How to Upgrade Your Vintage Jewelry for Modern Times
Fine jewelry tends to pass down for generations. There’s nothing quite like getting gifted a jewelry box full of vintage gold, silver, diamond, and other fashionable accessories.
These family heirlooms and vintage jewelry are constantly in-demand and never go out of style.
If you’re planning to update, recycle, or revamp your Grandma’s treasures, there are a lot of ways you can transform vintage jewelry into classy everyday accessories:
Ways You Can Upgrade Your Vintage Jewelry for Modern Use
Let’s discuss easy ways you can modernize vintage jewelry pieces while keeping sentimental value:
Consult a Jeweler
After receiving an heirloom piece, the first step is to take it to a trusted jeweler. Your jeweler will examine your vintage accessories and tell you if they have sentimental value.
It’s also an excellent idea to get insurance, even if you’re not planning to sell your jewelry. The jeweler will provide you with insightful advice on if it’s a wise idea to get your accessory redesigned.
Your jeweler may not recommend you to refurbish your vintage jewelry if doing so would diminish its worth. Alternatively, they may allow you to modernize or create a new accessory:
- Making a pendant into a ring
- Converting chains into charm bracelets
- Adding your mother’s engagement ring to your necklace
- Diamonds from a watch bracelet can become earrings
Repair and Clean
Sometimes all vintage jewelry needs is a good cleaning to look beautiful and usable. To make it wearable again, you may offer your older piece simple repairs, such as clasps or chains.
With a couple of repairs and a deep wash, you can start rocking your vintage jewelry to accentuate your favorite outfits.
Repurpose the Stone
Another excellent way of recycling vintage jewelry is by repurposing the stone pieces. For instance, you can transform your mother’s ruby pendant into a beautiful statement ring. Or you can turn an old bracelet into elegant earrings.
Moreover, you can separate mixed stones into an item that doesn’t match your taste.
Gain Inspiration to Revamp Vintage Jewelry
Transform your vintage jewelry into modern, usable accessories by checking out the following examples:
Update a Setting
If your heirloom box contains a ring, earrings, or brooch boasting quality stones but outdated settings, you can redesign your pieces to create a modern look.
Fine jewelers who specialize in reworking and updating heirloom stones can keep the sentiment the value of your vintage pieces while refurbishing them.
Repurpose your Mother’s or Grandmother’s Ring
Remaking your mother’s or grandmother’s ring into a pendant or mixed earrings is an excellent and neat way of preserving sentimental value.
Vintage rings tend to have one large, central stone that looks beautiful as pendants.
Convert into Charms
Your vintage and heirloom jewelry don’t have to contain precious gems and metals.
The best jewelry in your Grandmother’s or mother’s jewelry box is more likely to have more sentimental value than monetary.
Consider transforming these pieces into charms to integrate them into your everyday jewelry wardrobe.
The Bottom Line
Modernizing vintage jewelry starts with figuring out what you want to create. But, while you refurbish or recycle your jewelry, ensure that the memory stays alive in the design and heart.
