Is this a tradition in your family?

[Leigh_]

In my family, jewelry being passed down to the next female family member is a big deal. My grandmother was not a wealthy woman by any means, although she was a hard worker who did the job of 2 parents to support 4 children single handedly.

We have a lifelong tradition of the mother passing jewelry down to the female family members. I have known since I was very young I would one day inherit jewelry from the female members of my family, and particularly from my own mother.

I have a very young daughter, and she already knows my jewelry will one day be hers. For me, the importance of wearing something that was once worn by someone I love is inestimable. The emotional value is greater than any monetary value the jewelry itself could ever hold.

Is this a tradition in your own family? What does it mean to you? I’d love to hear about pieces you have inherited, and what they mean to you.

Two pieces I’ve already inherited from my mother, who is still living, I wear nearly every day. One is a ring made of diamonds and emeralds (one is my birthstone, and was gifted to her by my father after I was born as a push present). The other is a gold necklace with pendant, which I had coveted since a very young age. I love and treasure both pieces ferociously. The thought of my daughter one day wearing these pieces once I am gone makes me feel at peace.

 

[seaurchin]

Personally, I think of jewelry more in the same way I think of clothes, shoes, bags and home accessories. I just like to wear what I like.

When I go, my wish is for my kids to divide up whatever they want and sell or donate the rest.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

In my family, jewelry being passed down to the next female family member is a big deal. My grandmother was not a wealthy woman by any means, although she was a hard worker who did the job of 2 parents to support 4 children single handedly.

We have a lifelong tradition of the mother passing jewelry down to the female family members. I have known since I was very young I would one day inherit jewelry from the female members of my family, and particularly from my own mother.

I have a very young daughter, and she already knows my jewelry will one day be hers. For me, the importance of wearing something that was once worn by someone I love is inestimable. The emotional value is greater than any monetary value the jewelry itself could ever hold.

Is this a tradition in your own family? What does it mean to you? I’d love to hear about pieces you have inherited, and what they mean to you.

Two pieces I’ve already inherited from my mother, who is still living, I wear nearly every day. One is a ring made of diamonds and emeralds (one is my birthstone, and was gifted to her by my father after I was born as a push present). The other is a gold necklace with pendant, which I had coveted since a very young age. I love and treasure both pieces ferociously. The thought of my daughter one day wearing these pieces once I am gone makes me feel at peace.

I love that you have pieces from your mum while tour mum is still here to tall you about them and to enjoy having you wear them

we had a note attached to the will that mum's jewlery was not to bw sold which of course neither of us would do
my mum was a sister to two boys and my grandma was the youngest in a large family but there are lots if cousins so i feel honoured to have my Grandma's ER and my great grandma's wedding ring
my sister has mum's ER and i have the eternity
of course i have no children and my sister has one daughter (and a boy who might want to sell everything) but i like the idea of a family collection to keep together, i also have my great aunt's ER - they had no kids but were close to mum's family - so i like the idea of something that was originally mine going to my niece

i wouldn't want them all broken up to make something else because i feel the individual couples would be lost
Im.going to get the ones i have engraved with the original wedding dates, the eternity was to celebrate my own birth

 

[Snowdrop13]

Why only daughters? Sons might have daughters of their own! It will be special for them to have family heirlooms too. I will leave my jewellery to my boys equally so they can gift it to their own wives and children.

 

[dk168]

No tradition, I asked my mum for her pieces that I had liked since I went jewellery shopping with her many years ago.

I did not like them as they were, so I repurposed them into pieces that I like to wear.

DK

 

[lucida818]

I have a daughter & 2 sons.
I foresee giving all of mine to 3 of them as equally as possible

 

[missy]

No tradition per se.

My aunt and mom got my grandmother's ring when my grandmother died. My mom gave it to my aunt (mom's brother's wife) but then my aunt gave it back to my mom. I am not sure who has it now. That was my first real diamond ring my mom let me wear when I was single. But as soon as I got engaged my mom wanted it back. Sigh. It isn't an expensive diamond but it reminds me of my grandma and I wish I could have that ring.

