Heirloom RedesignGemstone Jewelry
Denver Studio · Commissions
There is a piece in your jewelry box you cannot wear and cannot let go of.
Your mother's pearls. An aunt's pendant. A strand that arrived with a story attached and a style that was never yours. You cannot give it back. You cannot give it away. And melting it down is the one thing you are certain you do not want.
I redesign inherited jewelry into pieces you will actually wear, by hand, in my Denver studio.
I never melt the original
The jade pendant is still the jade pendant.
When Carolyn brought me her aunt's green jade pendant, she did not want it changed. She wanted to stop feeling that not wearing it was a small ongoing betrayal. So the pendant stayed exactly what it was. It sits now at the center of an asymmetrical multi-chain necklace I built around it. All of the work was in what surrounded it.
The trade's usual answer to inherited jewelry is to melt the metal down and reset the gemstones. Mine is the opposite. Your original setting becomes part of the new design rather than raw material for it. What arrives is what leaves, carried inside something you will wear.
About these pieces
These are vintage and reclaimed pieces from my own studio rather than client commissions. Many of them began as old jewelry I took apart and rebuilt. They are here because the method is exactly the same one I use on an inherited piece: keep what matters, and build something new around it. Most have long since sold. The finished client work is in the header image and in the stories further down.
What I can work with
My work is fabrication, wire work and assembly, which means I build around gemstones that are already drilled rather than setting loose ones into metal.
- 01
Strands
Gemstone beads or pearls, whole or partial
- 02
Pendants & charms
Single drops, lockets, medallions
- 03
Finished jewelry
Necklaces, bracelets, earrings
- 04
Broken pieces
Unwearable is not a problem, undrilled is
One honest limit
If your gemstone is loose, I am not your maker
A loose, undrilled gemstone has to be set into metal, and that is genuinely not what I do. I would rather tell you now than take your deposit.
Send it to Heather at Bohemi instead. She does that work beautifully, and I trust her with the people I send her way.
Interactive · 3 questions
- 01What do you have?
- 02What stops you wearing it now?
- 03What would you love to end up with?
What could yours become?
Heirloom Matcher
Three questions. I will tell you honestly whether I can work with what you have, and what it could turn into.
Question 1 of 3
What do you have?
Choose one
Question 2 of 3
What stops you wearing it now?
Choose one
Question 3 of 3
What would you love to end up with?
Choose one
No heirloom of your own?
I do this with vintage too
Redesigning inherited jewelry is the same craft I use on the vintage pieces I source myself. I hunt estate sales, vintage dealers and Denver's Antique Row for pieces with the right bones, strong metalwork and unusual components, then rebuild them into something they were never meant to be.
Same principle, same hands. The difference is only whose drawer it came out of. If you love the idea of wearing something with a history but do not have a piece of your own, that collection is where to start.
How it works
Nothing travels before we both know it will work.
- 01
Send me photographs first
I can tell from photos whether your piece will work with the way I build. This costs you nothing and settles the only question that matters.
- 02
We design it together
What you have, what you actually wear, and what the piece could become. You name a budget and I design inside it.
- 03
The commission is confirmed and part-paid
Before anything is posted. I do not want your heirloom sitting in my studio against a maybe.
- 04
Getting it to me
Hand it to me in person in Denver, or post it. For anything of real value I will ask you to insure it and require a signature.
- 05
I photograph it the day it arrives
And send those photographs straight to you, so we both hold a record of exactly what I received.
- 06
It comes home fully insured
Inside the finished piece, signature required.
What it costs, and how long
Commission range
$300 to $10,000
A real range, not a starting-from figure. Where yours lands depends on the complexity of the design and the other materials it needs.
Your own gemstones reduce what I have to buy. I design within the budget you give me, and you will never see an invoice larger than the one we agreed.
Timeline
Same as any commission
Bringing your own gemstones does not shorten it much, because I am still sourcing the pieces that go around yours. Specialty gemstones can take three to four weeks to arrive before I start building.
I would rather under-promise. Most people receive their piece earlier than the date I give them.
How I build
- 01
No CAD, ever
I have never used CAD in my design process. Nothing about your piece is rendered on a screen and sent out to be produced. I work it out at the bench, in metal, with your gemstones in front of me.
- 02
Cold connection where your gemstones are concerned
Your material is joined by cold connection, which means no heat goes near it. I do solder, but only to make the components that surround your gemstones: a bracelet frame, a choker base, a custom linked chain. By the time your heirloom enters the piece, the soldering is finished and cooled.
- 03
Your setting stays in the design
The original setting is incorporated into the new piece. It is not scrap, and it does not come back to you in an envelope.
More vintage and reclaimed pieces from the studio, most of them now sold. Same method, my own material rather than a client's.
Three that already exist
Carolyn's three necklaces
Five years, three commissions, one client. An aunt's jade pendant, an aunt's whiskey topaz pendant, and a strand of pearls from her late mother-in-law. None were melted. All are now worn.
Read Carolyn's story
Sarah's cuff
She brought pearls from her mother's old necklace and a piece of her wedding lace. I built the cuff around both, on a lace backing, which was a first for my studio. It appears in every photograph of the ceremony, visible as her husband put the ring on her finger.
Read Sarah's story
Janet's fifteen commissions
A decade of pieces, including a memorial collection in blue topaz made in her mother's memory.
Read Janet's story
Questions people ask
01Will you melt down my piece?
No. I never melt the original. Your gemstones and your original setting are incorporated into the new design, not used as raw material for it.
02What if my gemstone is loose and not drilled?
Then I am not the right maker for it. I build around gemstones that are already drilled rather than setting loose stones into metal. I would point you to Heather at Bohemi, who does that work beautifully.
03How do I get my jewelry to you safely?
Hand it to me in person in Denver, or post it. For anything of real value I will ask you to insure it and require a signature. Nothing travels until the commission is confirmed and part-paid, and I photograph your piece the day it arrives so we both have a record. It comes home fully insured inside the finished piece.
04What does an heirloom redesign cost?
Between $300 and $10,000, depending on the complexity of the design and the other materials it needs. Your own gemstones reduce what I have to buy, though most redesigns still need complementary gemstones or components. I design within the budget you name and never invoice above what we agreed.
05Can you use only part of a piece?
Yes. A strand can become several pieces, and a single pendant can move into something entirely different. Carolyn's three commissions came out of three separate inherited pieces, each redesigned on its own terms.
06Do you design on a computer first?
No. I have never used CAD. I work the design out at the bench with your gemstones in front of me, which is why photographs come first: I need to see what I am building around.
Start a conversation
A 30-minute call, no commitment. Bring photographs of what you have.
Book your free consultationEmail me your photos
Or see the full commission process.
30
Minute call
No commitment.
Commission range
$300 to $10,000
Timeline
Same as any commission