Story Weekend: Jewelry
I don’t come from a big jewelry family. I own one diamond, and it’s in my mother’s engagement ring, which I treasure and wear on my right hand. Other than that, my jewelry is the fun variety—mostly cool earrings that I usually forget to wear. I come by this “whatever” attitude about jewelry honestly. My mother went through a phase of making necklaces and earrings by wrapping colored contact paper around paperclips and stringing them together. (Yes, this is the same mother who planted plastic flowers in our garden. She was one of a kind).
I bet all of you have jewelry stories, though, and I hope you’ll share them here.
If you’re new to Story Weekend, here’s how it works: I pick a theme and you share something from your life that relates to that theme, however you interpret it. Thanks to all of you who’ve been contributing. As always, there are a few “rules”:
▪ The story must be true
▪ Try to keep it under 100 words. Embrace the challenge! That’s about six or seven lines in the comment form. I want others to read your story, and most people tend to skip if it’s too long. I know how tough it is to “write tight” but I hope you’ll accept this as a challenge.
▪ Avoid offensive language.
Have a good weekend, everyone!
All I really wanted to do was to learn to tuck the ends of a wire under when finishing a piece. So $25 looked like a fair price for a class in beading (to date I’d managed on my own, thank you). But then the beads in the store were soooo nice and people in the class were making these wonderful constructions. Yesterday someone asked where I had gotten that beautiful necklace. I told her I made it. I didn’t dare tell her that learning to tuck the ends of the wire under had actually cost me close to $98.
My name is Marilyn and I am an earring whore. For 30+ years I wore tIny studs or small hoops. Then a girlfriend gave me a pair of French wire dangle earrings. Once I got used to them well… dangling, I fell in love with the style. 2 1/2 years later I own dozens of pairs, most purchased from small vendors at craft fairs. I my be obsessed but I’m supporting small business. One of my fave pairs is made from old typewriter keys. Pretty appropos for a hopeful writer don’t you think?
I was never really a jewellery person. Apart from my own engagement ring, I have never owned expensive jewellery. I inherited two rather beautiful diamond rings. One from my grandmother and one from her spinster sister. These are now promised to my two daughters. I am not sure how old the rings are, but they were given to my grandmother and her sister on their 18th birthdays. I am sure they are well over 100 years old. I am far too scared to wear them, but before I do hand them to my daughters I will take them to a jeweller and make sure that the diamonds are secured property. I don’t want to have them re-set, I think it would spoil the “antiqueness” of them. In the meantime, I pull them out of the jewellery box every now and again, and just wear them for an hour or two to remind me of the great old ladies who owned them, then I fondly put them back until I get struck once again by nostalgia.
I learned my lesson the hard way. Never travel with your favorite earrings! On a trip to Paris several years ago I brought along a little clasp bag with several pairs of my favorite earrings in it. I wanted to look stylish and fun in the city of style and fun. I added to my collection with a lovely pair of sterling earrings I bought at a street market. The Frenchman who made them showed me his tiny signature on the back of one. After wearing these, I put them in the little bag with the others. The morning came for us to leave and we pulled out our luggage, spread it all over the unmade bed, and packed to go home. When we returned to Raleigh, the little clasp bag with so many favorite sets of earrings – including my brand new sterling silver signed by the craftsman ones – were not in my luggage! Boo hoo. I imagine they were left behind somewhere in the folds of the undmade bed.Never travel with your favorite earrings.
Bernie, this is PAINFUL!
Say hello to someone that is easily distracted by shiny objects, that would be me and those would be diamonds or any precious or semi-precious stone…lol. Given my choice upon entering a store I will head straight to the jewelry department. My favorite jeweler is two minutes down the street from my house, she serves espresso and homemade biscotti when you visit her store which I do often.
Of course when I go in to visit her its on the premise that I am only going to visit a friend and chat a while. Our chats have led to some major purchases over the years and also have added to my ongoing wish list I have with her so my husband never has to wonder what I would like for the next special occasion. I also have quite a collection of costume jewelry that is color matched to certain outfits. I would have to say that my favorite pieces of jewelry are my 3 carat diamond wedding ring, a gold band with diamonds from my dads ring after he passed and most recently my mother in law gifted me with her mothers sterling silver bangle bracelets that her mother bought one at a time when she was working in NYC. Each bracelet is a different pattern and I will cherish them till I have a granddaughter to pass them onto, you see my daughter in law does not like wearing jewelry so the dilemma now is who will get my huge collection of baubles when I pass. Yep, I can see all the hands up around me saying “choose me”, in fact many of my friends have expressed an interest in being put in my will for my jewelry..lol.
I was snorkeling off a sailboat in the British Virgin Islands. There was a large barracuda near me, eyeing me. I had read the book—they weren’t aggressive & if one got too close for comfort, just back up & give it some space. Mr Big started slowly towards me so I backpedaled. He kept coming. I backpedaled more—he kept coming. Suddenly, I realized that the book also said they were drawn to shiny objects. I had forgotten to take off my gold hoop earrings! With an underwater yelp, I turned around & kicked furiously to get back to the boat & up the ladder. Of course, had he really wanted my earrings, I’d be minus my ears now. No harm done in the end.
