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The Easiest Way To Upcycle Jewelry You Love But Don’t Wear

upcycle vintage jewelry

Hey, there!

Today’s post is such a special post for me because I get to not only revisit some sweet memories from my wedding weekend, but I also get to share how life was breathed back into a piece of jewelry with so much significance.

THE GIFT:

On March 18th, 2011, Travis and I and those closest to us rehearsed for our wedding the next day. Following our wedding rehearsal, we enjoyed the most beautiful rehearsal dinner hosted my Travis’s parents. Several people got up and shared kind words about Travis and I; heck, his aunt even performed a rap! It was awesome!

The most memorable speech for me though, was the one given by Travis’s grandpa whom everyone called, Pipuh. Pipuh read from the most beautiful letter (which I still have today) about his and his wife’s dream of attending our rehearsal dinner. Although his wife, Mimi, had already passed away, she had already made preparations for our wedding eve. Pipuh went on to share that during a month-long trip to Brazil he and his wife visited Belo Horizonte (beautiful Horizon) just a feel miles north of Rio de Janerio. While there they found the most beautiful necklace and stone. Travis’s grandmother, Mimi, wore it often and delighted in the thought of gifting it to Travis’s someday wife – me.

I remember feeling so touched and honored that they would gift me such a meaningful piece. I felt especially blessed to have a piece of Travis’s grandmother I could carry with me given the fact that I wasn’t able to meet her in this life.

TO WEAR OR NOT TO WEAR:

I remember when I first got the necklace I swore I would wear it all the time. What I found though, was that I was so terrified I’d lose it that I only wore it to special occasions or not at all. While that was the biggest reason I rarely wore the necklace, I also realized that I so rarely wore it because it didn’t lay right on my chest.

The chain wasn’t really my style and was a bit too long for my frame. Because of the length of the chain, the jewel hung right in my cleavage and just didn’t look right. My other hesitation in wearing it was that I simply don’t wear big jewelry. I wear one dainty necklace every day and that’s typically it. So, wearing a large stone just felt off to me.

Despite not wearing it often, I  frequently took it out of my jewelry box to stare at and reread the sweet letter. Such sweet memories!

upcycle vintage jewelry

WHAT TO DO:

About a year ago I decided I would look for a new chain to put the jewel on so that I could wear it more. I never found a chain that worked with it though, so I gave up. And that’s where Kate The Concierge comes into play – a bespoke diamond concierge service!

Earlier this year the team at Kate The Concierge reached out to me and introduced me to one of their newest jewelry experiences. In January of 2021, Kate The Concierge started their Upcycle Experience. With this service, Kate The Concierge takes the diamonds or jewels that you already own and brings them back to life by giving them a new design – one that fits you now in present day.

Wether it’s jewelry from an ex, something you inherited that isn’t your style or something you no longer love or are unable to wear due to damage, they can help you! Simply put, they take out your stones and redesign them into something you would love to wear again! Amazing, right?

I was so thrilled to start working with them as I’ve never heard of something like this before. I knew immediately that the piece I wanted to wear would be the stone from Travis’s grandparents. The process was easy, simple, and fun and I couldn’t wait to share it with you all!

upcycle vintage jewelryupcycle vintage jewelry

The Upcycle Experience:

  • AVERAGE LENGTH OF TIME: the average length of time is 24 hours for the first proposal and about 4 weeks for the complete Upcycle experience.
  • AVERAGE COST: The budget is anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000. The Upcycle experience starts at $1,000 in gold and $1,500 in platinum.
  • WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: The information you’ll need to have to relay to the Upcycle team is the size and carat weight of your diamonds. This information can typically be found on the original receipt of the insurance appraisal.
  • WHAT YOU GET: For $97 you get 6 personalized designs that fit your stones and your budget. (use code: “Fleurdille97” to waive the $97 sign-up fee).
  • THE PROCESS:
    • INTAKE FORM – first you fill out an intake form (again, use code: “Fleurdille97” to waive the $97 fee). In this form you will tell them a little bit about your diamonds/jewel and what you love about it. You’ll describe any design ideas you had in mind and you’ll relay pertinent information such as the carat size and weight.
    • UPCYCLE DESIGNS – within 24 hours from your proposal, you’ll receive 2-3 designs from their team. You will get to review their designs and videos and give them feedback. If it’s not perfect, they’ll send you 2-3 more designs.
    • THE FINAL DESIGN – once your design is selected their team gets to work. Within 4 weeks you’ll have your new piece in your hands!

upcycle vintage jewelryupcycle vintage jewelry

MY DESIGN EXPERIENCE:

  • WHAT I HAD IN MIND: Knowing I didn’t wear my necklace that often, I knew a ring would be a better choice for me. I had a general idea of what I wanted and sent the Kate The Concierge team several inspiration pictures.
  • WHAT I SENT IN: In addition to the necklace from Travis’s grandparents, I also sent in a David Yurman ring. This ring, too, was sentimental as it was given to me by my parents when I was in college. I loved it so much at the time and wore it constantly (with the matching earrings that I still own). Over time though, as I refined my style and gravitated toward daintier pieces, I rarely wore this ring. Rather than letting it continue to hide out in my jewelry box, I sent in this ring as well in hopes they could use some of the diamonds and make a simpler ring with the main David Yurman stone.
  • ADDING TO YOUR PIECE – Working within a given budget, we decided to add several more diamonds to my new design. We used the tiny diamonds from the David Yurman ring to incircle the stone and then added diamonds along the band.
  • THE PROCESS: All in all, the process was fluid, easy, and communication was frequent. The whole process from start to finish went so smoothly. I have no doubt I’ll be doing this with other pieces in the future!

upcycle vintage jewelry

OUR GIFT TO YOU:

Because I had such a good experience and believe in this service, I want you to be able to experience it, too! The team at Kate The Concierge is so kind and they’re giving you all a code to use to waive the signup fee. So, use code: “Fleurdille97” to waive the $97 signup fee and get started on your own Upcycle Experience!

 

This post was created in collaboration with Kate The Concierge. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting brands that support Fleurdille.
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