Oh how they sparkle.
Posted by Isabel on January 21st, 2008. Filed under: Back in the Day, They're just my family.My Grandma is on her third husband. I’ve always thought this made her sound like some type of floozy, which she isn’t.
My grandma was married to her first husband, my mom’s dad, for over twenty years. They divorced, not soon enough, and she was single for most of my childhood. My grandma got remarried when I was in junior high and was married to her second husband for over ten years. He died suddenly when I was in college.
(Her third, and last husband, is the man she should have married the first time. Funny Sad how that works.)
Having three husbands means you’ have too many step kids and grandkids to remember. It means you’ve lived in a bunch of different houses, in different towns. It means you’ve hosted more weddings then your average woman.
It also means you are the owner of three wedding rings.
Since my grandma has three wedding rings and three daughters, she decided to give each of her daughters one of her weddings rings. Makes sense, right? Although my mom is her oldest daughter, she was given the wedding ring from my grandma’s second marriage. (You know, the one that died.)
My mom was given her wedding ring, from my grandma, about ten years ago. As far as I know, it sat in her jewelry box. Since this ring wasn’t given to my grandma by my mother’s father (did you follow that?), it really never held any significant sentimental value to my mom. When my younger brother announced to my parents that he was going to propose to his future wife my mom decided, right then and there, that he should use my grandma’s ring. The ring was dated and wasn’t the style that my brother and his bride wanted. They, along with my mom, decided to trade the largest diamond in for a new diamond ring for my brother’s lady-friend.
By using the largest diamond from the ring, that left the smaller diamonds in the ring setting. Alone. With no one to love them. They needed a home. They yearned to be loved. And worn. They wanted to sparkle.
The little diamonds stayed, embedded in the empty wedding ring, in my mom’s jewelry box for a little longer. Eventually my mom decided she wanted to split the little diamonds up a use them to make some other jewelry pieces. She asked my baby sister what she wanted. She chose a little ring for her little diamond. I choose a pair of diamond earrings with my tiny, tiny diamonds. My mom also wanted some earrings for herself.
That Christmas I found a green velvet box under my tree. Inside the beautifully wrapped gift was my first (and last) pair of diamond earrings, courtesy of my grandma’s wedding ring. My parents had had the diamonds all reset for the girls in my family.
I don’t wear my diamond earrings that often. They are so tiny that I fear I’ll lose them. I keep them hidden in my apartment, hopeful that if someone does rob us, they’ll never find my earrings.
I’m wearing them today.
While my grandma’s wedding ring didn’t hold any sentimental value to my mom, or to me, my diamond earrings do. They are a piece of my grandma, given to me by my mom and dad.
And to me, that’s very sentimental.
(My grandma and Babboo, my niece and me, and my step grandpa. This picture was taken last week when I was in town visiting my family.)
So tell me, do you own a piece of jewelry that was passed down to you? I’d love to hear (or see) what you guys have.
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My latest New Thing is marvelous. And beautiful. And oh so cozy. Come on over and read all about what was delivered to my apartment this weekend.
And do you want to know what I’ve been doing with my time since the writers strike began? You know you do!
January 21st, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Nothing passed down, but I do still have my wedding ring set from my first (and hopefully not last) marriage (and coincidentally, I tried it on this weekend just for kicks). I just don’t know what to do with it. I don’t really want to pass it on, though, for fear of bad juju or something. Weird, I know.
January 21st, 2008 at 10:23 pm
I have my great-grandmother’s wedding ring (my first daughter was named after her) and I’m sure I’ll pass it on to her one day.
since i am an only child and my mother is an only now and everyone keeps dying in our family – the only things i’ve really aquired as of late is all of their junk they didn’t want to deal with when they were living.
January 21st, 2008 at 10:29 pm
The stone in my wedding ring was originally in my husband’s grandma’s ring.
We reset it so that it was more my style.
It means the world to me.
January 21st, 2008 at 10:29 pm
My aunt* gave me her high school graduation pin right before she died; she split up all her jewelry among her nieces* so we would all have something from her. Her highschool began with an “h”, so the pin has an “h” on it, and that’s why I ended up with it.
*she wasn’t really my aunt, as in she wasn’t my grandparents daughter or daughter-in-law, she was my single-till-she-was-50 aunt’s best friend with no family of her own, and, as such, was adopted into our family without question. I still think of her as much as my aunt as my mom’s biological sisters.
