In August 2023 my paternal grandmother passed away unexpectedly. She was a bit of a spitfire and she had opinions on everything. You might not have known it from her everyday attire, but the woman LOVED jewelry. And she didn’t discriminate; she liked costume and real and everything in between. She also never really got rid of any jewelry. She had some pendants from when she was a teen in the late 1940’s and early 50’s which were really fun to see. All of the girls in the family got to pick out things that we would like to have. Everyone ended up with something really special that at some point was important to grandma.
There was still a TON of costume jewelry left after everything had been gone through. Grandma loved her some jewelry!! So most of that was donated to our local high schools and a store here that benefits a women’s shelter.
Of the high end jewelry, there was also a fair bit left; things that had broken or she had removed a stone out of to add to something else. Our parents decided that my cousin, Amanda, and I (the only granddaughters) should use those pieces to create items for ourselves. We weren’t sure what to do with the rest of it so we reached out to our local jeweler to get some ideas of what to do.
We were surprised to find out that all of the little broken gold bobs and bits were worth quite a bit. We all know the value of gold is high, but it’s surprising how much a little gold necklace or pendant can fetch! We turned in all of the gold that no one wanted and we were not going to use and we ended up with a really nice credit at the jewelers to create something for my cousin and me. We also kept back a pair of our grandma’s earrings that we thought could be turned into something for her great-granddaughters.
To me, jewelry isn’t just something pretty to look at. It tells a story. Sometimes the story has to do with the design of the piece, and sometimes it has to do with the origins of the piece. It might be as simple as “That’s the first piece I bought for myself” or as meaningful as “That ring belonged to my great great uncle in the 1940’s and has been passed down, etc.” So I was excited about the prospect of having a piece that contained diamonds from my grandmother’s original wedding ring and then being able to share about her if people comment on the piece.
Quick note here to share the ring that belonged to my great great uncle! This was given to me by my maternal grandmother but actually came from my maternal grandfathers side of the family. This ring had been sitting in a jewelry box for decades. It had been worn for a long time prior to them receiving it and at some point my grandparents had had a stone removed and set in another piece. I have to seriously kick myself for not taking a photo before I took it to the jeweler to have it spruced up. It appeared to be the same texture all over but when they looked at it under a magnifier they could tell that the belt areas actually had texture. It turned out so amazing! The diamond has a big inclusion in it but I love this ring so much. It’s so unusual and old, plus it’s a family heirloom. It means so much to me to have this!
Now back to the story! After looking at the jewelers website, Amanda and I each found something that we really liked. We had quite a few small diamonds from Grandma’s jewelry so we each had a pendant made using the stones from her. Amanda’s is the round pendant and mine is the square. We also had pendants made for each of the great-granddaughters using the gold earrings that we had saved.
It’s so nice to have a really high quality piece of jewelry that will last forever and will always remind me of grandma. I like to think that she would have been really excited to give us a gift like that if she were still here. And I know we will all cherish our pieces as if they were a little bit of her!
Going this route may not always be right for everyone, and there are lots of other things that could be done with jewelry. If someone had a beautiful ring but you’re not a ring person, you could add a chain and create a pendant out of it. Or if the persons style is completely different from yours and you won’t wear any of it, you could consign it with a local jewelry store and use the proceeds to donate to a charity that that person loved. Another option is to just hold on to the nice pieces and save them for future members of the family.
When loss comes and these heirlooms become yours, one of the best ways to honor your loved one is by creating something that will make their memory last. Don’t let these things just sit in a jewelry box waiting for a day when they can be worn. Wear them now and honor the person who you got it from by sharing about them. And of course don’t forget to take before and after photos like me!