How to Upgrade Your Jewelry

Upgrading your jewelry is an easy way to make an old piece feel fresh, new, and exciting. By upgrading your center stone or setting, you can give your jewelry the glamour boost or style update it needs for you to fall in love with it all over again. 

If you’ve been thinking about upgrading your jewelry but aren’t sure exactly how to go about it, we’re here to assist. Below, we’re going over everything you need to know about the jewelry upgrade process, then sharing five different ways you can upgrade your jewelry.

How to Upgrade Your Jewelry  

Wondering how the upgrade process works? In this section, we’ll go over each step in the process, starting with the moment you decide to upgrade and ending with the moment you receive your freshly upgraded piece. 

Decide Why You Want To Upgrade

Once you know that you want to upgrade your jewelry, it’s important to pinpoint why you want to upgrade. This is a crucial step, as knowing the specific reason you want to upgrade will guide you toward an upgraded design you’ll adore.  

There are many reasons you may want to upgrade a piece of jewelry. For example, if your personal style has changed, you may want a piece that reflects your new style. Perhaps the minimalist look no longer sparks joy for you, so you want something a bit more ornate. Or, if your disposable income has changed, you may want to get something a little more luxurious now that you can afford it. Consider why you’re no longer satisfied with your old jewelry until you understand what it’s lacking. 

Set Your Budget 

Next, set your upgrade budget. Just like when you buy brand new jewelry, it’s important to set a budget for upgrading your jewelry. Setting a budget will ensure that you only spend an amount that’s comfortable for you. Setting a budget early will also help you understand your upgrade options, which will make the upgrade experience easier and more enjoyable.

Find the Right Jeweler 

Finding the right jeweler is extremely important when you’re upgrading your jewelry. You need to find a skilled, trustworthy jeweler. Then, you also need to find a jeweler that will be able to upgrade your jewelry in the way you desire. Note that a random, big-box jewelry retailer cannot always accommodate jewelry upgrades, since they may not have jewelry craftsmen on staff or jewelry-making equipment on site. 

If you’re in the Illinois area, we’d love for you to consider Frank Jewelers for your jewelry upgrade. We’re an independent, family-owned jeweler with over 80 years of experience in creating and curating fine jewelry. We focus on building long-lasting relationships with our customers and we’re proud to say that we have an excellent reputation within our local community. We also proudly specialize in creating custom fine jewelry, allowing us to accommodate any upgrade request, including custom upgrade requests. 

Decide How You’ll Upgrade 

Now, it’s time for the most fun part of the upgrade process: deciding how you’ll upgrade your old fine jewelry. At this point, you know what you do and do not like about your old jewelry, so it’s time to think about how you want to transform it. You can come with ideas on your own or collaborate with your jeweler. If you need ideas on how to upgrade your jewelry, continue on to the next section in which we cover five ways you can upgrade jewelry! 

Have Your Jeweler Craft Your Upgrade 

Finally, your jeweler will craft your upgrade. The time it takes to create an upgraded piece can vary widely depending on your upgrade and your jeweler’s schedule. For example, if you simply want an existing center stone placed into an in-stock ready-made setting, your jeweler may be able to do your upgrade on the spot. In other cases, it may take anywhere from hours to weeks for your jeweler to complete your upgrade. 

Five Ways to Upgrade Your Jewelry 

Looking for jewelry upgrade inspiration? Here are five ways you can upgrade your jewelry. 

Upgrade Your Setting 

Upgrading a piece of jewelry’s setting is one of the most popular ways to upgrade. There are two reasons for this. One is that it’s perhaps the most budget-friendly way to upgrade a piece of jewelry. With this upgrade option, you utilize your original jewelry’s center stone and/or side stones in a new setting. Since center stones are generally the most expensive part of a piece of jewelry, upgrading a setting is usually more affordable than upgrading a center stone. Then, the second reason this upgrade option is so popular is that it’s incredibly impactful in terms of how much it can change the style of your jewelry. 

