antique jewelry from DH''s grandma

[Odilia]

Never seem to have any time these days, most especially for PS or my ring setting, because every time I think I'll have a day to work on it, something else erupts, this time emergency taking care of DH's elderly aunt until we can find the right long-term living arrangement for her.

So I thought I'd just post some pictures of a bracelet she gave me. This was her mother's (i.e. my DH's paternal grandmother's), and she had promised it to me a few years ago when I took care of her for a broken wrist, but finally recently gave it to me, along with some other jewelry I will post later. No time to take perfect photos, but here goes.

ETA: sorry for the huge pic; didn't realize it would do that and didn't really have time to shrink it. might happen again

also, in some pics the metal color of the smooth part looks different than the textured part, but IRL it does not seem so. Looks better in real life.

 

[Odilia]

Ok, this will be trial and error on photo size. Here it is on my hand:
(again you do not see these color differences in the metal IRL)

 

[Odilia]

Here is a picture of DH''s grandmother, from around 1918-ish time frame, wearing the bracelet. I hated to chop off her head, but didn''t know if DH would want me putting this picture out in the public forum, even if she is deceased...

 

[Skippy123]

Wow, what a treasure; I love that you have a picture of her wearing it too! Awesome!

 

[Odilia]

Close-up of grandma''s arm with the bracelet on, about 90 years ago.

 

[Odilia]

Well I guess the close-up wasn''t really closer! LOL
Thanks, Skippy! Yes, I too thought it was neat that she was wearing it in that picture. The picture itself is priceless to me.

I thought the hinge on this bracelet was really neat. It is so perfect that when it''s clasped, you can barely tell there is a hinge at all. Don''t know if this pic will add any value, but here goes:

 

[ice_princess]

I absolutely LOVE it.

It''s so unusual. I''ve never seen anything like it. You are so lucky to have such a sentimental piece. I''m always fascinated by antique jewelery because I love imagining the stories behind them...

 

[Odilia]

For what it''s worth, hopefully this hand-shot will be smaller:

 

[Odilia]

Gotta go for now, but here''s a sneak preview of her e-ring which I also got; no good pics yet but will try to do later, although it may be MUCH later...

 

[Alleyoop]

Love it! Makes it even better that you have a pic of her wearing it. She must have loved it to wear it for the picture! I hope you wear it often!

When I got engaged the ring DH gave me was from his great great aunt Hazel (care of his mom). I thought it was so sweet of DH's mom as a wedding gift to give us a beautiful framed double photo of Aunt Hazel and of the house she lived in, this great old victorian. It hangs in our entry. In the photo she is wearing this HUGE hat, about the size of three heads, which must have been so fashionable at the time. I love that photo as much as the ring.

BTW, do you have a close up of your wedding ring? I love the look!

 

[Hest88]

Wow, the bracelet is incredible! Love the e-ring too, but the bracelet is really a singular piece!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Wow what beautiful pieces! You are so lucky to have gotten them. Does DH have a sister?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Wow, those are incredible! How sweet of her to give them to you!

 

[vivianv]

That bracelet is stunning! So bohemian! Do you know its country of origin? Just lovely!!

 

[Beacon]

How absolutely wonderful that you have that photo of her wearing the same bracelet. That makes it so special. I wish you could post the whole picture as it looks so pretty. Nice to think of Grandma as a slim young girl. Time goes by so fast.

 

[DiaDiva]

OFG, that bracelet is just stunning - it looks gorgeous on you. And that photo of grandma with the bracelet....priceless!

Would love to see more pics of the ering as well.

I just love seeing antique pieces especially when they''ve been kept in the family. You are a lucky girl!

 

[iheartscience]

Wow, your bracelet is beyond beautiful! It''s so unique! And I love that you have a picture of her wearing it, too.

But how dare you give us such a tiny sneak peak of her engagement ring! There needs to be at *least* 3 pictures for it to be considered a proper sneak peek.

 

[Clio]

Oh, so beautiful!

 

[whenharrymetsally]

Oh wow! How precious and special! They are beautiful pieces!

 

[Diamond*Dana]

Those are gorgeous pieces, and how cool that you have that picture from so long ago!

 

[~*Alexis*~]

Its so pretty...I got some stuff from my grandmother and I thought it was so ugly but I kept it....now looking back I am so glad that I never got rid of it.

If you still have a chance make sure you can get a pic of DH''s aunt wearing her ring while you can. Those are always great pieces to have.

 

[Odilia]

Thanks so much for the comments!! Will try to answer each one of you as soon as I get a breather!

Date: 9/7/2007 10:17:44 PM
Author: thing2of2
But how dare you give us such a tiny sneak peak of her engagement ring! There needs to be at *least* 3 pictures for it to be considered a proper sneak peek.