January 21st, 2008 at 10:46 pm
As a wedding gift, my father-in-law, gave me a pair of tanzanite stones and paid to have them set into earrings designed just for me. I love this gift and am so happy to have the beginnings of an heirloom.
January 21st, 2008 at 11:26 pm
I have a ring that belonged to Tim’s grandmother, but that’s all the “inherited” jewelry I can think of that I have. Tim’s grandma had two wedding sets — one in white gold and one in yellow gold — and Tim’s sisters will each use one set whenever they get married.
January 22nd, 2008 at 12:50 am
On my 21st birthday, my parents gave me the most gorgeous diamond necklace. The stone is perfect, the setting is perfect, the length is perfect (etc). I thought “how weird that they picked out a necklace that is so ‘me’”. Turns out, they had it made! Mom mom was previously married (to a jerk) for just a few years before she met my dad and kept her engagement ring from the first marriage (the guy’s family was slightly loaded!). She never knew what to do with the ring, but didn’t want to just toss it and she didn’t want to make any jewelry for herself with it, but I always played with it as a kid, so she had the jeweler take out the stone and put it in a new setting for a necklace. I absolutely love it and I wear it every day. We never would be able to afford something like it had we just bought it in a store, and it means so much to me (not because of some guy I’ve never met) but because my mom had that ring forever and my parents picked out the settings and stuff just for me.
Isabel: I gave my first wedding ring to a friend for Christmas one year. I figured I didn’t have any kids to pass it on to, and I didn’t want to keep it. She always wears it and it makes me happy to know that someone is getting some use out of it!
January 22nd, 2008 at 1:03 am
On my 18th birthday my parents gave me diamond earrings (with very tiny diamonds in them) that my dad bought on my 1st birthday to give to me on my 18th. I used to look at them in my mom’s jewelry box all the time when I was little and I never knew they were mine!
When my grandmother passes, I will be given the first jewelry my grandfather gave her- diamond earrings and a matching necklace.
January 22nd, 2008 at 1:24 am
I own the wedding ring that my grandma always wore. It was her aunt-in-law’s. I’m not quite sure why she never wore her own, but this is the one she always had on her strong hands as long as I can remember. And now I am happy and can look down and see it on my finger, too.
Since I am not married, I wear it not on my ring finger but my middle finger.
January 22nd, 2008 at 1:34 am
My parents divorced when I was in high school. A few years ago, my mom surprised me by getting her diamond put into a beautiful necklace for me. It’s my favorite necklace! It’s lovely, and it has so much sentimental meaning for me.
I also have my grandpa’s class ring from high school; which is fun, because I lost my class ring – and my dad lost his. At least we still have grandpa’s!
January 22nd, 2008 at 1:36 am
I’m de-lurking to comment.
I have my father’s wedding band that my mother gave me for my high school graduation. It was a simple gold band. She added diamonds and a sapphire. (my birthstone) My father died when I was five, so I treasure this gift.
January 22nd, 2008 at 1:42 am
I DO have a sentimental jewelry story, and I can’t believe I’ve never told it to the blogosphere! I won’t go into the whole song and dance here, but I will say THANK YOU for the inspiration!
I love that your earrings are so valuable to you.
January 22nd, 2008 at 2:53 am
I have an opal/diamond ring that was my grandmothers. I love it, mostly because I remember her wearing it all the time before she passed. It’s very special to me.
January 22nd, 2008 at 3:44 am
I have both my parents’ wedding rings. It’s like owning a part of their failed marriage. Beautiful.
January 22nd, 2008 at 4:14 am
My engagement ring was my paternal grandmother’s, and then my mother’s, and now mine. The diamonds are small, but it is a very unique ring, and I really love it now.
January 22nd, 2008 at 6:06 am
I have my mother’s wedding ring from her marriage to my father. Although I have accepted the dissolution of their marriage, and do think that it turned out for the best, the ring still speaks to me of my childhood and of those few happy years before they started to fight. It’s a simple gold band that doesn’t fit me, but every now and then I jam it half way down my middle finger and wear it for a while, just to remember.
January 22nd, 2008 at 2:27 pm
The diamond in my engagement ring is from my grandmother’s engagement ring. I never knew my grandmother, but it’s an awesome connection to her and to my grandfather, with whom I was very close. I always look at the ring and think about my grandfather picking out the perfect diamond for the love of his life.