Placing a gemstone in a new setting can completely change how it looks. Even simple setting changes can entirely change the look of a piece. For example, swapping a white gold solitaire engagement ring setting for a yellow gold solitaire engagement ring setting can transform your original ring into a new ring that’s much more warm and traditional in style. Then, if you go for a substantially different setting, you can create an incredibly dramatic change. You could have your center stone set in a bold diamond halo setting, a classic three-stone setting, an intricately engraved vintage-inspired setting, a modern diamond band setting, and so much more. 

Upgrade Your Center Stone  

Upgrading your center stone is another very popular upgrade option, especially for diamond engagement rings. It’s fairly rare for couples to be able to get the center diamond of their dreams when they first get engaged. It’s more common for couples to have to be a bit flexible with their diamond ring’s quality and carat weight. So, when a couple has more room in their budget, a diamond upgrade may start looking very attractive. 

Whether you want to upgrade the center diamond in an engagement ring or another piece of jewelry, you have options for your loose diamond upgrade. You can select a higher quality diamond, a diamond with a higher carat weight, or a diamond that’s both larger and higher quality. If you’re looking to change the style of your diamond ring, you may also want to consider trying a new diamond shape. Choosing a different shape for your new stone can change your original jewelry’s style as much as changing its setting. 

Create Something Custom Using Your Own Materials 

Looking for a more dramatic upgrade than a simple center stone or setting swap? Consider using your original piece’s materials to create a beautiful new custom creation. 

The wonderful thing about custom jewelry crafting is that you can create anything you dream of. You can change a contemporary-style diamond pendant into a vintage-style diamond bangle. You can add new gemstones to diamond earrings and make a bold, colorful drop earring. You can also have one piece made into multiple pieces. For instance, you could have an engagement ring made into a set that features a new engagement ring and a matching anniversary ring. When you go custom, the only thing that limits what you can create is your imagination. 

Update a Family Heirloom 

Often, a person will inherit a family heirloom that they love for sentimental reasons. Yet, if they don’t love the style of this heirloom jewelry, they won’t get any use out of it. So, they won’t get much enjoyment out of owning the piece. 

The solution to this problem is to update and upgrade that family heirloom. By using the original materials from the heirloom, its sentiment will remain intact. By having these old materials set in a new style, you end up with a piece you’re thrilled to wear. It’s a win-win solution. 

There are numerous ways to update a family heirloom piece. You could go for a simple transformation, like having a brooch made into a pendant for a necklace. Or, you could create something entirely new. For example, you can use the diamonds in an heirloom wedding band to make clustered diamond studs, or have gemstones from a bangle made into a colorful bar necklace. The options here are endless, so the key is to choose a custom jeweler with a keen eye for both creating new designs and keeping the sentimental elements of your heirloom piece intact. 

Put the Value of an Old Piece Towards a New One

If you have a fine piece of jewelry that doesn’t have sentimental value or practical value (meaning, you never wear it), consider putting its monetary value toward a piece you’d enjoy more. You may have inherited this piece, received it as a gift, or even purchased it yourself when your tastes were different. However it ended up in your jewelry box, if you don’t enjoy owning it, you should feel free to let it go. This is especially true if there are no elements of the piece you want to use for an upgrade. You may have an antique wedding ring that features exquisite, GIA-certified, D color emerald-cut diamonds. But if you hate step-cut diamonds, you’ll want to let those emerald-cut diamonds go, rather than trying to force yourself to use them in a new piece. 

To put the value of an old piece towards a new one, you could sell it, but note that a trade-in at a jeweler may get you more bang for your buck. It depends on the specific piece and jeweler, but a jeweler will often offer more store credit than you could get in cash for a piece. Consider whether you want to trade in your old piece for store credit or sell it for cash you can use at any jeweler, then make your decision accordingly.

Final Thoughts on Upgrading Your Jewelry 

This concludes our comprehensive guide to upgrading your jewelry. We hope this information has been helpful as you settle on what you’d like to do for your next jewelry upgrade. If you have any additional questions about the upgrading process (or if you perhaps need ideas on how to upgrade a specific piece), please don’t hesitate to contact us. You can get in touch with one of our expert jewelry consultants by calling us, messaging us, dropping by our showroom during our store hours, or by scheduling a consultation appointment. For your convenience, we offer both in-person and virtual consultation appointments. 

We look forward to speaking with you and helping you create an upgraded piece you adore.