CUSTOMIZING PRE-LOVED JEWELRY
Just like with clothing, you can tailor jewelry to make the fit, style and design perfect for you. With the savings you enjoy by buying pre-loved, it's worth it!
The primary benefit of purchasing pre-loved jewelry is that you acquire fine jewelry at significantly less than retail value, making it that much more affordable to transform, customize and repurpose the gemstones and metal to suit your unique style.
THE OPTIONS ARE ALMOST ENDLESS! Turn a ring or brooch into a necklace. Take the gems from a bracelet and turn them into a ring and/or necklace of any style. Take stones from a necklace and turn them into a fantastic pair of earrings and/or a bracelet. It’s so easy to transform pre-loved jewelry when you partner with a reputable jeweler to customize, redesign or repurpose pre-loved jewelry.
SHOP PRE-LOVED JEWELRYMOST POPULAR WAYS TO REPURPOSE PRE-LOVED JEWELRY
RING RESIZING
The most common form of customization. There's no limitation as to how many times a ring can be resized during its lifetime.
- Most* rings set in gold, silver or platinum can be resized up or down 2-3 sizes.
- The cost ranges from ~$75 - $200 CAD for gold and silver, and from ~$100 - $350 CAD for platinum according to Ron Hanania of International Gemological Laboratories (IGL) located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
*Most eternity style bands, where gems or an intricate metal design encompass the entire circumference of the ring, won’t typically allow for much more than a half size up or down if at all. Tungsten and stainless steel settings can’t be resized. Titanium is considered “almost” impossible, and rose gold must be resized by only the most skilled goldsmiths since it can crack if not handled properly.
RING RESETTING & REDESIGNING
If you fall in love with a gem, but not the the setting or style, re-setting or re-designing the ring is an easy and affordable option.
- The cost to reset a gemstone(s) into a new catalog-available ring setting starts at ~$750 CAD depending on the metal you choose.
- The cost to redesign existing gemstone(s) and/or metal into a custom designed ring varies, but a good rule-of-thumb range is ~$1500 - $3500+ CAD depending on number of gemstones, intricacy of design and metal of choice.
RESTRINGING PEARLS & BEADS
Restringing pearl and bead necklaces and bracelets is also a popular option to add or remove length, or add or remove space between the jewels, and to ensure its lasting durability.
The cost for a basic, straightforward restring will cost approximately $5 CAD per inch. The cost will be higher if you wish to add spacing or other design elements.
RESIZING WATCHES
Watches with a leather band are easy to resize by changing out the band altogether, But what about watches where the band is comprised of metal or ceramic links like this pre-loved, white ceramic Chanel J12 watch recently listed on our site?
- Reducing the size is always easiest –simply have a reputable jeweler or watch technician remove links to fit the watch to your wrist. Easy and inexpensive. According to Ron Hanania of IGL, the cost ranges from FREE - $100 CAD depending on the watch.
- To increase the size, you need to add links, which often come with the purchase of a pre-loved timepiece. This is also relatively easy and inexpensive at ~$20 CAD.
- Even without extra links, it’s almost always possible to purchase replacement links no matter the designer, year, material or size. Contact a professional jeweler in your area for inventory and pricing.
The possibilities are as far-reaching as your imagination – the sky really is the limit! The options we've mentioned here are just those that we're most often asked about. If you have other ideas you would like to explore, please contact a professional jeweler, gemologist or goldsmith in your area.