Wedding jewellery: the something old, and what the bridesmaids actually want

A pendant does not hang where the chain sits. My Chain Guide puts a figure on it: a pendant adds roughly 0.75in to 2in to where a necklace finishes. So a 16in chain with a drop lands closer to 18in, and on a V or sweetheart neckline that is the difference between a necklace that reads as part of the dress and one that argues with it. The neckline decides the necklace, not the other way round.

I have made jewellery by hand in London for 22 years. It began on a stall on Portobello Road, and the work has since sold in Liberty, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols and Harrods. Weddings have run through all of it.

Decide it in this order

The neckline first. A high, boat or halter neck wants no necklace at all. Let the earrings carry it. A V or a sweetheart wants a pendant finishing above the point of the neckline rather than level with it. Strapless and bardot take either a short chain sitting at 16in or nothing. Lace up to the throat is already busy, so leave the neck alone.

Then the length, with the drop counted in. Measure to where you want the piece to finish, then take off the pendant. Ordering the right length beats adjusting one later. The Roman Numeral Necklace comes in 5 lengths, 14in through to 22in, at £75 in sterling silver and £90 in gold vermeil or rose gold vermeil, with the date set in numerals only the 2 of you read as a date.

Then the earrings, the one thing that works with every neckline. The Hepburn Earrings are £90 in sterling silver, gold vermeil or rose gold vermeil, and £365 in 14kt solid yellow or white gold, built around an irregular freshwater pearl so no 2 are alike. Their listing says silver and gold vermeil are in stock for next day delivery, useful if you have left this late.

Then timing. Engraved pieces are made to order, one at a time, so a set of 5 bridesmaid pieces is 5 of that job rather than 1. Every listing carries its own production time, so count backwards from the date.

The piece that carries 2 inscriptions

If I had to pick 1 piece for the day it would be the Soraya Necklace, £125 in sterling silver, £225 in gold filled or rose gold filled, and £750 in 14kt solid yellow or white gold. It is a spinning pendant on a fine beaded chain, engraved on one face or on both, which for a wedding means initials on one side and the date on the other, turning between them. The listing is honest that it is made by hand and the silver can carry an uneven texture, which is why it does not look like everybody else's.

What I notice, years afterwards, is which pieces are still being worn. It is almost never the one bought to match the dress. It is the one that had something specific on it.

The something old, and the honest part

Of the 4 things a bride is told to wear, the something old is the one that usually means jewellery, and the one that most often does not fit. It arrives in 1 of 3 states.

Wearable as it is. Wear it. Change nothing.

Wearable after a small repair. A clasp, a re-thread, a worn claw re-tipped. Weeks rather than months, and it stays itself.

Not wearable at all. A ring 3 sizes out, a brooch nobody pins on, 1 earring where there were 2, a chain snapped at the link. That is what Second Life is for. I lift the stones and gold out of pieces nobody wears and remake them by hand in London. The estimate is free and comes from a photograph, so asking costs nothing.

Now the honest part. Charlie Byrne's piece Recycling inherited jewellery: a how-to, published in The Jewellery Editor on 29 December 2015, set out how couples were having inherited jewels remade into rings and bands, and warned that it can be hard to take apart beautiful original pieces. That is true. Once a stone leaves its old setting, that setting has gone. So decide which matters more, the object as it stands or wearing the stones. Choose the stones and they get worn every day instead of once. Old gold too broken to remake can be recycled rather than left in a drawer.

What the bridesmaids actually want

Nothing that needs a finger size. The Initial Sideway Bracelet sets the letter at an angle on a rollo chain, £50 in sterling silver and £60 in gold vermeil, in 4 lengths from 4in to 7.5in, so you order the size rather than guess it. The Initial Disc Pendant Necklace is £60 in sterling silver and £75 in gold filled or rose gold filled, engraved with her initials. For the one who never takes her bracelet off, a Small Initial Charm at £20 in silver or £35 gold plated goes on what she already has.

The second life is the real one.

Everything for the day sits in Bridal Jewellery, and everything for the people beside you is in Bridesmaid Gifts. If you have an inherited piece nobody has worn in 30 years, send me a photograph and I will tell you honestly what can be done with it.

Questions I get asked

What necklace length works with a V-neck wedding dress?

Measure to the point where you want the piece to finish, then take off the pendant drop, which is usually 0.75in to 2in. A pendant that stops above the point of the V sits better than one landing in it. The Chain Guide sets out how to allow for the pendant and works a 16in example through, so you order the right length rather than shorten it later.

Can my grandmother's ring be made into something I would actually wear?

Usually, yes. A ring several sizes out can be resized, or the stones can be lifted and reset into a piece you will wear, which is what Second Life does. Send a photograph and the estimate is free. If the ring only needs sizing, start with the ring size guide.

What do I give bridesmaids when I do not know their sizes?

Anything that hangs. A necklace, a bracelet ordered by length, or a charm for a bracelet she already owns, rather than a ring. Put her initial on it and it is hers rather than a uniform. Bridesmaid Gifts is sorted that way.