5 Ways to Enhance Your Existing Jewelry

Written by Annabelle
April 17, 2019

People change, and so do their tastes in food, clothing, and jewelry. If you have a box of baubles that you don't really touch any more, don't just start tossing them away or giving it to your relatives-change it to suit your needs! Here are five ways to enhance jewelry.

Gold Plating: When people first start buying jewelry, sterling silver is a go-to since it's affordable and pretty. But what to do when your style evolves to loving yellow and rose gold? No problem- get it plated with gold electroplating.
This highly scientific process involves a lot of chemistry and a lot of gold. Your jewelry is polished to a high shine and professionally cleaned before it's sent to the gold plating tank, where it's immersed in a solution of dissolved metal salt and water. Electricity runs through the water, causing a chemical reaction that fuses the gold to the surface of the jewelry.
Rhodium Plating: Not feeling the gold aesthetic? Rhodium is a beautiful silvery metal that enhances the appearance of white gold. It can also be used to change the color of your existing jewelry as well. Much like gold plating, the item is polished, cleaned and placed into a tank for the metal to fuse to the surface. It's also comparatively more durable than gold, so it protects your jewelry from scratches as well as making it hypoallergenic.
E-coating: If you're completely bored of the whole gold/silver look, go wild with e-coating. This ceramic/acrylic coating is the latest trend in jewelry due to its ability to coat the metal with a colorful semi-transparent varnish. You can even customize and mix your own colors! The process involves submerging the jewelry into a tank to put the color on, and then baking it in an oven to harden the coating.
A typical sampler containing various e-coating colors.
Stone Replacement: Sometimes gems need an upgrade. If you love a ring to pieces but you know it's only cubic zirconia or glass, why not change it to a stone of your choice? A lapidary will evaluate the piece of jewelry, measure the size of the stone, and source any type of gem you want. You can even choose the color, quality, and shape of the stone. The lapidary can match your criteria and cut the gem to your desired shape.
This antique ring switched out a milky glass stone for a genuine citrine.
Conversion: Jewelry conversion comes in two forms: convert a type of jewelry to another type of jewelry (like a pin to a ring), or convert your earring back type. It's the most drastic way to enhance jewelry because you're completely changing the look of the piece.
- Jewelry Type Conversion: If you're not really a brooch person, or you have a single earring, this is the enhancement for you! The jeweler can disassemble the existing piece of jewelry and change it into a new type of jewelry by either using old components or adding new ones. For instance, the jeweler can use the stick part of the pin to form the band for a ring, or attach a completely new band to the back of the design. Earrings can be converted into pendants by removing the back and attaching either a bail or a jump ring to the top.
  Two vintage pins that we converted into rings for one of our clients.
  
  A Bohemian garnet earring that was converted into a new pendant.
- Earring Back Conversion: Earring backs come in many forms for comfort or style, and changing the back of an earring can completely change the aesthetic of your jewelry. Consider switching from posts to drops, or vice versa. Add a post to clip-on backs and you'll have instant extra security. The options are endless!