I’m glad you’re still among the living, Lois. =:-0
I love jewelry, love it! Except I happen to have a few really nice peices. My mom passed in 2000, she was like me and only had a few really nice peices also. My sisters and I received each part of her cocktail ring, I incorporated 3 diamonds onto my wedding band so I always have a part of my mom with me. One day I hope to design a new ring that involves all the diamonds my husband and mom both have given me.
As you know, I suffer from RA. When my hubby and I got married, we were broke kids who just graduated college. He proposed to me and gave me a modest but gorgeous diamond. After 10 years of marriage, he wanted to get me an anniversary diamond of the larger and sparklier variety. We went to the jewelry store, but I am very self conscious of my deformed hands from the damage that RA has caused. I was embarrassed really to even try them on or to bring attention to my hands by putting something so meaningful and beautiful on my finger. He insisted I was still beautiful, my hands and all. So he bought this beautiful token of his love for me. I look at it still now and think of him, how lucky I am to be married to my best friend. This morning, we were leaving to take our adorable kids to the park and he asked if I needed anything. I told him my rings were upstairs. He went up to get them for me and ANY time he gets my rings, he asks me to marry him as he puts them on my finger. My answer is always the same and always will be, absolutely YES!
Tanya, you’re a lucky woman. I’m so glad you have that guy!
I think that I might have been a crow in a former life as I love all things that jingly, jangle , jingle. Especially long earrings that announce my entrance long before the swish of my long hair and the cadence of my voice. I have been collecting and wearing those earrings since I was ten years old paying ten cents for my first pair at church bizarre and they have come to define who am as a person.I simply do not feel dressed without them. For years when I read my writing bi weekly on national radio, the interviewer would say ‘Sheree is here. Can you hear her earrings talking’:} I got the labelled the Gyspy for my long flowing skirts and silver earrings ( always silver) and I adopted their essence as my soul. A soul in search of an identity. A heart alive in the mention of their motion. I dangle and I droop. I swing and I sing. I am an earring in search of a home.
I’m low maintenance. I wear a watch, a gold chain with a tiny locket, and an anklet in the summer. I wore a Livestrong bracelet for two-and-a-half years until I lost it. On the cusp of turning twenty-five (which I considered OLD at the time, nearly a quarter-century ago), I was emotionally battered, dealing with the affects of childhood sexual abuse. My therapist suggested I buy something to signify the occasion, so I bought a beautiful sapphire ring. No one had ever bought me jewelry before (or since, but I digress) and I wore it proudly, reminding myself that I could have something pretty, even though ugly things happened to me. A year later, my best friend (and fellow incest survivor) was moving across country. I was devastated. I gave her my ring to signify our friendship (she’s straight, there was no romance involved). Even though we grew apart after several years, I was never sorry.
My most precious pieces of jewelry were given to me by family & friends. When I look at my engagement and wedding rings the flashbacks are priceless! Symbolic charm beads from my husband and grandson are on the top of my “most enjoyable to wear” list. I also enjoy wearing my mother’s engagement ring that once belonged to my grandmother. My grandfather actually won it in a poker game. I love the family history!
A very special ring was given to me by a dear friend when I was diagnosed with n-H in ’97; a gold band embossed with the words, “JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU.” She had it blessed at the Blue Army Shrine on the 80th Anniversary of the 1st Apparition of Our Lady to the children of Fatima, so she removed the ring from her finger and gave it to me. I have never taken it off!
I am hoping to start building a jewelry collection that I can one day pass on to my unborn baby girl. We just found out last week we were having a baby girl after two boys, and while I love my two boys to pieces, I am very excited to be doing the mother-daughter thing one day soon. I have some antique dolls I’ll share with her, along with hopefully some jewelry. I plan to get a mother’s necklace made soon with all 3 kids birthstones…it’s going to be pink topaz (for oct), diamond sub. (for april) and sapphire for baby girl.
So happy for you and your family. A baby girl is awesome. I am sure she will be loved as my grand daughter Lilly is the only girl after 4 brothers. She is spoiled and a girly girl that is tough as nails…almost 3 now. Her brothers treat her like she is a princess. 🙂
This is late, and I really don’t have any great or clever words to say about jewelry. Any jewelry I have ever been given that is of any monetary value, I lose or break. It isn’t to be for me to have any special jewelry. I don’t wear earrings very often, however, I do have a pair of very inexpensive diamond earrings from a friend. And I have tried very hard to lose them. Twice I have lost one and found them by accident. Once under my china cabinet (I lost it in the bedroom) And one in the Shower months after losing it. These must be my lucky earrings. Lately I have been drawn to big shiny rings. My knuckles make me buy large sizes and until recently I haven’t found them in my size. Thank goodness for Gordman’s. I find rings in size 9 and they are big shiny and cheap…so I guarantee I will never lose these.