FAQs

• Yellow gold

Yellow gold lends itself very well to being melted down and used for remodelling.  All carats of yellow gold can be melted together.  When your gold is being melted, we take great care to ensure that only your gold is melted – it doesn’t get mixed with anyone else’s gold.  So if a ring is made with your gold, you know that it is 100% yours.

When working with 20-24ct yellow gold, which is very soft, we may suggest that an alloy be added to it to make it a harder metal which will stand the test of time and wear better.  This will depend on what piece of jewellery is being made – rings get bashed around on your hand a lot more than earrings or pendants do.

• White gold

Unfortunately, white gold doesn’t lend itself to being melted down.  It tends to crack, so we don’t use it for remodelling.  Nevertheless, white gold can be valued and traded in as scrap metal against the cost of your piece.

• Silver

We generally don’t melt silver for customers as the work involved is more costly than the value of the metal itself.  It tends to make more economic sense to work with fresh silver. The exception to this is when the silver is of great sentimental value.  In that case, we are very happy to melt it.

• Platinum

Some alloys of platinum can be melted and some cannot.  During your design consultation we can test your platinum to see if it can be used for your new piece.  If it is not possible to melt it, we will let you know the scrap metal value and this can be offset against the cost of your order.

Sometimes it makes more economic sense to trade in your gold rather than melting it down.  We’ll be able to advise you on this, and you can decide which way you would like to proceed.  It could be that although it’s slightly more expensive to melt your gold you would like to do it anyway, as on an emotional/sentimental level, it’s important for you.

You may have a lot of old gold, and only some of it is needed to make your new piece of jewellery.  Any excess gold can be traded in.  Once we weigh and check the quality of your metal, we will be able to confirm the trade in value.  This trade in value can be deducted from the confirmed quote, which is a lovely way of reducing the price of your beautiful new piece of jewellery.  Of course, if you would prefer to keep your excess gold, or use it for something else, that works too!

When it comes to white gold, platinum or palladium that cannot be/is not being melted, similarly we’ll be able to confirm the trade in value and deduct it accordingly.  The trade in value on silver is extremely low.

It is wonderful to give a new lease of life to diamonds and gemstones taken out of old pieces of jewellery.  That said, it is always advisable to hasten slowly.  When initially studying your jewellery, we will highlight any stones that are visibly damaged or too flawed to work safely with.  There is always the possibility that, although the stone looks fine in its current setting, once it is removed we could see problems that were not previously visible.  Should anything unusual emerge in relation to your stones, we will contact you immediately and advise you of your options.

There is always a risk when setting a gemstone or diamond, as it is done using force to push the metal into place over the stone.  We use an expert stone setter and, thankfully, have never had this problem but you do need to be aware that there is always a small risk.

When you come to the shop we can test your diamonds to confirm that they are real, rather than synthetic.  In relation to gemstones, only a gemmologist can confirm the exact characteristics of a coloured stone.  Working as a gemmologist requires years of training and experience, and a whole array of specific equipment.

This is a tricky question for us.  You’re the only one who really knows the answer.  We can discuss design ideas and quotes with you and we can give you our opinion, but you are the one who knows how important the metal, diamonds or gemstones are to you.  They may have value in economic terms, but there can also be value for you on a sentimental or emotional level, and that is not something we can put a price on.

The great thing is you can be assured that you will leave with a beautiful piece of contemporary jewellery!

How long is a piece of string?!

It really depends on what you want to have made, how much new metal, diamonds or gemstones need to be added, and the time and skill involved in making your piece of jewellery.  Having met with you initially we will give you a ballpark figure to make sure it is within your budget before proceeding with design work.  This is why it’s great to have an approximate spend in mind – it gives us structure and makes it much easier for us to say what is and isn’t possible, so don’t be afraid to tell us how much you were hoping to spend.

We love commission work – each order is so very different!

Sometimes it’s possible to have the design and quote for the remodelled piece of jewellery worked out on the spot in the shop, and everything decided on within 10-15 minutes. Normally though, working out the design and quote can take from a few days to a couple of weeks, depending on the details required and the ironing out that needs to be done.  We appreciate that designs and ideas may need to be mulled over and that you may have questions to ask.  These decisions can be very personal and emotional and should definitely not be rushed.  We make it our business to make sure the design for your remodelled piece of jewellery is perfect for you before any work is started!

Once everything is agreed, it normally takes 5-6 weeks for the piece to be ready for collection, but this can vary.   If you have a particular deadline or timeframe, please do let us know – we will do everything we can to get it made on time.

We take a 20% deposit when an order is being placed and the balance is payable on collection.

This is unlikely as we go to great lengths to make sure that you like every aspect of the design before starting to make your piece of jewellery.  That said, if you didn’t like the end result we wouldn’t leave you high and dry!  No one walks out of our store unhappy, so we would do everything possible to change/remake the piece so that you are completely happy.

We have an open door, so you are welcome to drop by at any time.  However, we do prefer if you book an appointment for bespoke and remodelling work so that we can make sure we can give you our undivided attention.  No doubt you’ll appreciate that it takes time to work out a bespoke design, especially when it involves using your own gold, diamonds and/or gemstones.  We want to get it right, and you don’t want to feel rushed, so do allow yourself enough time to sit down with us to talk ideas through.