Jewellery Remodelling Service: Cleopatra’s Bling Turns Your Old Jewellery Into Something New

Olivia Cummings loves phone calls. “I love my consultations. I love hearing about people’s lives,” she says via a Zoom call from Puglia. As the founder of Melbourne jewellery brand Cleopatra’s Bling, Cummings has been part of countless people’s biggest life moments, from engagements and anniversaries to milestones and grief. 

Just recently, she made a bespoke piece for a woman who lives in Vietnam who found her label through Instagram, and had a consultation call with a couple from the US who want a piece with Australian sapphires.

One-on-one calls for one-of-one pieces is, for Cummings, part of the charm. In fact, the jewellery maker is taking it a step further. “When I thought about what the brand actually stands for, it’s maintaining people’s connection to objects in a meaningful way,” she says.

The 12-year-old label has launched its jewellery remodelling service. Customers can hand in their own jewellery pieces made from precious metals and precious stones to be melted down and disassembled in a process of “unmaking”, before being transformed into an entirely new piece. It’s a service not uncommon in the jewellery industry, with more labels offering the bespoke way of making.

“Jewellery is something that has this long circular life that never dies. I think that’s why people are drawn to antique and vintage jewellery and why there’s this surge in desire for people to reuse their existing jewellery to make it relevant for their current life.”

The jewellery remodelling service is a chance for pieces to live a second life. Cleopatra’s Bling will take in inherited pieces (such as old engagement rings or heirloom brooches), as well as broken jewellery, loose gemstones or precious metals. Sustainability is a core value at Cleopatra’s Bling, and recycled materials are already favoured. 

The idea was sparked after the death of Cummings’ dad. She created some new jewellery for her mum from her dad’s old pieces. “When I would hold his pieces or my mum’s pieces, I remember feeling quite emotional,” she says. 

After becoming a mother herself, Cummings felt a new-found desire to pass down her own pieces to her daughter. “It’s actually really special that I can give her a sapphire from my grandma’s ring, or keep it aside for her.”

The service is not for mending jewellery, but for reimagining something new. The process begins with a consultation call with a potential client, where Cummings will learn about the customer’s existing piece (or pieces) and what they hope to transform it into. The Cleopatra’s Bling team will then do its “due diligence” and externally assess stones to see if they are structurally sound enough to be reset, as well as understand their technical specs.

Then, the team will unset any stones in their studio before melting down the metals. This will capture the pure content (typically gold or sterling silver) from the item, which can be reused. Pieces are priced as bespoke creations, but will be discounted depending on the jewellery initially provided. The metal that can be reused, plus any stones that will be used, will be struck from the final cost. “It’s both cost-effective and sentimentally valuable,” Cummings says.

It’s a collaborative process, one which is naturally slower. “I have these consultations with clients and families, and it’s really nice. I feel like I become the custodian of this ring – or brooch or pair of earrings – and then they get transformed.”

One client brought in his grandmother’s platinum and gold brooch in the shape of an art deco flower. He wanted to turn it into an engagement ring and for it to reference the original flower design. “We did that, and she said yes, and he sent us some lovely photos,” Cummings says. 

Another client sent in several pieces of her Indian jewellery to be remade into one of Cleopatra’s Bling’s designs, and another client, a new mum, bought in a piece from her mum which was remade into a new piece for her daughter. 

To ground herself against “the rise of AI and all the spooky stuff going on in the world”, Cummings returns to the ancient rituals of jewellery-making. “All that’s needed is our hands to recreate these pieces.” 

“Everyone’s trying to automate everything. Everything’s about optimisation. I was like, no, I want to do something that takes even longer, which is recycling jewellery. It takes longer, it’s more labour-intensive, but we’re using our network more, we’re using more people. That for me is quiet activism.”