Repurposing Your Own Stone | Kate & Kole

Repurposing Your Own Stone

Guidelines for supplying your own diamond, vintage stone, or gemstone

Supplying a vintage stone

Not every design is suitable for every stone type, shape and size. To avoid disappointment, please provide as much detail as possible about the stone you wish to supply as early as possible.

Your stone must be insured as a loose stone, or you will need to sign a waiver before we can begin work on your piece. Due to the sentimental value, we use our most experienced jewellers to work on pieces where the customer has supplied their own stone. While all care is taken, we cannot be responsible for any damage that may occur.

You can read more about our waiver here.

Supplying a natural diamond

As a business, we have consciously chosen to work exclusively with lab-grown diamonds. You can read more about our ethical decision-making here.

If you own a natural diamond you wish to use in one of our pieces, we will do our best to accommodate your request. To ensure your diamond's utmost care and protection, we require proof that it has been ensured for its total sentimental value for the duration of the production process. This gives you (and us) peace of mind while your diamond is in our care.

We take extraordinary logistical and production measures to avoid losing or damaging your stone. In addition to labour and material costs, we charge a $1500 fee to ensure our meticulous care procedure is carried out.

Lab-grown diamonds are a more sustainable alternative and offer exceptional durability and performance. If you would like to consider all of your options, please contact us for a lab-grown diamond equivalent quote.

Please bear in mind that our team takes on natural diamond requests in a limited capacity and that we reserve the right to approve your eligibility on a case-by-case basis.

Supplying a lab-grown diamond

If you have yet to purchase a lab-grown diamond but are looking for one, we would love the opportunity to provide you with a quote for a similar stone. Due to our longstanding relationship with Australia’s leading diamond suppliers, we are in a fortunate position to offer competitive pricing.

There are associated risks when you purchase a diamond directly from a dealer rather than through a reputable jeweller. When you purchase a lab-grown diamond from Kate & Kole, we take full responsibility for ensuring that each diamond is independently certified, inscribed to match its certificate, and verified to prevent any unethical substitutions by international suppliers.

If you already own a lab-grown diamond and would like to use it in one of our designs, this request comes with a ‘BYO stone fee’ of $1500, in addition to materials and labour.

Supplying a gemstone

Due to the varied and complex nature of working with vintage gemstones, our team will assess your eligibility for a remodel or repurposing for a new design on a case-by-case basis.

As a rule of thumb, your gemstone's ‘hardness’ rating will need to be above eight on the Mohs Hardness Scale. This includes stone types such as sapphires, emeralds, and rubies and excludes soft stone varieties such as citrine, morganite and aquamarine.

  2. Our Toi et Moi rings can work beautifully with a vintage stone. If you are interested in this design, we can help you select a complementary stone to match your vintage stone.

    It’s important to note that working with a vintage stone may not necessarily be the most affordable option, as the process can require additional steps. We may need to remove the stone from your existing piece and clean it before we can accurately assess its suitability.

    Vintage stones can sometimes hide chips, cracks, and other imperfections, which we can’t be aware of until the stone is unset and inspected. We do not charge for this initial step; however, if the stone is not suitable, we are likely to cancel the order at this point.

Find out if your stone is eligible for a Kate & Kole remodel

If you’ve read our guidelines above and think your stone meets our requirements, please complete our BYO Stones form to submit your enquiry to the team.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I buy a mined diamond elsewhere and have it set in one of your designs?

As working with lab-grown diamonds is a core value of our business, the supply of a personally sourced mined diamond will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Can I buy moissanite and have it set in one of your designs?

Moissanite stones do not have the same chemical composition as mined and lab-grown diamonds, making them softer and less durable. Unfortunately, this means they are not suitable for our jewellers to work with.
Do I need to have my stone insured?

Your stone must be insured as a loose stone, or you will need to sign a waiver before we begin working on your piece. We use our most experienced jewellers to work on pieces where the customer has supplied their own stone, and while all care is taken, we cannot be responsible for any damage that may occur.
What designs work best for re-models?

Our Toi et Moi rings can work beautifully if you have a significantly sized stone. We will help you select a complementary stone to match your vintage piece. Our Fleur, Arraya, and Lux ring designs can work well for smaller diamonds.
 Is it cheaper to provide my own stone?

Generally, supplying your own diamond doesn't greatly affect the overall price since the stone is only one element of creating the piece.
What is your timeline for the designs?

Our standard production timeline for re-modelled pieces varies from eight to twelve weeks, depending on the design. Once we have discussed your design, we can give you a tighter timeframe.
I also have gold to use. Can we use this for the piece?

Unfortunately, we cannot rework an existing ring into a new style. However, we can recycle your gold, provide you with a credit from our gold refiner, and make a new piece for you. Gold needs to go through an intense refining process to be workable again, so there is no way of using the exact gold directly again.
I’m considering purchasing my own diamond –  what would this process look like?

We would love the opportunity to assist you. Our team of bespoke specialists are trained in selecting the best stones in terms of ratio, cut, colour, clarity, and a variety of other considerations. We can provide guidance around what factors to favour depending on the stone shape and where you can make allowances to fit within your budget. Providing your own stone doesn’t always reduce the costs, and it can mean you are not getting as brilliant a stone as you could if we were to assist in the process.