Commissions And Re-modelling

Do you have an inherited piece of jewellery with sentimental value but in a style that just doesn’t suit you? Or do you have an idea of what you would like, but you can’t find it anywhere? We can help you.

We often give an old piece of jewellery a new lease of life, for example using the diamonds from a ring and placing them in a brand new setting or creating a pendant or earrings from existing jewellery stones.

We can work on commissioning an individual piece of jewellery from your ideas and designs. This item would then be made by hand or by using computer aided design. We can use a variety of metals and precious gemstones to create a piece of jewellery made to your specifications that will be truly unique. Having design ideas or pictures of what you envisage the piece will look like is an important part of the process. Our on-site working jeweller can then help to advise you on whether your ideas can be turned into a workable piece of jewellery.

The costs involved in remodelling and commissions vary depending on several factors including the jewellers time, the design process as well as the actual crafting of the piece. Whilst it is impossible to give an estimate for this process, as each piece is unique, as a guide, 18ct rings usually start from £1000.00 upwards with earrings and pendants starting from £650.00

When you enter into the process of bespoke design it is important to note that new gold is sometimes better to work with and provides a stronger final piece than your existing gold remelted especially if its white gold or rose gold.  Also, some gemstones, for example emerald (brittle) and opal (doesn’t like heat), are more risky to work with and there is always a small possibility they might break during the remodelling.

The process of commissions and re-modelling is undertaken by a highly skilled goldsmith with the end product being bespoke and personally made for you. It is important to remember that remaking or commissioning jewellery is not always a cheaper option compared to buying something new.

Please feel free call into the shop and we will be happy to discuss  any of your ideas with you.

The Commissions Process – From Idea to Finished Piece

The following example shows how the process works to transform an old piece of jewellery into something new. It is exactly the same procedure for a piece to be made from scratch, the only difference being that in this case we would also supply all the precious metals and gem stones.

A customer came to Sharp & Sons Jewellers as she had been recommended to visit us by a friend. She wished to use the 19 diamonds from her eternity ring and place them into new pieces of jewellery.

 

The initial image of a Star of David pendant as brought to us by the customer. She wanted her pendant to be plain and with diamonds at the points.

 

 

We quickly sketched ideas for the customer, taking into consideration the size of the diamonds she had brought with her.

 

At the beginning stage of development, pictures are produced that fit the customer’s brief and discussions take place to work out what the customer likes and (more importantly) doesn’t like. From this we can work out the finer details including settings, weight, size etc. We can then offer an idea of cost and time scale and source a selection of gemstones to be viewed if this is required. In this instance the customer wanted her pieces of jewellery to be made in white gold so quotes were supplied to make the items in both 9ct and 18ct white gold.

Following the discussion and design consultation process our customer decided to make three items utilising the diamonds from her ring:

• A handmade Star of David pendant using 6 diamonds in a rubbed edge setting in 9ct white gold
• A handmade offset two row diamond ring using 10 diamonds in a claw setting in 18ct white gold
• A handmade ring in a contemporary design using 3 diamonds in a rubbed edge setting in 9ct white gold

Once everything has been agreed then the process can begin to make the pieces:

Wax moulds are made of the finalised designs so that they can then be cast using precious metal.

 

Using the wax moulds the pieces are made in precious metal. These are now ready for the customer’s diamonds to be set into before they are finished and polished.

 

 

Once the pieces have been made and have completed their final checks we then arrange an appointment with the customer for a final fitting of their bespoke, handmade jewellery. When everything is perfect and the customer is happy they are ready to leave us in beautiful presentation boxes.

If you have a piece of jewellery that you would like to transform, or an idea for a bespoke piece, please come and see us at Sharp & Sons for a no obligation quote.