What can you do with your unused gold? You know, the gold hoops you no longer wear, the broken pieces of chain, the charms and pins that just sit in your jewelry box?

One of Paul’s customers thought it would be a neat idea to collect all the odd pieces of gold jewelry she no longer wore, melt them down and make them into a bracelet.

Once she decided to do this, she set a goal: it would be fun to have a 2 ounce bangle, she figured.

She brought what she found initially to Paul, and he weighed the pieces. Not quite enough. So she went home and looked for more. A few days later, she came back with some charms that had lost their meaning for her, and again in another few days, she brought other pieces she had found. In all, she collected enough gold to make her bracelet.

Paul carved a hinged bangle out of blue wax with a slightly different design on each side. He removed some of the wax from the back of the bracelet hollowing it out a little to preserve the designs on the front and to stay within the 2-ounce goal. He also carved the hinge into each side.

When his customer approved the design in the wax, Paul cast the two pieces, polished them up, finished the hinge and created the clasp. The project was completed and the customer delighted!