There may be a way to salvage those crumpled up herringbone chains and rings that are broken or have stones missing. Even costume pieces have some hope and may be useful for other jewelry creations.



Let's start with the costume pieces. If you have a piece of costume jewelry that has some really good imitation stones, they can be taken out and set in real gold or silver to give them new life. If you love the look of the costume setting, it is possible to take it to a custom jewelry designer and have the entire piece recreated.

The jeweler can sometimes make a mold of the old metal setting and recast it in gold or silver. Custom designs can be expensive, so you would have to really love the piece for it to be worth it.

The same can be said for real gold or silver jewelry pieces. The scrap gold or silver can be melted down and often be used in creating an entirely different piece of jewelry. In custom jewelry design, you can usually pick a wax pattern they already have, or you can even help in the process of creating a design that has been made from your own ideas.

Any real or imitation diamonds or gem stones you may have can be incorporated in the piece if you would like. Having a piece of jewelry made by a custom designer can be a really fun and interesting thing to do with your scrap jewelry.

There is nothing as spectacular as wearing a piece of jewelry you helped design and was created just for you. It is always enjoyable to wear something you know is a one of a kind piece.

The other option in using your scrap jewelry is selling it. If you are not interested in using it for a custom design, there can be a profit in it just the way it is. Any real gold you have can be sold sometimes to a jewelry store or pawn shop.

There are businesses on the internet who buy scrap gold and silver as well. You will probably be paid a scrap gold or silver price, and the amount usually depends on the market value of the metal.

If your scrap jewelry has real diamonds or gem stones, they can be probably be sold to whoever buys your gold, but do a little investigating and make sure you get the best price. This is really turning trash into treasure.