Give your Heirlooms new life

We ask our client for a retainer when we start working on design concepts and production work. The first discussion and subsequent correspondence is generally free of charge.

The biggest part of your remodelling costs are time and labour. If you have elected to purchase more stones or additional materials for your jewellery this can be a big factor too. It is often assumed that if you already have the gold for your jewellery, then this is going to make the piece itself very cheap. However, it doesn't work like this when you are reworking the metal, which is both energy and labour intensive, as it can only be used for your jewellery project. It can't be worked elsewhere, only recycled.

So you are looking at consultation time, design and concept work, labour charges, material costs and in many cases, costs for hallmarking metal (to confirm finesse is unchanged). It is very much a bespoke jewellery project.

We always notify clients in this situation. The reason for this is often because the piece is going to be bespoke, versus stock pieces, or mass produced overseas. We also mainly work in platinum and 18kt gold rather than lower finesse metals, and our craftsmanship is the highest in the UK. We might advise against remodelling, and recommend other ways to wear which may not have been considered or very simple modifications.  If a client wishes to go ahead, it is often for deeply sentimental reasons, in the knowledge that the cost to produce the new piece, will be higher than the resale value.

We use two workshops, with highly skilled goldsmiths who have been in the industry a very long time and make jewellery that is worn by Royalty and bought by collectors and other prestigious clients. Our prices in part reflect that these men and women are paid in recognition of their skills and respect for fine jewellery craftsmanship and the quality of workmanship they set standard by.

With old jewellery, there are always risks associated with working on it, as we don’t know what conditions it has been worn under. We work very hard to avoid unexpected breakages and damage (see our FAQ on jewellery insurance), from the moment we take your jewellery in for appraisal you are looking for potential issues. We test gemstones to ensure that they are genuine, inspect them under magnification and look at metal finesses, as well as searching for any cracks or areas of weakness.  We notify you of all known issues and require your permission to start work on the piece.

Your jewellery is fully covered for the duration of the time it is with us. We have very experienced goldsmiths, and if they are concerned about any part of the structure, we notify clients before any work is carried out, and if we genuinely believe that there is a risk of breakage (for example with a stone) we will discuss other options with yourself. We will not accept responsibility for pre-existing conditions that we have notified you of, and we also don’t accept liability for un-setting melee that is over 5 years old (although for these stones, they cost very little to replace).

For single gemstones with a value over £25,000 we either arrange insurance for the client (charged at cost) or request clients arrange their own insurance.