My mom and dad gave me the Cartier Black Opal ring a long time ago because they knew how much I loved it and my mom wasn't wearing it anymore. She kept it in the safe deposit box at the bank.

I am leaving all my jewelry to my sister and nieces and they will divide it as they please.
My mom has some other nice pieces of jewelry but because I got the black opal my sister will get her diamond ER. Which is gorgeous. And that is 100% A OK with me because I don't wear MRBs generally.

We are very close in my small knit family and we don't fight over material possessions. I am more than happy to let my sister and nieces have anything they want. If they wanted the black opal I would give it to them. My sister is not into jewelry however but she does have a Tiffany ER. Small diamond but it is from Tiffany's and that makes her happy. We are very different when it comes to jewelry lol.


I started training my nieces early haha.

 

[lala646]

My family have no heirlooms. Each side was far to poor for anything as frivolous as jewelry. The hardscrabble lives of immigrants and sharecroppers, all with lots of mouths to feed, leaves little left for luxury.

 

[seaurchin]

I've heard a lot of people talk about being given things that they didn't want but felt obligated to keep and it made me think about my own plans.

It seems to mostly be a problem with large objects though. Or with wedding diamonds that come with conditions, whether stated or unstated (for ex. a bride receiving a family diamond from the groom, when she'd rather have something else). In fact, the family diamond problem threads were probably on here.

I have a diamond ring that I'm keeping for if one of my kids gets married. But I'll offer a choice of it or its resale value (since I would be just as happy re-setting the diamond into something for myself instead). If they pick the diamond, I'll make it clear that there are no strings, so they can sell it in the future or whatever they want. This also prevents me from getting my feelings hurt over unspoken expectations.

By the time I'm gone, my kids might find my jewelry out of style. Or they might be more like me and just tend to carry their memories in their minds rather than attach them to objects, unless there's something they especially want. Etcetera.

So I plan to always include a choice, to be sure whatever I give or leave to people will be a positive for them as well.

 

[VRBeauty]

My mother mentioned that to me some time before her death, but she didn’t mention it to my two brothers… so in theory we’re splitting the jewelry equally. In reality, I’m taking her diamond, which is a family heirloom (given to my mother by my paternal grandmother, who had received it from my grandfather as a young bride). My father had a few rings and watches - one of each potentially quite valuable - that he inherited from his father that will be split by my brothers. It should end fairly equitably without having to cash out.

 

[autumngems]

My mom gave me a ruby and diamond ring of hers when I graduated. When she passed I took all the jewelry (she didn't have great deal of it) and divided it among my sisters. I kept her wedding band and all the jewelry I had given her or that I had made for her. These items will go to my daughter at some point. I only have 1 child so she will get my gem collection and all my jewelry. From time to time my daughter and I will sit down and look through the pieces as it makes her feel close to her grandmother.

 

[88_star]

I have two boys so I was a little sad I wouldn’t get to pass most my jewels on to them. My oldest, however, does show an interest in rocks and sometimes likes to play pretend photographer with my jewelry so I wouldn’t be opposed to passing down engagement rings for their future spouses.

 

[margauxmines]

My mum had tonnes of beautiful, incredible jewellery when I was growing up. She grew up dirt poor in the mountains, so when she finally made it to the big city and became more financially secure, she bought herself a lot of wonderful jewellery. Worked very hard for every piece, scoured flea markets and pawnshops and garage sales to find treasure pieces at good bargain prices. I was not too interested in jewellery growing up—in fact (and I recount this with shame now), I used to make fun of her for having so much jewellery. I thought it looked silly.

