Inheriting anything from a family member or friend is a special event, and yet too many of us end up storing heirlooms away in a place where they never see the light of day, until it’s time to pass them on to the next generation ourselves.
If you’re a fan of aesthetics and all things beautiful, then leaving an heirloom to gather dust can feel like a waste. Luckily with the right approach, even a keepsake that isn’t currently on-trend can be revived and enjoyed right now, so let’s go over a few ideas that might work for you.
Pair It With A Modern Piece
Sometimes the issue with an heirloom, particularly a piece of jewelry, is that it looks a little long in the tooth when seen in isolation.
The best way around this is to combine a keepsake with a brand new item, like those found in the unique collection from Diamondere, so that its proximity to a much more modern equivalent will make it look bang up to date itself.
This won’t work for everything, of course, but if you are careful about how you color match and cognizant of the combinations of old and new that work well, it is more achievable than you might think.
Convert It Into Something New
Jewelry doesn’t just have to remain in its original form indefinitely, and converting classic pieces so that they match your modern wardrobe and tastes is often achievable without erasing the spirit or the meaning of the piece.
Brooches are arguably best suited to the purpose of conversion, since they start as something of a blank slate, and are able to be adapted into everything from a pendant necklace to an earring or even an anklet.
You might be able to convert the keepsake yourself, so long as it already has an integrated anchor point that will work when attached to a separate chain, in the case of a necklace adaptation of a brooch, for example.
However, for more complex conversions it’s a good idea to consult an expert jewelry or craftsperson, as they will not only be able to do the work for you, but also advise you on what approach will be best.
Reuse Gemstones In A Fresh Configuration
You can go one step further than a simple conversion into a full-blown reimagining, so long as the heirloom in question is mostly meaningful and valuable because of the gems it includes, rather than simply because of its original design.
It’s quite common for precious stones to be extracted from older pieces and re-set in brand new counterparts, whether because the original design is so outdated as to be beyond saving, or simply because the keepsake doesn’t fit you as well as it did the person you inherited it from.
It’s not just gems like diamonds, rubies and emeralds that can be reused, but also other valuable assets. For example, pearl necklaces can be resized so that they are more appropriate as wrist wear.
You could even extract individual pearls or gems, and use these to create multiple pieces of new jewelry from one original example. This is an especially good idea if several members of a family are interested in inheriting a single heirloom. It could save you from a lot of in-fighting and unpleasantness.
These are just a few examples of the options available to you if you’ve got an heirloom gathering dust. Use your imagination and the possibilities are endless. There are even options for people with different budgets available, which means there’s no excuse to procrastinate.
