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Jewel of the Month: Terri Berry’s Birthday Ring

August 14, 2011 by WendyB

Today is my gorgeous sister Terri Berry‘s birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TERRI BERRY!

Yesterday, TerriB’s husband, Tim Berry, presented her with a custom ring I designed. TerriB was in on the plan. Earlier this year, when gold was at a then-record-high of $1330 an ounce, I started taking the stones out of old jewelry and selling the metal. (Gold has since topped $1800 an ounce, before easing back to the mid-$1700 range.) I offered to do the same for TerriB. She had a ruby-and-diamond earring and necklace set that she never wore. The stones came from an old cocktail ring of my mother’s and had been redesigned once, but not in a very appealing way.

TerriB's old jewelry. I saved the stones and recycled the metal.

She requested that the stones be used to create a personalized version of my Siobhan perma-stacked ring. The Siobhan has become a popular design to customize.

The original Siobhan design. Click for more information.

The Siobhan ring, customized for Susan. Click for more information.

The Siobhan ring, customized for Heather. Click for more information.

I had TerriB pick out four skinny bands from the original Siobhan design to include in her ring. Then I made three thicker bands, whose look was dictated by the size and shape of the stones she had. Here is the result.

Front view. Click to see it on my website.

Back view, showing how the bands are attached.

Here’s how the ring stacks up next to the original.

TerriB wanted her ring to be shorter than the original Siobhan.

When I’m redesigning old jewelry, people frequently ask if I can make their new piece out of their old metal. I tell them that I can do it if they insist, but it’s labor-intensive and not very practical for tiny amounts of metal. First, I would have to refine the old gold, returning it to its pure, 24K state and removing all alloy metals and solder. (Click here for my explanation of 24K, 18K and 14K gold.) Creating new jewelry with unknown levels of impurities in the metal increases the chances of defects known generally as porosity. Then, because 24K gold is too soft to withstand much wear-and-tear, I’d have to re-alloy the metal, taking it back to 14K or 18K. Remember my post about quantity, and how it’s always less expensive to work with large quantities rather than small quantities? That should help you understand why this is way too much work to do on what’s usually well under an ounce of metal. And, speaking of small quantity, if I reuse your metal, that’s ALL the metal we have for the new design. Metal is lost while shaping and polishing a new design — even a simple ring — so your new piece will be smaller than your old one. It might be a millimeter difference, but it will be there.

I prefer to recycle gold in a more efficient way, as I did this year, by selling the metal to a company that buys it in large quantities to refine, re-alloy and resell. I do it with old jewelry, but goldsmiths go so far as to sweep up the gold dust left over from their work until they have enough to melt it into a block and resell. Last week, one of my goldsmiths and I were rolling around a one-ounce button-shaped lump of gold that he was preparing to sell, and he mused, “We’re probably using recycled gold more often than we use any recently mined gold.” Even in 2001, when gold was below $300 an ounce, it was too expensive for anyone to waste. Trust me, no one is throwing it away now.

Looking at TerriB’s ring, I don’t think it would be more attractive or meaningful if it used her old metal. And, while I love to reuse old stones if they’re worthy, gorgeous blogger/client Susan found that even her original stones weren’t necessary for creating a piece with emotional impact. Ultimately, the beauty of custom jewelry is in the eye of the beholder … not the provenance of the raw materials.

All photos in this post are by SquareMoose.

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Jewels of the Month: Vamping It Up for True Blood
Take Off Your Rings and Wash Your Hands
Jewel of the Month: Siobhan Ring With Mixed Metals

Filed Under: birthdays, Custom work, gold, gorgeous family, jewel of the month, rings

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Alicia says

    August 14, 2011 at 4:57 pm

    That ring is all kinds of amazeballs. Beautiful work, as usual Guru!!

    • WendyB says

      August 14, 2011 at 4:58 pm

      I love it when you call me that! <3

  2. Megan Mae says

    August 14, 2011 at 5:13 pm

    That’s beautiful. And really great that you were able to re-utilize bits and pieces to transform them into something special. (Also yeeesh! gold is expensive)

  3. une femme says

    August 14, 2011 at 5:28 pm

    Another tour de force Wendy! The design looks gorgeous with Terri Berry’s stones!!!

    • WendyB says

      August 14, 2011 at 5:29 pm

      Thank you! I was a little dubious about dealing with the marquise-shaped rubies at first, but they turned out fine!

  4. Patti @ NotDeadYet STyle says

    August 14, 2011 at 5:57 pm

    Just gorgeous! You are a jewelry genius, lady.

    • WendyB says

      August 14, 2011 at 5:58 pm

      Thank you!

  5. Jacqueline says

    August 14, 2011 at 6:18 pm

    Gorgeous! I love the original Siobhan and am blown away by every re-incarnation of it. This is my favorite version so far.

  6. Christine says

    August 14, 2011 at 7:07 pm

    The original design is amazing and all the different incarnations of it are stunning.

