Remaking a Ring – How Much Does it Cost? Re-Modelling a Ring

A guide to the cost of re-creating an item of jewellery.

How much does it cost to remake a ring in the UK?

The cost of re-making a ring (or re-modelling a ring) depends on the style of ring required. The ring design, type and amount of precious metals and gemstones required all influence the price.

Much of our work involves remodelling or remaking engagement rings and wedding rings. As such, we provide a bespoke design service to create any piece of jewellery. Many of our bespoke pieces replicate original designs that were often lost due to theft, damage, or accidental loss.

In addition, we also remake eternity rings for similar reasons.

Every bespoke piece of jewellery goes through several steps. First, we start with a consultation. Then, we build a detailed quote. Next comes the design stage, before we create the final item.

We understand the importance and sentimental value of each jewellery commission. For this reason, our team works tirelessly to recreate any item faithfully to our client’s wishes.

Remodelling a ring

But what’s the difference between jewellery remodelling and re-making? Firstly, jewellery re-modelling changes elements of a jewellery design.

For example, a solitaire engagement ring enhanced with a halo of diamonds around the main stone.

In contrast, remaking involves recycling original materials, including gemstones, into a new ring design.

Jewellery re-modelling makes up a large part of our weekly work, not just for rings but for all types of jewellery, including earrings, necklaces, and bracelets.

Can a jeweller replicate any design?

As jewellers, we can replicate a ring in any precious metal, such as Platinum, White Gold, Yellow Gold, or Rose Gold, most often in 9-carat or 18-carat purity.

To accomplish this, we work with the original ring in hand, where possible. But if this is impossible, we work from an image of the ring. In our examples below, we show the original ring pictures, alongside the recreated ring.

This is possible through various techniques, including 3D scanning and CAD design.

Lost rings re-made from a photograph

Occasionally, we receive a request to make a new ring based on a photograph of a lost ring. Ideally, we need a clear picture to work from to create a new item of jewellery from a photograph. At the same time, we often improve the quality and finish of the final ring, making it better than the original.

Remaking a badly damaged ring

If you intend to have an item of existing jewellery, such as an engagement ring, re-made, we can re-use your existing gemstones. Additionally, we can factor in the existing precious metals.

Our example shows a badly damaged Palladium engagement ring. The new ring appears on the right after a complete rebuild of the original design, which included resetting the original diamond.

As part of the price, we offset the cost of work against the metal value of the original ring.

Price guide USD 550 for the remade ring, including setting and finishing. 

Re-creating a badly made ring

Occasionally, we recreate low-quality ring designs into better, high-quality original versions.

To explain, some of our clients own existing jewellery styles they love. However, the rings lack the high-quality finish typically found in well-made rings.

Put simply, we recreate rings with better build quality. One of our local clients commissioned a new ring based on their existing design. The original ring lacked precise symmetry, with irregularly spaced claws around each diamond. The images below show before-and-after photographs of the original and new rings.

We designed and crafted a brand-new substantial ring and transferred the existing diamonds into the new ring mount.

Example: Remaking a bespoke Platinum engagement ring faithful to the original design

Guide to cost in 950 Platinum: £1500.00

We remade the diamond engagement ring below for a client who experienced repeated issues with her engagement ring.

Purchased at an auction some years ago, the ring’s construction resulted in the loss of diamonds due to inadequate settings. After many attempts to repair and secure diamonds, it was finally time to have their ring remade with secure claws.

As a result, we were commissioned to create a matching design with improved build quality.

At the same time, the engagement ring had to match her diamond-set wedding ring. Since we had previously crafted the wedding ring, we only needed to clean and refinish it.

Step 1. CAD jewellery design

Beyond our initial discussions, part of our work involved computer-aided design as the first part of the design process.

Working alongside the wedding ring, our custom designer created a CAD design of the replacement engagement ring. Modelled for the existing diamonds, the new setting would perfectly accommodate our client’s diamonds.

Step 2. Making the new engagement ring

Once completed, our client was happy to sign off on the designs. Re-making a ring takes several weeks, so the timescale worked out to around five weeks once the CAD design was approved.

Showing the finished re-made engagement ring alongside the original diamond wedding ring. 

What if the old ring has broken or is missing diamonds?

If you are missing diamonds from your original engagement ring (or if you have broken diamonds), we provide a service to match and replace any lost diamonds to create a fully refurbished ring. As a result, once remade, your diamond ring appears as new with colour and clarity-matched diamonds.

Remaking a ring using a bespoke design

Bespoke jewellery design can be more costly than when clients select an existing design. This is due to the additional work involved in designing and crafting a new ring, which includes recreating the ring using CAD design.

This intricate process creates a digital version of the ring. We retain the CAD model on file. Should your new ring be lost or damaged beyond repair, we can recreate it from the original model. As a result, we have created a perfect replica ring design.

This photograph shows the back of an Opal ring design we created to set an heirloom Opal ring from a jewellery box, brought back to life. The underside of the ring received equal attention to detail with intricate loops to enhance the beauty of the final ring.

Offsetting the cost against a new ring

We can offset the cost slightly by factoring in the existing precious metal, reducing the overall cost slightly. Once work has been completed on your ring, we calculate the value of your existing metal from the gram weight multiplied by the scrap metal price.

Reusing old Gold or Platinum to make a new engagement ring

We are regularly asked to make engagement rings, wedding rings and jewellery using old Gold and Platinum. We offer this service using 100% of your existing precious metal for the new design. This often requires additional Gold or Platinum as part of the process.

Changing your ring from Gold to Platinum

We regularly remake White and Yellow Gold rings in Platinum. We work with the original design and diamonds to transform the same ring into a new precious metal. Contact us for a personal quote on this service.

