I love it when I'm approached with challenges... challenges involving Jewelry LOL. A few months ago a new client contacted me via Instagram saying she had been following me for a while and she loved my work (Thank you so much!)
She had a pair of earrings she was gifted when she turned 15 years old but she wanted to update them into something more modern and her style. The earrings had gorgeous emeralds and diamonds, which we repurposed. She also had a bunch of gold jewelry she didn't use, so we could use the gold from that as well.
Here you can see the original pair of earrings
She liked leaf-like shapes and she wanted to have both stones on the earrings. So I got to work drawing a design incorporating what she wanted and here's the initial sketch. I like to sketch by hand first with a fine point marker... and then paint my sketch with my daughter's colored pencils :D
After the design was approved, it was time to remove the stones from the jewelry she gave me (we saved the diamond from one ring for another piece) and melt the gold to be reused. The finished result surpassed my expectations, the stones are so pretty and they fit perfectly with the leaves design I drew.
Nature inspired motifs are sure to remain classics, which is what I believe we achieved with these earrings. She will be able to cherish them for years to come and then be able to gift them to her daughter to wear.
To make the earrings comfortable to wear, I made her extra large earring nuts. Sometimes the holes in our ears get stretched out from having worn heavy earrings, or sleeping with earrings on (if you do this, take off your earrings before bed!) so having large earring nuts can help the earrings stay flat to the ear and not look "hung"
I am always grateful to be approached with these design challenges and so happy to see old jewelry take on new life! If you have a piece you don't wear because it's not your style anymore, or if it looks outdated, you have lost its pair... I can help you turn it into something new you will love. Just contact me and we can work together on a new piece.