    • WendyB says

      August 14, 2011 at 7:15 pm

      Wouldn’t have guessed that this would be a hot design for customization…you never know what’s going to take off!

  7. Tammie says

    August 14, 2011 at 7:10 pm

    Absolutely beautiful; just as I knew it would be!! The mystery of whose it was had me very curious! What an awesome tribute to your sister!!!!
    Someday; when I win the lottery; or become one of those Extreme Coupon ladies and get all my groceries for free; or am just fortunate enough to be able to….I hope you will design a Siobhan for me in White Gold….with lots of pink stones of course !!!

    • WendyB says

      August 14, 2011 at 7:14 pm

      Ha ha! You got it.

  8. Lara says

    August 14, 2011 at 8:05 pm

    Happy birthday to Terri! I love how you incorporated her stones. That teeny textured band (second from the top)is my fave finish!

  9. Jen says

    August 14, 2011 at 8:22 pm

    I love Terri’s ring!

  10. Terri Berry says

    August 14, 2011 at 8:41 pm

    I love my ring! It is beautiful and more spectacular than I imagined it would be. I secretly feared a little bit that it wouldn’t be as amazing as the original but I think it is equally amazing in its own right. The more I look at it, the more I love it. Thank you WendyB for such a beautiful ring. Hugs!

    • WendyB says

      August 14, 2011 at 9:06 pm

      Yay!

  11. Mary says

    August 14, 2011 at 9:46 pm

    Happy birthday to Terri! I love her ring. The way you use recycled gold is great, I don’t think it matters at all that it’s not from the original piece of jewellery.I love the idea of stuff being made from a bunch of melted down gold rather than newly mined gold.It gives it provenance.

  12. The Style Crone says

    August 14, 2011 at 11:15 pm

    Beautiful design! Perfect birthday gift.

  13. Susu Paris Chic says

    August 15, 2011 at 1:33 am

    I love the sparkles of pink. Gold is the thing of the season opening up… but that you knew already!

    Greetings from Finland. You’d love the Scandi design vibes prancing around over here. Here are some things I found for you:
    http://www.finnishgifts.com/aarikka-earrings.html
    http://www.kalevalakoru.fi/korut/kuvasto/sormukset

    Tell me what you think next time over at Susu Paris Chic;)

    • WendyB says

      August 15, 2011 at 12:34 pm

      Those rings are fantastic!

  14. mystyle says

    August 15, 2011 at 11:56 am

    Hi my dear-what an exquisite and beautiful ring, no wonder Terri is so happy, it is truly gorgeous! Well done indeed! xxx

  15. olivia says

    August 15, 2011 at 12:07 pm

    Oh my that stacker ring is beautiful! x

  16. Susan Tiner says

    August 15, 2011 at 12:32 pm

    Happy Birthday to your sister! The ring is just stunning. Nice work WendyB.

  17. Katherine says

    August 15, 2011 at 2:38 pm

    Wow — This ring is beau-ti-ful! Your designs have a way of being chunky/bold and delicate/whimsical all at once — very nice.

  18. brett says

    August 15, 2011 at 4:35 pm

    i adore both rings, but terri’s is especially stunning
    you do a terrific job here!
    brett

  19. tina m says

    August 15, 2011 at 7:23 pm

    WendyB, you are a true jewelry genius/artist!

  20. Miss Janey says

    August 15, 2011 at 7:44 pm

    GORGEOUS!

  21. Winnie says

    August 16, 2011 at 12:42 pm

    I really adore these posts Wendy. I love the story behind each one and how personalised they are. Terri\’s ring is a stunner, you are such a talented lady!

  22. stacy says

    August 17, 2011 at 11:57 pm

    Ooops, how did I miss this post? Well, the ring is a masterpiece, but even more so after I see where it all started! I don’t think she’s going to miss ANY of that old stuff! Great job. Happy belated Terri! xo

    PS– I am getting an abnormal amount of “toasts” as my anti-spam word!! 🙂

  23. Lizzi S. says

    August 24, 2011 at 3:21 pm

    You’re amazing!

  24. perles de verre says

    October 14, 2011 at 10:09 pm

    I leared so much from reading this one article. Thanks. I love the idea of recycling old gold or silver but NOW understand how unpracticle it is.

    I love the ring that was redesigned for Susan, the balance of gold and silver and perfact femanity of the diamonds against the thinkness of the band. It is truly amazing.

  25. Christine says

    October 15, 2011 at 1:42 pm

    I know I saw this post earlier but I must have missed posting.

    Happy very belated birthday lucky Terri! Stunning ring!

    Christine

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MEET WENDY BRANDES

Award-winning designer of fine jewelry inspired by women's history and pop culture. A former journalist who writes about jewelry, fashion, medieval history, news, feminism, dogs, cats and whatever else is on her mind. Blogging since 2007.
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