How to Repurpose, Curate, and Reimagine Your Jewelry Collection With Jo Latham

Necklaces, handbags, and scarves may all fall under the umbrella of fashion, but jewelry occupies a category of its own. Unlike most wardrobe pieces, fine jewelry can be passed down for generations. As women move through different stages of life, they often accumulate collections filled with treasured rings, bracelets, necklaces, inherited pieces, and long-forgotten gifts.

For many, that can create challenges when figuring out what to keep, what to update, and how to make the most of pieces that no longer fit their style. When we spoke with Jo Latham, founder of her namesake fine jewelry brand, about her boutique last year, she mentioned her consulting work focused on helping women evaluate, organize, and reimagine their jewelry collections. So we revisited the popular jeweler for a deep dive into the topic.

“A lot of times, people don’t know what they want,” Latham tells PaperCity. “It can be kind of intimidating. That’s where we start breaking it down — their lifetime of gifts and random purchases. Sometimes, you need to recalibrate what you’ve accumulated over the years to make sure it fits you.”

How to Honor the Past While Building a Collection That Feels Like You

Latham says the process typically begins with one or more in-person meetings, often in a client’s home, where rings, earrings, necklaces, and bracelets are sorted and evaluated based on their sentimental, aesthetic, and financial value. One goal is to determine which pieces can be sold — with gold prices hovering near record levels — and which can be transformed into something entirely new.

Latham often starts by asking a few simple questions:

• When was the last time you wore it?
• What does this mean to you?
• How did it come into your life?
• Do you have any attachment to any part of it, like a stone?

Precious stones often carry the greatest sentimental value, making them prime candidates for resetting rather than selling. In many cases, however, repurposing a piece does not require redesigning it at all.

“Repurposing doesn’t mean changing what they have,” Latham says. “It can mean just wearing it differently, like finding a different purpose for the item that they currently own.”

In some cases, that might be as simple as swapping a chain, layering pieces differently, or pairing older jewelry with newer acquisitions to create a more contemporary look. Latham says women often seek her services after receiving an inheritance, though clients at all stages of life can benefit from a thoughtful review of their collections. Many are surprised to learn that gemstones from inherited rings, unworn earrings, and outdated settings can often be incorporated into entirely new pieces.

Turning Heirloom Stones Into Modern Jewelry

During those conversations, Latham and business development director Lauren Havens work to understand each client’s personality, lifestyle, and goals. Whether someone is looking to add new pieces to their collection or transform existing ones, the end result should feel authentic, wearable, and reflective of who they are.

After categorizing a jewelry collection, clients may choose to have certain pieces deconstructed so gemstones can be preserved while the gold or silver settings may be sold, with the proceeds applied toward a future project.

Multiple small diamonds, for example, can be incorporated into a cobblestone-style ring, a design that uses stones of varying sizes to create a dazzling, light-catching surface. Other pieces may be sent to one of the many artisans Latham works with to be redesigned into entirely new creations.

“A lot of women don’t know these are options,” Latham says. “The process can be overwhelming and intimidating, and a lot of times people don’t know where to start. When parents are passing down jewelry, or someone inherits things, that’s when they need someone to sit with them and walk them through every step.”