For now, Just one more:

ETA: sorry so big again; just not enough time to resize everything....

 

[Odilia]

Date: 9/7/2007 5:29:57 PM
Author: Hest88
Wow, the bracelet is incredible! Love the e-ring too, but the bracelet is really a singular piece!

Thanks. I remember when she first said to me that she wanted to give me her "mama''s gold bracelet", I thought to myself, "well, that''s nice, but I''d really like to have her e-ring, if she had one. Gold isn''t my favorite, and I already have a gold bracelet" etc... - not having seen any of her jewelry. And when I saw them both, I thought just like you said, the bracelet is really more special! Very unique. I could see why she singled it out, and was very grateful that she wanted to give it to me. And now I got both!

 

[Odilia]

Date: 9/7/2007 4:52:39 PM
Author: Alleyoop
BTW, do you have a close up of your wedding ring? I love the look!

Thank you! I appreciate that. Here is one:

 

[Cathers]

first off let me commend you for your care of an elderly relative! That is a really tough job and often is often thankless. *big giant pat on the back*

I had a question about your wedding band..where did you find something like that? it is truly gorgeous! It almost looks like Welsh gold! Gorgeous!!! Thanks for posting the last picture of your set.

 

[Odilia]

Date: 9/7/2007 5:47:52 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring
Wow what beautiful pieces! You are so lucky to have gotten them. Does DH have a sister?

Thanks! Yes, I do consider myself lucky to have them.

DH does have one sister, but she lives very far away, & has not really been involved in aunt''s life like my DH has. He has been her only local (within around an hour, barring bad traffic on the DC beltway) relative for the past 25 years or so. Over the years, he has mowed her lawn, replaced her roof during a hot Northern Virginia summer one year, he single-handedly moved all of her belongings when she moved into a new house, & also gave her a bridge-loan so she could buy the new house before she sold the old, & has been her electrician, plumber, & on-call general handyman for all these years. And all this while he has job that keeps him out-of-town a great deal of the time with very little time off. He has really gone above and beyond the call of duty as a nephew, and has been better to her than any son could have been. So he really deserved to inherit her things, and she always speaks of him as her heir, because she appreciates it. Plus since marrying him, I''ve had to take care of her for several months, driven the hour+ to her house to help her with hygiene, get her hair cut, take her to doctors etc..., & had the sacrifice of him being away to take care of her things, which cuts into what little time he has here to work on our house. (And is also a HUGE reason why I have not had time to get my own reset done) So all in all, I don''t feel like his sister could complain that she didn''t get these things, especially since, when their mother died, she and her daughters got everything, and my DH didn''t get so much as a memento of his mother. And lastly, since DH and I don''t have children and it''s not looking likely, his sister''s daughters are the most likely heirs for this jewelry when I''m gone anyway.

wow, sorry for the longwinded answer to a simple question!

 

[Odilia]

Date: 9/7/2007 6:22:17 PM
Author: vivianv
That bracelet is stunning! So bohemian! Do you know its country of origin? Just lovely!!

Thanks! I''m sure she bought it here in the USA, but I too wondered where it might have been made, because to me it does have possibly a sort of more Eastern look, but I really don''t know. I will have to take a closer look with a loupe when I have a chance, and see if it has any markings to give some clues... Oh yeah, I should also ask DH''s dad, since his memory is better than aunt''s at this point.

 

[Odilia]

Date: 9/8/2007 6:12:20 PM
Author: Çã†hër§
first off let me commend you for your care of an elderly relative! That is a really tough job and often is often thankless. *big giant pat on the back*

Thanks for the words of encouragement. It has been hard, and as you say, oftentimes thankless, but when she gave me her mom's jewelry, that was a very nice thanks which I can treasure.

Date: 9/8/2007 6:12:20 PM
Author: Çã†hër§
I had a question about your wedding band..where did you find something like that? it is truly gorgeous! It almost looks like Welsh gold! Gorgeous!!! Thanks for posting the last picture of your set.

I actually first saw it in a store on jeweler's row in Philadelphia. It was made by Charles Green and Sons, which is an English company. (Birmingham, I think.) Thank you very much for the compliment! I truly appreciate it because for a while I used to second-guess that I made a bad choice, and compliments like yours & Alleyoop's make me glad I got it again. I was looking for something that was pretty and unique but also comfortable for wearing all the time. And it is comfortable!

 

[Odilia]

Lastly, to satisfy thing2of2''s 3-picture sneak-peek requirement

here is one more of the e-ring.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Oh you deserve it! It''s funny b/c when my MIL was here last weekend somehow she mentioned how his sister will get all her jewelry (or implied it). I am not saying *I* should get any but it would be nice for a future daughter to have something (her granddaughter). If not she will get something from my mother.

Her e-ring is AMAZING! Totally my taste. I hope you take lots more photos to share with us.