Restoration & redesign · Sentimental work · Stuart, Florida
Jewelry you inherited and never wear, made into something you will.
Most inherited jewelry sits in a drawer because it belonged to a different person in a different decade. The stones are usually excellent. The setting is the problem.
The honest conversation
When a piece shouldn't be repaired
This is the part of the practice I care most about, and it's where most of the industry lets people down. A ring that has been sized four times, worn thin at the back, with prongs down to nothing, can be patched. It will look fine leaving the bench and it will fail again, usually by losing a stone.
I believe that if something can't be repaired properly, it should be remade in a way that honors what it originally was. That is a harder conversation than quoting a repair, and it is the right one. The alternative is charging someone for work I know won't hold on a piece that can't be replaced.
Not every piece is in that category. Plenty of inherited jewelry just needs competent restoration — retipping, a new shank, a proper polish. I'll tell you which situation you're actually in, in writing, before any work starts.
What this usually looks like
Common commissions
Case 01
A stone from a necklace becomes a ring
A pendant nobody wears holds a good stone. Reset as a ring, it re-enters daily life. This is the most frequent request I get and the most satisfying.
Case 02
Three pieces become one
Stones pulled from several inherited items and consolidated into a single piece that reads as contemporary rather than as a compromise.
Case 03
Divided among siblings
One estate, several people, one piece of jewelry. Stones separated and set into individual pieces so everyone receives something wearable.
Case 04
Restored, not replaced
When the piece is structurally sound and the design still works, it gets proper restoration — and nothing more.
Redesigned and restored
Questions
Will I lose the original piece?
How do I know if it should be repaired instead of remade?
Can old stones be reused?
What about gold I'll never wear?
Next step
Bring the box.
Bring the piece, or the whole drawer. First appointment is an hour and costs nothing.