Almost every family has gold in a drawer: a wedding ring nobody wears, a broken chain, a single earring. Too dear to sell, too dated to wear. A goldsmith can make something new from it.
Two ways to use old gold
Melting and reforging. The goldsmith melts your gold and makes the new piece from it. Your father’s gold is then really in your ring. For many people that is the whole point.
Crediting. The goldsmith weighs your gold, determines its value and deducts it from the price of the new piece, which is made from new material. That is more practical, but it is no longer the same gold.
Not every goldsmith does both. Ask beforehand, certainly if the gold itself is what matters to you.
What is possible and what is not
Old gold is rarely one kind of metal. It contains solder, sometimes a steel spring in a clasp, and jewellery from different countries uses different alloys. That makes melting less simple than it sounds:
- The fineness matters. Look for the stamp: 585 is 14 carat, 750 is 18 carat. Melting different finenesses together gives an alloy somewhere in between, which can no longer be hallmarked as 14 or 18 carat.
- White gold is difficult. Old white gold sometimes contains nickel and is often rhodium plated. Not every goldsmith will melt it.
- Some is lost. Melting, forging and filing take away a small part of the weight. A sturdy ring often needs more gold than one old ring provides. The goldsmith then adds new gold of the same fineness.
- Stones come out first. They cannot go into the crucible. The goldsmith removes them and checks whether they are strong enough to be set again.
What to ask beforehand
- Will you melt my own gold, or credit its value?
- Is there enough gold for the piece I want, and what does topping up cost?
- Can the stones be set again?
- How does the gold reach you safely: do I bring it, or does it go by insured post?
How to start
Take a photo of what you have, with the stamp if you can read it, and describe what you would like made from it. Goldsmiths who work with clients’ own gold reply with a proposal. Popular choices are wedding rings from the gold of parents or grandparents, and a signet ring from family gold.