I often receive requests from customers asking if we can melt down their gold to create a new piece of jewelry. These requests are always heartfelt—gold from a cherished heirloom carries immense sentimental value. While I wish I could honor this request exactly as you envision, the reality of jewelry production makes it more complicated than it seems. Let me explain.
Jewelry Casting: A Specialized Process
Casting jewelry isn’t something that most jewelers do entirely in-house. Casting—the process of melting metal and forming it into a new shape—requires specialized equipment costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, precise venting, and highly controlled conditions. For safety and quality, even the most prestigious jewelers, like Harry Winston, rely on a small number of certified casting houses for this part of the process.
These casting houses adhere to incredibly strict protocols, especially when working with recycled gold. To maintain their certifications and ensure the highest standards of quality, they don’t allow individual pieces of gold to be cast separately. Instead, they refine and re-alloy gold in large batches, ensuring consistency and purity.
What Usually Happens When Jewelers ‘Repurpose’ Your Gold?
When a jeweler offers to melt down your gold, what’s usually happening is slightly different from what you might expect. The jeweler sends your gold, usually in a batch with other pieces, to the casting house, which credits the value of the pure gold content toward your new piece. Your jewelry is then made using certified recycled gold, but not the exact same gold molecules from your original piece.
While this method ensures the gold is recycled and reused responsibly, the credit for your gold is often small. The casting house only pays for the pure gold content (not the alloy metals mixed in), and a refinement fee is deducted, further reducing the credit value.
Honoring Sentiment Through Design
While we can’t melt down your gold ourselves, we can work with you to create something equally meaningful using sustainable and certified recycled gold. Your memories can live on in a new piece that’s crafted with care and intention, even if it’s not made from the exact same material.
