QuestionI would like to 're-make' my wedding band and have many pieces of old gold. It would seem that I could take that to a custom jewelry, have the old gold "melted" and remade to a custom design, thereby only paying for the craftsmanship and a larger diamond However, I am not having luck finding a goldsmith who does this. Is this possible? I live in the Columbus Ohio area. Thank you.
AnswerDear Joyce,
Using an internet search I found at least two jewelers who appear from their websites to do better quality custom work. There are others. Here those are if you have not checked these already:
Note: I have not seen any work in hand from these businesses and cannot comment on quality. These are simply examples of stores in the Columbus area which do custom work.
http://www.diamondcellar.com/index.jsp?content=article&menu=42§ion=421
http://www.worthingtonjewelers.com/tag/columbus-ohio-custom-jewelry/
Look for custom jewelers, contact and ask if they do CASTING, since that is the most likely method for using your "old" gold. Also ask if they do CAD work along with in-shop made wax models.
CAD work is sometimes done in-house but many stores find it more cost effective to use an outside specialist in this work. A computer assisted design program is used to make a 3D looking image of the new ring, working with the sketch or descriptions from the jewelry store worked out with you in the beginning. Then, a programmed set of instructions made with the cad program is fed to a machine which produces a very accurate model of the ring design in wax. With cad work, you can in the least see a very realistic picture of the design and changes can be made at that point prior to making the wax model. With hand made models, changes may be made with more difficulty but can be done.
Whether hand made or hand designed in CAD, the wax is used for Lost Wax Casting to cast your gold into the ring form. When cast, all is then sanded, finished, buffed, etc. and stone set to make the finished ring.
SOME JEWELERS DO NOT WANT TO USE YOUR GOLD. Why?
Before the job is accepted, a jeweler will want to examine your gold. You see, items with lots of solder (some chains qualify) or previously cast items may not be acceptable to produce the best casting. Items with lots of gold solder should not be used because the solder interfers with the total mix of gold and results may not be as good as you want in the final product. Gold nuggets made from old rings, etc. are not used because the gold has been heated a lot causing some of the original recipe metals to be lost and gases to be absorbed into the metal. This will very likely show a pitted or impure looking surface when cast. Gold scrap of die struck bands, earrings and such will generally do very well. A cast item may be added to the lot if there is enough "clean gold" like bands.
A jeweler will look at your metal and tell you what will work. Other jewelers will give you credit for your "scrap" gold but at the going scrap rate for gold. You will save some money but not nearly what the same amount of fresh from the refiner gold will cost. You will in this case wind up paying for gold plus labor minus credit for your scrap. The only way to know is to go the the business and talk it over.
SUGGESTION
Find what would be considered the "better store" and see if they do custom design work. Also, look for specialty custom jewelry shops. Find out if they do wax work and if they do CAD wax work with a ballpark price for both methods. Get that first. Then show you gold and ask if they will they pick out what can be used. Ask about credit for the rest toward the sale.
After that, is it a matter of getting together on a design and a price suitable to all. Ask to see some of their custom work if possible prior to commitment. Ask to see the model prior to casting so you will have a better idea of how it will really look.
Joyce, a google or other search for "custom jewelry design" or "custom goldsmith" Columbus Ohio (without the quote marks of course) should show more than the two stores I have here. Go to websites and see what they do. Yellow pages generally show who does this work also under the basic jewelry store headings.
This should do it and give you some added info on the process. Please feel free to use a follow-up if you need more information. If you get a chance, please rate this answer so I have some idea how I am doing out there. Fair enough?
God Bless and Peace. Thomas.