I love that my husband used a piece of my history and had it put into a ring that is very “me.” There’s a photo of it here: http://funnygals.blogspot.com/2006/10/finally-something-worth-blogging-about.html
January 22nd, 2008 at 2:45 pm
When I turned 21, my Grandma gave me my Great-Grandma’s engagement ring. My Great-Grandpa also married again after she passed, so my sister got his second wife’s engagement ring when she turned 21.
I wore that ring all the time from 21 through my early 30s. Then when Jill proposed to me, I gave her that ring so we could both have engagement rings.
January 22nd, 2008 at 4:31 pm
My wonderful & amazing Aunt was given the responsibility of dividing up her mother’s jewelry as she saw fit. She did it the morning of my cousin’s wedding, so we all got cry & remember her & wear a tangible memory of our Grandma to the wedding. It was perfect. (And Grandma liked the bling, so I was decked out!)
January 22nd, 2008 at 4:32 pm
For my wedding I wore a pair of my grandma’s rhinestone costume jewelry earrings as hair clips (that actually makes them sound tacky, but really they are absolutely gorgeous).
On my goddaughter’s (also my cousin) First Communion I passed on a small silver cross necklace that I received after our grandma died.
For my 16th birthday my mom gave me an amethyst (birthstone) necklace that she received for her 16th. We share a birthday month.
And it’s not mine, but I think it’s really great – my mom wears her dad’s wedding band on her thumb.
There are more, but these are the ones that stick out the most.
January 22nd, 2008 at 4:37 pm
I have quite a bit of sentimental inherited jewelry. My mothers father died when my mom was 15. So her mom (my grandma) reset the diamonds into a really beautiful ring and gave it to her when she turned 16. My mom gave me the ring when I turned 16. I plan to give it to my baby girl when she is 16. My dad took the opportunity to replace my mom’s ring with a very cool diamond and sapphire number and I hope my hubby will do the same! Or maybe we can continue the passed down tradition… when my daughter turns 16 my mom will have to give me her ring again! Wonder how my dad will feel about that!?
January 22nd, 2008 at 4:38 pm
I don’t have any sentimental jewelry–my mom has the two valuable pieces in her family. My grandmother was buried in her wedding ring, since it wasn’t valuable enough to keep.
My dad “upgraded” my mom’s original engagement and wedding ring several years ago, so she has her original stone (a sapphire) sitting around, needing to be reset. I need to encourage her to do it!
January 22nd, 2008 at 4:42 pm
What a great story. I actually don’t have a story that isn’t remarkably weird in some way…
January 22nd, 2008 at 5:35 pm
I was married three times as well. 1st time ended in divorce after 1 year. 2nd time I was widowed. Third time is the charm!!
I sold my first wedding ring. bad memories.
I had my second ring melted down with my late husband’s ring to form one ring with the diamond centered. It’s in our safe. I’m not sure what to do with it but I’m sure I’ll give it to my daughter if she wants it.
My late husband’s last gift to me was a pair of diamond earrings. The cleaning lady “lost” one of them. So I only have one. I am still mad.
January 22nd, 2008 at 5:35 pm
I managed to talk my mother out of hocking a wedding set given to her by her ex-husband (my father). While it’s a very small diamond set in a not-so-pretty mounting, it was worth saving to me. I remember playing with it as a little girl, putting it on my finger and pretending that I was getting married. Maybe one day it will be part of my own wedding set (assuming I ever take that leap), but for now I’m grateful to have it wrapped up in my jewelry box – where I can open it up and slip it on my finger every so often … and pretend that I’m getting married. Some things never change.
January 22nd, 2008 at 5:36 pm
I#1 Diamond studs made from a ring my great-grandmother had (I think) my grandmother had the stones in the ring turned into clip earrings for my mother, and she never wore them so I bugged her to get them made into posts for me…which my parents did surprise me with one Christmas! I wore them all the time until recently when I thought I’d lost one. So I’m wearing something else now, but I’m sure I’ll wear them again once I get over my fear. The other part is that we had a family friend who was a jeweler who did the conversion to the studs, and he was murdered (by people he thought were clients and who were found with the jewels in their luggage as they were leaving the country, it was a messy soap-opera type story!) so that makes them special too since that was the only piece he did for me specifically.
