CALGARY · BY APPOINTMENTjewellery redesign
Inherited stones, outdated settings, rings you have not worn in years. We assess what you already own and rebuild it into something you reach for daily.
Melissa completely nailed it. My wife is ecstatic with her ring.
H · Calgary
She took the time to understand exactly what I was looking for and turned my ideas into a piece even better than I imagined.
K · Calgary
She took the time to educate and guide us through the complex world of gems.
Z · Calgary
It really felt like a collaboration. This local Calgary business deserves every success.
M · Calgary
From concept to completion, Melissa made the experience next level.
A · Calgary
THE STARTING POINTmost of this work begins in a drawer.
An engagement ring you still love the meaning of but not the look of. Your grandmother's diamonds in a setting nobody would wear now. A pendant you were given and have never once put on. The odds and ends that collect over twenty years, none of it worn, all of it worth something.
Sometimes a marriage ended. Just as often, nothing happened at all except that your taste moved and the ring didn't.
The materials are usually still good. The design is what stopped working. Redesign takes what is already yours, and what it means to you, and builds it into a piece that fits your life now.
A large part of what leaves this studio started as something else.
JEWELLERY REDESIGN PROJECTS
HOW IT WORKSfrom a box to something you wear.
Four to eight weeks from design approval. How long depends on how much of the original can be reused and whether anything new needs sourcing. Both are settled before you commit.
01
consultation
One-on-one in the studio, by appointment. Bring everything, including what you are unsure about. We talk through what you have, what you would wear, and your budget.
02
assessment
We establish what everything actually is, and what is useable. Karat, stone type, condition. Old gems are not always safe to reset, and this is what sets the design direction.
03
design & approval
We work from your references and whatever you have been collecting, then draw by hand and render in 3D so you see it before it exists. A written quote and 50% deposit start production.
04
crafting
Your piece is created, then comes back for a final review before you see it in person. Four to eight weeks from design approval.
WHAT IT COSTSredesign is quoted piece by piece.
Cost depends on what we can reuse, what has to be sourced new, and the work involved making it. Resetting one stone into a simple band is not the same job as combining four pieces into one. Whatever the number, you see it in writing and approve it before we start.
REDESIGN FROM$1,500
MOST PROJECTS$2,000 – $8,000
TIMELINE4– 8 weeks
QUOTE BEFORE WORK BEGINSALWAYS
CAN EVERY PIECE OF JEWELLERY BE REDESIGNED?
No, and you should be told that early rather than late. Decades of wear leave thin shanks, worn prongs, and stones with chips or internal fractures that will not survive being reset. Some stones can be reset, some cannot. Some settings can be reused and melted, some cannot. The best way to determine what can be used is to have everything assessed.
Every piece is assessed before a design is drawn. If something cannot be safely reused, you hear it at the consultation, along with what can be done instead.
Many clients arrive with several pieces at once. Inherited rings, settings that were never their taste, loose stones collected over the years. Those often become one piece rather than three, which is usually the better outcome.
COMMON QUESTIONSBEFORE YOU BOOK
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Yes. Your piece is documented and photographed before anything happens to it, and it stays accounted for at every stage. If you want to keep part of the original intact, say so at the consultation and we design around that.
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Depending on the karat and condition of the old pieces, you have a few different options. Sometimes we are able to use your existing gold in your new piece, sometimes we can credit the value towards your new piece, or we can return it to you. All options are discussed before any work begins.
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Stones are assessed before any work is quoted.. If a stone shows a chip or an internal fracture that makes resetting risky, you are told before you commit, and we look at the alternatives together.
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Sometimes. We will let you know if the setting is in good enough condition to be worn, and if it isn’t, what can be done to repair or restore it. Some settings are at the end of their lives, and while they cannot be restored or repaired, we can often make a replica.
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Often the best result. Stones from different pieces can be combined into a single design, which usually means you wear all of your sentimental stones in one piece. Bring everything and we will look at it together.
Melissa Mitchell designs every piece at West of Fourth personally, from the first conversation to the finished piece. No handoff, no sales floor, no one else in the room.
She has spent over a decade in Calgary fine jewellery, in bespoke design and gemstone sourcing, and holds Graduate Diamonds, Coloured Stones, and Applied Jewellery Professional diplomas from the Gemological Institute of America.
one designer, start to finish.
“My husband designed my engagement ring with Melissa a few years ago so it was a no brainer to return to her for a re-design of some heirloom pieces. I had such a wonderful experience working with her and she made the whole process seamless. My ring turned out even better than I could have imagined and I couldn’t have done it without her creative mind and attention to detail! I’m lucky to now have 2 special pieces of jewelry designed by Melissa and I can’t wait to see what we come up with next!”
5.0 from 34 verified google reviews.
CLIENT REVIEWS“Melissa redesigned our engagement ring with an upgraded stone and massive resize. She was incredibly collaborative, worked within our budget and offered great ideas that improved the look and stability of the ring. I am so glad we went with her, she’s our forever jeweler now!”
STARTING FROM NOTHING INSTEAD?custom engagement rings
If there are no stones to work from, the process starts with sourcing rather than assessment. Same studio, same designer, different starting point.
READY TO START?bring it in and we'll look at it together.
You do not need a plan. Bring in your pieces, and we will go over them together, and talk about what’s possible.