New Life for Old Treasures

Credit: MJ Jewellers

Jewellery is a beautiful keepsake. It can hold memories of a loved one or simply be a unique and personal way to express one’s style—MJ Jewellers breathes new life into family heirlooms and other jewellery in need of upgrading or repair.

In some cases, older pieces—those passed down or just lying about needing a little extra love—can become the most stunning parts of a jewellery collection with some expert restoration or redesign.

“We can turn something old or forgotten into something memorable and something to be cherished,” says John Leung, owner of MJ Jewellers Ltd. in Vancouver. The store specializes in creating custom one-of-a-kind pieces from scratch, using the customer’s inspiration as a guide, and it also has a thriving restoration and redesign department that focuses on bringing new life to just about any piece.

MJ Jewellers’ team of goldsmiths can fix jewellery to maintain its quality and extend its wearability.

“We can use old stones and design something completely new,” Leung says. “We can also restore old jewellery to look like it is new or repair it so that you can wear it without worry.”

They can strengthen rings by remaking half or ¾ of the shank or band, making it thicker and stronger, or change the head of the ring or update the stone into something different or bigger.

Repairing one of these treasures might mean soldering a broken chain or ring, resizing a ring or replacing missing stones.

“We can add safety chains or clasps on to bracelets or necklaces for extra security, or we can change the posts of earrings to screw backs,” Leung says. “We can even make hinge rings for people with arthritic knuckles.”

Another option is repolishing and recutting stones, both of which can bring a rejuvenated look and shine to an older piece.

“It doesn’t have to be expensive to restore a piece of jewellery,” Leung says. “Sometimes it’s just as easy as retipping the claws, which means adding gold to the claws to reinforce them.”

Perhaps a piece warrants an entirely new incarnation—MJ Jewellers can redesign a family heirloom to suit a contemporary style while preserving its key elements. Consider it can change rings or brooches into pendants, pendants into rings, or create any number of new designs.

“In some cases, we change sentimental pieces into entirely new ones,” Leung says. “For example, we have made a bracelet into a pair of wedding bands.”

MJ Jewellers also creates new, custom pieces, hand-forged and crafted in its studio using traditional, artistic techniques. It is the perfect place to help create a stunning, one-of-a-kind treasure or engagement piece.

Looking to rejuvenate an older piece or design something brand new? Book an appointment with a dedicated designer to get started on creating your next heirloom. 

“We work closely with you to create and prepare a unique design concept specifically for you or your loved one,” Leung says. “We can design from scratch or use our inventory of different styles as a reference as we come up with a design specific to your needs.”

Learn more at Mjjewellers.ca

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