Ruined Jewelry

A few years ago I was commissioned by a relative to make an elaborate necklace. She was pretty vague on the details other than wanting it to be choker length with several strands and in colours of cream and gold. I told her in advance that my price would be the cost of materials x3 as I had been told that was a fair price for these sorts of things. I'd never made a piece this elaborate so I made sure I passed the design in front of several well known designers. It was unanimously approved as one of the most beautiful things they had seen in a long time and as a beginning designer I was nervous but happy.

The necklace was comprised of gold foil lined seed beads, Czech crystals, gold foil lamp work beads, chunks of citrine, gold vermeil findings and Swarovski crystal. As a beginner I made a few mis-steps (in my opinion) in that the pearls I used were plastic and the focal point was not gold plated but gold coloured. Still, I worked with what was available. The end result is the above necklace.


Scroll down for what happened to it.






This came back to me FOUR years later with the demand that I "fix" it. Yes, I had charged her over $400 for this necklace but I won't tell you what supplies cost. I actually UNDER charged her by quite a bit. Even as she paid me she laid a guilt trip down so thick I ended up comping her 3 more necklaces. Anyhow, when I got the necklace back it was so twisted and deformed I couldn't even lay it flat on the scanner. It took me another six months to decide what to do with it. I was so frustrated at her. She had decided the necklace was too long and took it to local "artisans" to have it fixed. They used shoddy wire, stole some of the beads and eventually gave her the twisted, dumpy mess that came to me.



This is what I re-created from the disaster she mailed back to me. I re-imagined it from scratch and when I mailed it back, (With a $45 restringing fee) this is what she had to say.

"Just received the necklace in the mail. Now THAT IS A NECKLACE! Perfect. It can be worn with dressy or even casual, just what I wanted plus lots of little touches, like the flower/heart 'clasp' and the little dangles down the front from the round shell like...sorry, don't know their proper names. Very nice... You did a great design. Thank you so much. That is a piece I will wear a lot."

So even though the original was destroyed, eventually I did right by the client and created another piece I was proud of and she enjoys.