REDO: 3 of 4 - Rhinestone Brooch

We all have one of these rhinestone brooches in our jewelry.  

It is usually passed down through generations.  

Many people would call this brooch "Costume Jewelry" but I call it beautiful!

What a fantastic starting point!

BEFORE

 To begin, I removed the pin from the back of the brooch.  Next I removed all of the stones and carefully cleaned everything.  Once it was clean and dry, I attached the stones with jewelry glue (much like super glue) and additionally secured the stones into place using the original metal prongs.  The repair should allow the brooch to have many more years of use without losing a stone!

I used silver plated wire to wrap the brooch to an imperfect, silver plated ring.  It gives the look and feel of being framed.  I chose to give the wire wrapping a messy look since the rhinestones feel so formal.  The 24" chain is a combination of an 18" sterling silver "snake" chain and 6" of a vintage Ann Taylor silver plated rolo chain.  At the point of connection, I added rhinestone charms on both sides of a metal oval, which were also from the vintage Ann Taylor necklace.  The necklace is finished with a vintage Brighton jewelry lobster clasp and ring in the back.

Since I had some additional pieces from the vintage Ann Taylor necklace, I decided to make a matching set of earrings.  This set will work with everything from jeans and a tee to a more formal look and everything in between.