'Renewing' Vintage Gold Jewelry!

Howdy do, kids!  Welcome to Day #33 of 365 Day Make n' Tell Challenge!

I had been eyeing a redo on a vintage gold necklace I had picked up about two years ago, when Nick and I first met.  I had spent the day with his family at Sherkston Shores and bought the necklace at an antiques shop, along with a few vintage movie posters and a pair of earrings or two.  It's calling for lots and lots of rain this weekend, so I thought this would be a great weekend project to do.  I had visited one of my favourite bead stores, Earthworks, on my lunch break today and picked up an assortment of semi-precious stones in some reds that I thought would work great with yellow gold.

 

The red agate nuggets are faceted to highlight the layers within the stone, and the large red agate coin is a great dramatic piece to add a contrasting sense of natural fluidity to the gilded centrepieces of the pendant.

I'm very happy I waited to reform this necklace when my style 'matured', so to speak.  I think if I had done something to this necklace when I first bought it, I would hate it today.  But this - it will rain lime Jell-O before I take this set apart.

Solely from taking the pendant apart, I managed a three-piece set of earrings, bracelet and necklace with reformed pendant.

While taking apart the pendant, a small piece to feed a jump ring through had broken apart off the second tier of the pendant, so I ultimately had to change my idea to reconstruct the pendant.  After a few different tries, I added an earthly, yet spiritual element to the entire design with these Indian prayer beads to stack with the red agate stone.  This particular stone is incredible - this picture doesn't do it justice, but the cut features the layers within the agate stone.

See the top right point on the gold piece?  Yep, that's what broke off, as you can see on the left point.  I originally had an idea to turn this piece into another necklace, but scrapped it.  I went for a bracelet idea using the second gold tier as part of a bracelet.  I enjoy bracelets that are chunky, unpredictable and glamourously 'kooky'; that's what I think I've really pulled off here.  I'll certainly be taking this on a 'test drive!'

The earrings came from the dangling drops on the third tier of the pendant.  No need to complicate this kind of vintage beauty.  I capped these gold pieces with colour with fire agate beads, each with a white cap from the interior layers.  Surprisingly light to wear, too!

I'm incredibly happy with the result, more than I thought!  I went through a number of changes, especially with the necklace/pendant since a small integral part had broken off, and I think it was 'meant to be'.  I'm gonna stick to that.