If you have existing jewellery that you would like to melt down and use to make your wedding rings then you can however there are a few things to consider. We know that existing jewellery can have huge sentimental value however it does throw up some challenges when it comes to melting it down and reusing it.
Hard to control the colour - When melted down and reworked yellow gold takes on a redder colour, often looking more like rose gold. This can be mostly corrected by quenching the ring in acid then leaving it to ‘pickle’ for a period of time however this is not fail safe and results can be inconsistent. Over time the ring might also become more rose gold looking as the cooper in the alloy comes to the fore.
Imperfections in the metal - Whilst it may be possible to know the quantity of gold in the material it will be impossible to know what the other materials in the alloy are and in what percentage. 9ct gold is just 37.5% gold meaning that 62.5% of the metal is other materials, most likely copper and zinc but other materials such as silicon, tin and cadmium can also be present and we are unable to test for these. If you are melting multiple pieces acquired at different times and in different locations then the mix of materials can be quite varied. These consistencies can make the process and finished result much harder to control.
Metal is much harder - again, because of the inconsistencies in the alloys, when existing jewellery is melted down it is much harder to bend and mill meaning your ring making experience will be tougher and not as fun as if we use newly alloyed.
Very limited in design - if using existing jewellery we are only able to make plain bands with parallel sides. We cannot make shaped bands and may be limited to the types of finish we can achieve.
Wastage - Like any other manufacturing process there is a certain amount of wastage when you are making jewellery (like sawdust with wood). This can vary depending on the design of the rings but can be as high as 20%. Whilst some of this can be recovered and it's yours to keep it may be hard to resell as it will be hard to identify.
Solder content - solder is gold that has been mixed with tin which helps it to flow and melt at a lower temperature but this is a contaminate when melted up. Where possible we will cut out any solder joins that we can identify to ensure that there is not solder mixed in with your metal. If a piece has multiple solder joins then we will need to cut them out and this will add to the non recoverable wastage.
It is for this reason that we do not accept chains. In a chain, every link will have a solder join in meaning when melted the overall proportion of solder in the metal is too high to melt and reform. The image below shows a solder seem in a ring that has been heated to the point that it oxidises.
Surcharge - Because of all the factors listed above we implement a £250 per person surcharge to cover the extra processes and time that is required should you wish to supply your own metal.
If you have jewellery that you would like to exchange for the melt value of its gold content then we will asses and weigh this on the day of your workshop.
We do not accept new gold from external suppliers.
