How does remodelling an old piece work?

Most people who come through the door with an inherited piece don't know what they want to do with it. They know only that it isn't worn, and that they don't want to sell it.

So the question isn't whether to remodel it. It's: what actually happens? Here is the whole sequence, with nothing skipped.

First: we look at the piece

Nothing starts with a drawing. It starts with the piece on the table between us, and with a series of things I check in order.

The stones: which ones, in what condition, how they're set. A stone that's been removed can be reused as it is, recut slightly, or turn out to be too damaged to go back into something worn every day. I say so then, not afterwards.

The metal: its carat, its alloy, its wear, and above all its past repairs. That's the most decisive point, and I've given it a whole article — can the gold from an old piece be reused?

And the piece itself: is it interesting as it is? I do sometimes advise leaving one alone. A well-made antique setting, a signature, work that isn't done any more — that gets restored, not remodelled.

What else to bring

The piece isn't enough. What's almost always missing is the person.

Tell me about whoever wore it. How she dressed, what she wore every day, what the piece meant to her. And tell me about you: what you already wear, what you never put on, which hand it will live on.

Photographs help more than people expect — photographs of you, not of jewellery. A moodboard, even a rough one saved from Instagram or Pinterest, gives us somewhere else to start.

Without that, you get a competent piece nobody wears. Which is exactly what we're trying to avoid.

The design

I offer one or two directions, rarely more. Too many options dilute a project.

Each direction says what it does with the original elements: this stone at the centre, those on the shoulders, this one set aside for something else. Where the design warrants it, a 3D view shows you the volumes before anything is committed. Allow about a week.

This is the point at which people change their minds, and it's built for that. Changing a drawing costs nothing; changing a piece already begun does.

The quote, then the making

You'll have a clear quote before anything starts: the work, the metal, the stones, what's reused and what isn't. Most bespoke and remodelling projects fall between CHF 1,200 and CHF 4,000. The stone sets the scale — there is no upper limit. 50% on ordering, 50% on collection.

Then, in order: the stones are removed and set aside; the metal is melted down where it's structurally suitable, or credited at its value; the new setting is made; the stones are set; the piece is polished, hallmarked, and engraved if you'd like.

Allow four to six weeks from your approval, depending on complexity and on whether a stone has to be sourced. That's quick for genuine bespoke work: in the ateliers where I worked, in Switzerland, Paris and London, three to four months was the usual quote.

What remains of the original

It's the question I'm asked most often, and rarely out loud.

What remains is whatever you decide remains. Sometimes it's the centre stone, and everything around it changes. Sometimes it's a detail of the setting, carried into the new design. Sometimes it's only the material — and that is already a great deal: that person's gold, in something you'll wear.

What isn't used doesn't disappear. Unset stones are returned to you. Metal that isn't reused is valued and credited.

And if there's enough material left, a second, smaller piece is often possible — which is how sisters end up with a ring each.

When I'll tell you it isn't a good idea

It happens, and I say so before any deposit:

• when the piece is worth more — in money or in memory — left as it is;

• when the metal is too heavily repaired to give a reliable piece;

• when the stone won't stand being worn every day;

• when what you're describing would be cheaper and better made from scratch.

In those cases we look at the alternatives together. Consultations are complimentary and commit you to nothing.

Common questions

Can several pieces become one?

Yes, and it's common. Several odd pieces often make a better project than a single one.

Can I see it before it's made?

Yes — a drawing, and a 3D view where the project warrants one.

What if I don't like the result?

That's why nothing begins before you've approved both the design and the quote.

Can I keep part of the original intact?

Yes. Say so at the first meeting: it changes the design, not the price.

Do I have to come to Carouge?

For the first assessment, it's better. Remotely, clear photographs allow a first opinion, but the stones and the metal have to be seen.

Come and talk it through

Bring the piece to the boutique-atelier, Rue Ancienne 3 in Carouge. I'll look, assess, and tell you what can be done with it — including when the answer is to leave it alone.

If you'd rather see the results first, the finished projects are in the before & after gallery, and the full picture is on the remodelling page.