Over the years her collection dwindled considerably, she wore jewellery less and less... When I finally started taking an interest in jewellery about 2020, the start of the pandemic, I asked her where all her jewellery had gone and that I was ready to take care of them... she very quietly told me that she had sold or pawned most of them during my elementary and secondary school years to pay for school fees and tuition. My dad was not quite in the picture yet, or wasn't in the picture as much as we needed him to be then...

She still has some of her jewellery now, but not the very expensive or fine kind anymore. Large beads/rounds, cabs, briolettes mostly set in silver; just a handful of diamonds and precious gemstones in gold that I wouldn't dare ask for anymore! She gave me two diamond rings last year. One we redesigned and had reset into a RG half-eternity ring (I think it's one of my earlier posts here on PS) and the other is a bezel ring in unplated WG that I wear as is. They are priceless to me.

I'm now determined to give back bit by bit, as much as I'm able... My dad and I recently bought her a pair of 14mm deep golden SSP studs for her birthday in January. Next year for her 50th, we're aiming for a big emerald ring halo'd in diamonds!

 

[Diamond Girl 21]

The women in my family usually pass their jewelry down to their daughters and granddaughters.

My grandmother passed her jewelry on to my mother and me. She didn't have a lot of pieces, but her collection was beautiful and sentimental. She gave us most of her jewelry while she was still alive, choosing to wear only her wedding band, an 18kt gold locket from Italy (complete with pictures), her mother's ring, and gold earrings later in life.

My mother had much more jewelry than my grandmother, and was incredibly generous with me and my daughter. A good portion of my jewelry was bought, or left to me by my mom (and dad too, of course).

My aunts, who didn't have daughters, also bought and left special jewelry items to their nieces.

I have been extremely blessed to have these wonderful women in my life, and I miss them terribly. I treasure their pieces, and enjoy the memories that I have every time I wear them.

My daughter will get all of my jewelry. She doesn't have children, and doesn't plan on having any. I told her to wear and enjoy the pieces she loves. She can gift or sell the rest.

Ultimately, we are just caretakers of these beautiful little works of art, and when we pass, there will be others who will love and enjoy them.

 

[Diamond Girl 21]

I have two boys so I was a little sad I wouldn’t get to pass most my jewels on to them. My oldest, however, does show an interest in rocks and sometimes likes to play pretend photographer with my jewelry so I wouldn’t be opposed to passing down engagement rings for their future spouses.

Men wear jewelry too. My brother-in-law took a gem from his mother's ring and made a fabulous tie tack. It's gorgeous.

 

[VintageJewelryLover]

In my family, jewelry being passed down to the next female family member is a big deal. My grandmother was not a wealthy woman by any means, although she was a hard worker who did the job of 2 parents to support 4 children single handedly.

We have a lifelong tradition of the mother passing jewelry down to the female family members. I have known since I was very young I would one day inherit jewelry from the female members of my family, and particularly from my own mother.

I have a very young daughter, and she already knows my jewelry will one day be hers. For me, the importance of wearing something that was once worn by someone I love is inestimable. The emotional value is greater than any monetary value the jewelry itself could ever hold.

Is this a tradition in your own family? What does it mean to you? I’d love to hear about pieces you have inherited, and what they mean to you.

Two pieces I’ve already inherited from my mother, who is still living, I wear nearly every day. One is a ring made of diamonds and emeralds (one is my birthstone, and was gifted to her by my father after I was born as a push present). The other is a gold necklace with pendant, which I had coveted since a very young age. I love and treasure both pieces ferociously. The thought of my daughter one day wearing these pieces once I am gone makes me feel at peace.

My family has never done this but I LOVE the idea! It is so special knowing that it has such meaning.

 

[88_star]

Men wear jewelry too. My brother-in-law took a gem from his mother's ring and made a fabulous tie tack. It's gorgeous.

Oh absolutely! I’ve definitely seen more examples of that in the last few years too - I didn’t really think of it before I had my kids but it’s also much more prominent especially among celebrities lately too. I’m glad there’s more inspiration for men to wear these jewels proudly.

