She is very creative and also is beginning to do her own jewelry work and design. That being said, converting these two brooches to pendants was just a bit above her experience at this point.
We have two pretty brooches, both about the same vintage Art Deco era. Both pins are mass-produced and in really really great condition. One is white gold with a step-cut aquamarine and the other is yellow gold with a tiny European-cut diamond. I did not find any previous repairs on either one.
The challenge was to find a pre-made bails to complement the age and designs without being too obvious that a modification was made.
Search success! I found a pendant bail that mimicked the yellow gold pin as well as being a tie-in to the beading decoration on the white gold pin.
changes to vintage requires caution…
Next I figured out how to attach the bails with the least amount of invasion to each piece – fortunately, each of the brooches had a joint to which the pin stem was attached. The solution was to remove the catch end, remove just the pin stem and use the joint to rivet the bail onto the piece. It also helps to remember that many pins from that era and older had jointed bails to allow the piece to be worn as a pendant when wanted. Minimum amount of heat and fabrication did not harm anything, ending with two pendants she is thrilled with, as am I!
This lovely woman with a charming South African accent found me via a referral. Yes, I do think referrals make the world go ’round.
- 18k white gold brooch converted to pendant with a bezel set, has step-cut genuine aquamarine and two European cut diamond accents
- 14k yellow gold brooch redesigned into a pendant has one European cut diamond in the center
- Location: Weatogue, CT