Cornwall Living
Something old, something new
Turning a treasured heirloom piece into something even more special…
Taking old unworn jewellery apart and turning it into something new is a long-standing tradition among jewellers. At Justin Duance Jewellery, recycled materials are celebrated. The team can completely transform your heirloom pieces into something new using their unique sandcasting technique; molten gold is poured into a mould made using sand from your chosen beach. This process not only creates a beautiful natural texture, tiny grains of sand are captured in the gold too – so you can carry a bit of your favourite place with you everywhere you go.
If you aren’t lucky enough to have a jewellery box full of unworn treasure, fear not. All of the gold that Justin Duance use is recycled and they have a collection of vintage old cut diamonds for you to choose from too.
“There is something a bit special about a vintage diamond, especially the irregular cushion-shaped old mine cuts,” says Jamila from Justin Duance. “They’ve been shaped by hand to best reflect the candlelight of centuries past, so they twinkle differently from modern diamonds. There’s a certain romance to them and they pair perfectly with the organic nature of our sandcast rings. While we don’t know the origins of these stones, we consider them an ethical choice, by choosing vintage you are avoiding newly mined.”
Sustainability is an important part of Justin Duance’s ethos; when not using vintage, all their gemstones and diamonds are fairly traded and traced from their mine of origin right up to the finished piece of jewellery. They are also in the process of sourcing other recycled gemstones, so look out for one off pieces on the ‘Off the Benchpeg’ section on their website.
Whether you have a family heirloom that doesn’t quite suit your taste or are looking for something new, the team at Justin Duance are able to help guide you through choosing a special piece of jewellery. Book an appointment to visit the workshop where you can try on an array of different pieces and see where everything is made.
JUSTIN DUANCE JEWELLERY
