Remodelling
Your stones, a new piece
The piece is dismantled, its stones recovered, and a new design manufactured around them.
Jewellery Remodelling
Remodelling turns jewellery you no longer wear into a piece you will. The diamonds and gemstones come out of the old setting, get cleaned and polished back to their original brilliance, and go into a new one our bench makes from scratch. The stones stay yours — only the metal around them changes.
- Turnaround
- 4 to 6 weeks
- Your stones
- Kept
- Old gold
- Your call
- Consultation
- Free
Two commissions from our Frankston workshop. The pieces that came in, and the piece made from their stones.
What Remodelling Is
What is jewellery remodelling?
Four different jobs get confused with each other. Remodelling dismantles an existing piece, recovers its stones, and manufactures a new design around them — so it reuses what you already own rather than replacing it.
Repair
The original, put right
Keeps the original piece intact.
Resize
The same design, a better fit
Adjusts the band without re-imagining the design.
A new piece
New stones, from inventory
New stones are sourced from inventory rather than recovered from something you own.
The most common brief we receive is an inherited engagement ring whose centre stone is still beautiful but whose setting is tired, dated, or the wrong size. Change the setting and the piece looks like it was made this year. Keep the diamond and it carries everything it carried before.
How It Works
How does the process work?
01
Consultation
Free at our Frankston workshop. Bring the pieces you would like to repurpose. We cover what is feasible honestly — occasionally a stone is too damaged to reuse, and we will say so.
02
Unset and inspect
The workshop unsets the stones and inspects each one under magnification. Diamonds and most sapphires, rubies and emeralds tolerate decades of wear without damage; softer gemstones — opals, pearls, tanzanite — sometimes need replacement or reshaping.
03
Clean and polish
The stones are cleaned and polished back to their original brilliance.
04
Design and 3D print
Our designers draw the new piece with you involved at every decision, and you approve the 3D-printed model before any metal is poured.
05
Cast, set, finish
A specialist casting house casts the new mounting. Back at our workshop, stone setting and a final polish bring it up to retail finish.
The Design Stage
Drawn with you in the room
Our designers draw the new piece with you involved at every decision, then the workshop manufactures the setting to fit the recovered stones precisely.
You approve the 3D-printed model, so you can see and feel the form before any metal is poured.
Inherited Pieces
Can you remodel inherited jewellery?
Yes — inherited pieces are the bulk of our remodelling work. A grandmother's engagement ring whose setting no longer suits the next generation's taste; a great-aunt's dress ring whose stones could be reset into earrings or a pendant; a parent's wedding band whose gold could be folded into a new piece for the family. We treat sentimentally significant work with the same care we apply to a new commission — often more, because the brief is usually to preserve the meaning while changing the form.
A centre diamond
A modern solitaire or halo for the new wearer
Small accent diamonds
A tennis bracelet or eternity band
A gemstone from a cocktail ring
A contemporary pendant
Stones from several pieces
One signature piece
Where the original piece carried an engraving, that engraving can usually be transferred to the new piece — see our laser engraving service for how that works.
If a piece comes from an estate and you would like a written appraisal certificate documenting what the original was and what the new piece is, our valuations service can produce one as part of the same workflow.
How long does remodelling take?
The timeline reflects the workshop stages each piece moves through. The bulk of the calendar time is design iteration plus the casting-and-setting sequence — the bench work itself moves quickly once the brief is locked.
4 to 6 weeks
Most remodelling commissions, from the initial brief to the finished piece.
Up to 8 weeks
Heirloom commissions with multiple original stones being re-set or recoloured. Briefs that consolidate stones from several inherited pieces into a single signature item, or that need recolouring work on coloured gemstones, take longer because each stone needs individual assessment before the new design can be finalised.
We give you a firm estimate at the consultation, once we have seen the pieces and agreed the brief, then update you at each workshop milestone.
Reviews
What customers say about our remodelling work
The brief on a remodelling commission is usually half craft and half care — turning a piece a customer no longer wears into one they will, without breaking the sentimental thread.
5 out of 5 stars
Bridget Blake
“I can't recommend Anny's highly enough! Harry has invested hours repairing, restoring and remodelling many of my vintage jewellery pieces — there's nothing he can't repair or restore. The craftsmanship is second to none and with deep care to make my items perfect for me. Warm, friendly and trustworthy service every time. Thanks so much to you Harry, and to your team at Anny's!”
via Google
Restored and remodelled vintage pieces
5 out of 5 stars
Emma Kotynski
“Not only does this jewellery shop have the most lovely pieces & create beautiful made to order pieces, they offer an incredibly high level of customer service that is rare to see in this day and age. I cannot recommend the services of Harry and his lovely establishment highly enough and was soo very pleased with the work Harry completed for me to help celebrate my daughters 21st birthday.”
via Google
Made-to-order piece for her daughter's 21st
5 out of 5 stars
Pat Ferraro
“Only place I go to for all types of jewellery and jewellery repairs, repaired a ring and bracelet in an hour! Fast great service, very friendly, highly recommend, thanks Harry!”
via Google
Ring and bracelet repairs
Common questions
Will I keep my original diamond when remodelling?
Reusing a diamond or gemstone is subject to inspection. We assess its identity, treatments, inclusions, fractures and existing damage, as well as the setting condition, before confirming whether it can be safely unset, cleaned, polished and remounted.What happens to the old gold from my piece?
Your choice. Some customers credit the gold weight toward the new piece (reducing the metal component of the new commission's cost); others keep the original metal for sentimental reasons, particularly when the ring belonged to a parent or grandparent. We quote both ways so you can decide with the figures in front of you.Can you remake an old engagement ring into a modern setting?
Yes — this is the most common remodelling brief we receive. The diamond comes out, the old gold gets melted down or set aside, and a new setting (modern halo, knife-edge solitaire, three-stone, or whatever your brief calls for) gets manufactured around the same centre stone.How long does jewellery remodelling typically take?
Most remodelling commissions complete in 4 to 6 weeks from the initial brief to the finished piece. Heirloom commissions with multiple original stones being re-set or recoloured can extend to 8 weeks. We give you a firm estimate at the consultation.Can I get a valuation for the remodelled piece?
Yes. If you'd like a written appraisal certificate documenting what the original was and what the new piece is, our valuations service produces one as part of the same workflow — signed by Chris Ozkoch with the workshop ABN, suitable for insurance and estate purposes.
Bring the piece in
Have a piece you would like to repurpose? Bring it to either showroom for a free remodelling consultation, along with any reference images of the kind of new piece you have in mind.
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