#2 The center diamond in my engagement ring was in DH’s paternal great-grandmother’s ring, so that’s very special also. And that DH went to the trouble and expense to design a setting I’d like for it, instead of taking the easy and cheaper route of having it set in a solitaire, that means a great deal to me too!
January 22nd, 2008 at 5:58 pm
I will have the diamond ring from my grandma after she passes away. But I can wait a LONG time for that, you hear me Grammy?!
January 22nd, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Right now, I don’t have anything. My parents are still married, so I don’t think that my mom is going to part with that big ass diamond on her hand any time soon! But, I am hoping one day, my grandmother will pass her wedding set on to me. I am the only grandaughter and she doesn’t wear it. It doesn’t fit and, hell, my grandparents pretty much hate each other even though they are still married after 52 or 53 years. It is a platinum set and I do not like yellow gold so it would be perfect for me.
I do have a very pretty gold cross and a gold necklace with 3 little pearls that were mine as a child. My mom keeps those.
January 22nd, 2008 at 6:25 pm
I’ve got nothing. Nada. No one gives me anything.
*sob*
January 22nd, 2008 at 8:49 pm
My in-laws like jewlery A LOT. I will have a lot to choose from when my mom-in-law passes away. I did get one of my father-in-law’s favorite rings after he died. It isn’t really worth anything, but he wore it on his pinky finger and called it his good luck charm. Dammit, now I hve to go see if I have mascara running down my face!
January 22nd, 2008 at 9:26 pm
I have the diamond ring that was my great-grandmother’s when she got married in 1901. She gave it to my grandmother when she got married, my grandmother gave it to my mother when she had her first child (me) and my mother gave it to me when I had my first (and only) child, who was stillborn. Since I don’t have any children, I’ll give it to my neice when she has her first child.
January 23rd, 2008 at 5:04 pm
Oh, I love this post! I love sentimental jewelry; I have a cocktail ring that belonged to my great grandmother; she was a flapper, and wore it to various Roaring 20s-type things. I’ll post a picture of it on Flickr for you.
January 23rd, 2008 at 7:07 pm
As the only daughter n only child to my parents….i got as “dowry” (lol)…a whole heap of gold jewellery, grand mothers diamond necklaces among rubies etc etc etc….enough jewellery to feed, house n educate thousands in the 3rd world….
but it’s all locked up in the safe deposit lockers at the bank….and the watchful eyes of my mother….i am encouraged to use this jewellery gifted to me….but seriously…where the heck am i gonna wear stuff like that? plus it’s a part of being curry that i don’t get….all this inherited stuff n loyalty to preserving it.
January 23rd, 2008 at 7:39 pm
Love the new layout! You can never go wrong with Pink in your layout.
I have the promise ring my dad gave to my mom while they were together. Since they were never married, it’s the closest I got to their relationship. I used to wear it, but feared I’d lose it, so it’s safe in one of my jewelry boxes. Besides, I wear the ring Shaun got me 3 years ago. It’s definitely not a promise ring, because as you can imagine, I’m not too fond of them, lol. Mine’s just a ‘relationship’ ring.
January 23rd, 2008 at 8:06 pm
How sweet!!
I have a tiny diamond set in gold on a very fine gold chain. Much like your earrings, the diamond was originally in my grandmother’s first engagement ring. My grandfather bought the ring during the second world war and when they were as poor as church mice. When they were older, he bought her a second ring and she used the diamonds from her original ring in necklaces for my sister and me. It’s very special to me and I wear it very rarely for fear of losing it–the last time was at my wedding and I’ve never seen my grandmother look so proud.
January 24th, 2008 at 12:11 am
Great story. Yes, I have a few things. I have the diamond earrings that were given to my mom on her 21st bday which she had reset in white gold for my 21st bday and gave them to me. I also have a necklace with a tiny diamond that my grandma passed down to me and was the first piece of jewlery my grandpa gave her (like 70 years ago.) I love the sentiment.
January 24th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
My engagement ring’s largest diamond is from my Grandmother’s engagement ring. She gave my the set a few year’s before she passed. It’s not a large diamond, or particularly clear (at least to a jeweler), but I still like that it’s there. It’s flanked by two saphires. I often contemplate taking two smaller diamonds from her ring and replacing the saphires.
January 25th, 2008 at 7:52 pm
Can’t wait for the writers to be back. I miss my TV!