The photograph below shows two rings. The original yellow gold cluster ring is on the right after the diamonds have been removed. On the left, we photographed the re-modelled ring, made in 950 Platinum, set and finished with our client’s diamonds.

Melting down wedding rings to re-use Gold.

Can you melt down existing wedding rings to make new jewellery from Gold or Platinum? Put simply, yes you can. We remake sentimental jewellery items into new designs and reuse existing precious metals as part of our work.

How much does it cost to melt down rings?

For items of great sentimental value, we separate the gold in our workshops to ensure no contamination with other metals. For this, we use a separate can or casting crucible to melt the gold. Melting down wedding rings can be costly, but by way of example, the following commission demonstrates an example of cost and design.

Existing Gold used: 2 x 18-carat yellow gold wedding rings 11g in weight.

Objective: to melt down the rings and design 2 x pendants from the original melted-down wedding rings.

The work involved CAD design of necklaces to create two unique pendant designs, casting new items, and finishing. The ball and starfish designs are approximately 20mm in size.

Final weight of pendants: approx. 9g with additional scrap left over.

The cost indication is £1500 or less, depending on the design work involved.

The unwanted/leftover scrap gold was used to reduce the final cost by multiplying its gram weight by the scrap price at the point of collection.

***For items with no sentimental value, we simply offset the scrap price of the metal against any new jewellery design created.

Adding coloured gemstones to brand-new ring designs

If you already have a coloured gemstone, why not add the gem to a brand-new ring design? Choose from existing ring styles, or let us design the same CAD or a new design to accommodate a very large gemstone. This service comes after many years of experience resetting coloured gems into rings.

Unique coloured gemstones have been added to new ring designs. From left to right: Aquamarine, Tanzanite, Opal, Fire Opal and Purple Spinel. 

So why use old Gold or Platinum?

There is a very good reason for reusing old Gold or Platinum rather than offsetting the cost of the ring by selling the metal as part of the process. This reason is sentimental. If you have an heirloom ring or an item of intense sentimental value, you can transform it into a new item.

Refashioning your engagement ring with a bigger diamond

We re-create some clients’ original engagement ring with a much larger diamond size. We often re-design the ring to hold the bigger stone rather than adding the gemstone to the old ring.

Sometimes, we add a new setting to hold a larger diamond. Many couples upgrade an engagement ring in this way when finances improve later in life.

Making a brand new ring with your gemstone

We offer a complete re-modelling service for coloured gemstones, both precious and semi-precious. We regularly work with clients who own existing gemstones, many of which were purchased abroad or inherited.

As part of our service, we create an incredible ring design to showcase the gemstone as shown in our example below.

One of our most recent bespoke ring designs featured a six-carat Aquamarine set into 950 Platinum. Price guide £2,000, including all design, CAD modelling and creation through to the final ring. 

Remaking a wedding ring

Wedding ring designs can be faithfully replicated—even those with intricate detail such as hand engravings. Badly worn wedding bands or heirloom rings can be re-made as new.

The cost will depend on the work involved and the materials. Gold rings can be re-made in 950 Platinum or another choice of precious metal. Variations range from wide rings with or without patterns to narrow rings in any style and profile.

The following image shows a recent commission. Subtle detail, such as engraving on the outer edge, was faithfully re-created across the re-made wedding ring.

 

Revamping a diamond eternity ring

Recently, we re-created a White Gold diamond eternity ring in Platinum. In addition, our client needed a different finger size. In fact, the original ring no longer fit.

For this reason, we re-made the original ring. We seized the opportunity to upgrade to naturally white Platinum and remade the eternity ring. Our video below shows the original ring mount. In addition, we show the final Platinum eternity ring.

Restyling a complete ring set

Occasionally, we re-create complete ring sets. For example, when three shaped rings interlock and fit together. We recreate all rings in the set, or replace a missing ring working with the remaining rings.

Reproduction of Antique ring designs

Occasionally, we receive a commission to re-create antique rings, family rings or vintage items of jewellery.

For example, we re-designed an Opal and diamond antique ring to create a second ring design. As part of our work, we sourced a domed Cabochon opal, selecting several alternatives for our client to choose from.

Every commission varies. As a result, we quote individually based on the price of materials and work involved.

The original ring we worked with…

The completed re-production ring is made with a larger Opal and diamonds. Please note the incredible iridescence and colours within the large domed Opal. The surrounding diamonds are all exceptionally white to contrast with the intense colours from the Opal. 

View the antique opal and diamond ring on our bespoke section of the website

Recasting and reworking a personalised signet ring

Another ring commission involved remaking a personalised signet ring for a client. The original signet ring featured initials engraved onto the face of the gold signet ring. Those initials changed due to marriage. In the final ring, we added a crisp laser engraving with new initials and improved the build quality of the original ring.

Before and after photos of the re-made personalised signet ring.

Ring mountings and diamond settings

If you prefer to purchase an empty ring mounting or setting instead of a complete ring, we can help. We provide a full service to purchase ring mountings and diamond settings for any gemstones. Find out more by reading our dedicated information page.

Remounting a ring vs Resetting a ring

On a final note to this in-depth jewellery topic, it is worth discussing remounting a ring. At the same time, resetting a ring. Resetting typically refers to transferring the diamond or gemstone into a new setting. i.e. the part that holds the stone. Remounting, on the other hand, refers to a change of the design into a new mount. Reasons for this include wear and tear, damage or a style change. Sometimes, we move the entire head of a ring onto a new shank. At other times, we replace the head and remount this onto a new shank. Every person’s situation varies, and we accommodate all circumstances through our work.