable. Not only that, but you'll want someone creative. Some of those older settings can be so odd/out of fashion now and it's hard to look at a piece yourself and imagine it as a more modern, classic piece! Pinterest is also a great place to look as well as just googling the type of item you want. For example, if you have an old emerald piece, you can just look up 'emerald ___' the blank being the type of jewelry you want (ie. bracelet, earrings, etc.). And then you can take your inspiration photos to the jeweler and they can recreate it exactly or modify it!

Besides having items reset, did you know that if you find a good jeweler, they can create custom pieces for you? For example, I saw a sapphire and diamond ring that was out of my price range, but also too chunky/big for my taste. So you show the jeweler the design and have it recreated to fit your taste and budget. That means either sizing the carat weights down or adjusting the number of stones in the setting.

Have you ever reset your jewelry? If so, what did you have created?! I love getting jewelry ideas from others! If you don't have anything to reset but are looking for simple fine jewelry, I'll be sharing some pieces from AUrate with you soon!