Remodelling Jewellery: What To Do With the Rings That Carry Someone Else’s Story
In collaboration with Kate Higgins, Jeweller & Director of Eli Speaks Jewellery, Melbourne
There’s a ring sitting in a lot of our drawers right now. Maybe it belonged to a grandmother who never quite accepted you, or had the chance to. Or maybe it was your engagement ring, from a relationship that ran its course. Maybe it’s an heirloom that arrived with love attached but doesn’t look or feel like you, at all.
For queer couples especially, inherited jewellery can carry a weight that’s hard to name. Pieces passed down from family members who weren’t affirming. Stones tied to chapters you’ve closed. Gold that has a story, just not the one you want to keep wearing.
Jewellery remodelling is the answer a lot of people don’t know exists. And it’s far more transformative (emotionally and literally) than most people realise.
We asked Kate Higgins, jeweller and director of Eli Speaks Jewellery in Melbourne, to walk us through everything. Kate has been handmaking fine jewellery for clients around the world for over 15 years, working out of her studio in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD and remodelling is one of her greatest loves. Here’s what she wants you to know.
What Is Jewellery Remodelling? A Real Example
The best way to understand what jewellery remodelling actually is? A real story.
Deirdre came to Kate with her mother’s wedding ring set. They melted down parts of those rings and redesigned them into a modern pendant – something Deirdre could wear every single day. Something that keeps a little bit of her Mum close by.
That’s remodelling. Not losing the original. Carrying it forward, in a form that actually fits your life now.
How Does Jewellery Remodelling Work?
It begins with an in-person consultation, always. Kate looks at everything you’ve brought in: your old gold, silver and platinum pieces, loose gemstones, broken items that no longer serve their original purpose. She assesses metal purity, quantity, and quality, then helps you work out what’s usable in a new design and what might be better traded in for cash at a gold dealer instead.
“A five gram ring won’t make a new five gram ring. But it might make a beautiful 3.5 to four gram one. We need more than the finished weight to allow for the actual business of making it.”
Any gems are checked carefully – not just for condition, but for what they actually are. Kate is gently direct about this:
“There’s no use designing a $2,000 ring around a cubic zirconia worth $5, which will scratch in no time.”
Once the materials are assessed, Kate hand-draws your design, developed in consultation with you, and incorporates personal touches that tell your specific story. Over the years, she’s engraved dates, quotes, family crests, significant symbols, and yes, paw prints. Birthstones. Specific colours. Pieces of the original item worked into the new design in unexpected ways.
A 50% deposit confirms the work. The piece is typically completed within three to eight weeks, and if you need it, valuations can even be organised before collection.
Remodelling Heirloom Jewellery: The Emotional Side Nobody Talks About
Kate is clear: this is not just a technical service. It’s a ritual. And after 15 years, she’s learned to make full space for that.
“Jewellery is sentiment-laden as a rule – so many items have complicated associations. I love hearing the stories behind each piece. Clients can be quite emotional through this process, and honestly, I’ve had to learn to lean into that. After 15 years though, I’m so here for it. It’s not lost on me that what I’m creating is always close to the heart.”
For queer couples, this emotional dimension can run especially deep. Inherited pieces from family members who complicated your coming out. Rings from relationships that belonged to a version of yourself you’ve grown past. Stones carrying stories you’re ready to rewrite.
“I like to think the rebirth through fire helps shed any bad juju. We often talk through this transformative process in the consultation.”
The material carries on. The story changes. You decide what it means now.
What Jewellery Can Be Remodelled? Gold, Gems, and What’s Worth Saving
This comes up in almost every consultation, so Kate has written about it extensively on her website too. Here’s the short version.
Yellow gold is the gold standard – 18ct, 14ct, and 9ct all melt reliably and rework beautifully. Rose gold is a close second, though its copper content makes it a little more temperamental. White gold is often problematic due to the huge variation in alloy recipes from different parts of the world. Platinum can be complex too, and the scrap return is usually low because demand from gold dealers is limited. Silver, even with its recent rise in value, isn’t worth remelting for a handmade piece – the labour cost versus material value just doesn’t stack up.
There’s also a $200 non-refundable melting fee – and it’s worth understanding why. Prepping metal for reuse takes real time: cleaning, removing gems, working out ratios, melting (sometimes multiple times). In cases where the gold simply can’t be refined for reuse, Kate will let you know early and you’ll start fresh with new metal instead.
On gemstones: most diamonds and coloured stones don’t carry resale value as loose gems unless they’re large or exceptional. So if a stone isn’t going into the new design, there’s not much to be done with it.
“Don’t write them off just because they are scratched! There could be a stunning gem hiding under there.”
Sapphires and rubies often just need repolishing to come back to life – a small additional fee folded into the overall cost. But if a stone is low quality, a new setting won’t make it look better.
“Best to leave those out and find something new and stunning, like an Australian sapphire.”
And one more thing worth knowing before you walk in: lower carat gold means lower pure gold content, and lower returns. Nine carat gold is only 37.5% pure gold. The cash return from trading unused materials can be offset against the cost of your new design, which many clients find genuinely helpful. Kate is always upfront about what to expect.
Engagement Rings for Queer Couples: When You Both Want to Wear One
For couples where both partners want to wear a ring, and want them to feel like they belong together without being copies of each other, Kate is in her element.
“Every individual is different, so oftentimes we go with the overall design that each person is called to, and then tie them together with the same metal tones, or the same engraving somewhere cute. Sometimes we have a design feature in common – like my little Mexicali tile shapes – that doesn’t mess with each person’s individual aesthetic, but subtly connects them to their partner.”
And if you both want to go full matching? Absolutely your jam. No rules, no assumptions about who wears what. Just two rings that belong to two people who belong together.
How to Find the Right Jewellery Remodelling Jeweller in Melbourne
Not every jeweller does remodelling – and even those who do may not have the equipment, skill, or genuine interest to do it well.
“It is worth finding the right person to create with.”
Working with a handmade jeweller operating out of a small studio changes what’s possible. In a private consultation with Kate, the design is built entirely around your specific stones, your specific story, and your specific life. Nothing is off-the-shelf. Everything is made by hand, by the person who sat across from you and heard what this piece means.
Her studio is at 606A/125 Swanston St in the Melbourne CBD – private, light-filled, easy to get to. And her biggest standing advice?
“Bring that unworn jewellery in and see what we can create that you will actually love wearing.”
If there’s a piece sitting in your drawer with a story that doesn’t belong to you anymore – or one you’re ready to carry forward in a different form – Kate Higgins at Eli Speaks Jewellery is the kind of maker you want to hand it to.
Explore her work at elispeaks.com.au and read her full remodelling guide here before you book your consultation.
Eli Speaks Jewellery is a Dancing With Her approved vendor. Find more LGBTQ+ inclusive jewellers in our directory at dancingwithher.com/directory.