 

[autumngems]

Oh absolutely! I’ve definitely seen more examples of that in the last few years too - I didn’t really think of it before I had my kids but it’s also much more prominent especially among celebrities lately too. I’m glad there’s more inspiration for men to wear these jewels proudly.

Wish my husband would I took one of sapphires I bought in Japan and had a ring custom made for him in 18Kt and he never wears it

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Wish my husband would I took one of sapphires I bought in Japan and had a ring custom made for him in 18Kt and he never wears it

Give him time

 

[RunningwithScissors]

I'm the only child, but my mother doesn't have any jewelry other than a plain gold wedding band. She just doesn't like or "get" jewelry. Her thing is her home because she was an interior designer for her career. (Actually quite a famous one in the DC/Mid Atlantic area). My parents collect antiques and art, and I'll get everything they have when they pass. I have no idea where I'll put the stuff. I genuinely like their taste (its exactly in keeping with mine) but I've furnished my own house over the years, so I am dreading having to deal with all their stuff. They have so many items I remember from childhood, beautiful items, but where or where will I put it all? And how do I get rid of it without giving myself a huge guilt trip and an ulcer? Their home is gorgeous, and their collection impeccable. But I'd have to buy a larger house (which I don't want to do - I don't want the upkeep of a larger home) to keep the stuff.

My MIL, on the other hand, has mountains of poor quality jewelry. She's a hoarder. Literally. My husband, her son, is the only child as well. I don't know what her plans are for her jewelry. I think it all depend if she outlives her husband or not. Her husband is not my husband's father, and the two men have an adversarial relationship. So if my MIL passes first, then I don't think any of her material possessions will be passed to my husband unfortunately.

There are a few jewelry pieces my MIL owns that I'd like to have for sentimental reasons. I love my MIL. My MIL has always been kind to me, so I view her as a second mom (and often she is more loving to me than my own mom who is fairly cold and distant by nature.). So if I'm allowed to select a couple jewelry items from her mountains of stuff, then I'd really like to and I'd treasure them even though they have very little material value.

 

[DiaLuv]

My sisters and I received my mother‘s modest jewelry collection. Not worth much money but priceless for the sentimental value.

My jewelry will go to my nieces and nephews as I have children.

 

[Ionysis]

My collection will go to my daughters - assuming I don’t end up in a situation where I need to sell it. That’s all I intend to leave them as inheritance - it will be a substantial value. I’m spending everything else LOL! If they want to keep it they can, or they can sell it if they need the money. It’s entirely up to them as I won’t care, because I will be dead.

 

[DiaLuv]

My sisters and I received my mother‘s modest jewelry collection. Not worth much money but priceless for the sentimental value.

My jewelry will go to my nieces and nephews as I have children.

Meant as I have no children.

 

[LilAlex]

Why only daughters? Sons might have daughters of their own!

And spouses! This is what our family did a few years back. For all generations before that, there was never enough to worry about . My sisters got some special things, which made sense. The rest was divided among all siblings. The actual dividing was years later. I made a Google Drive folder with good pics so everyone could see it all at once and talk to their spouses and kids and prioritize before the dividing-up process started.

 

[Snowdrop13]

And spouses! This is what our family did a few years back. For all generations before that, there was never enough to worry about . My sisters got some special things, which made sense. The rest was divided among all siblings. The actual dividing was years later. I made a Google Drive folder with good pics so everyone could see it all at once and talk to their spouses and kids and prioritize before the dividing-up process started.

Very sensible! I have done a similar thing recently with my mother in law’s jewellery- it was to be divided between her 3 grandkids, a girl and 2 boys. I was really surprised that my sons had strong views about what they wanted to keep.

 

[sententia25]

First post here but long time lurker hihi.

There's no real strong tradition of passing down heirlooms in my family, but I've unfortunately lost two close family members in the past year: My father in March 2021 and then my paternal grandmother in February 2022, so the passing of heirlooms has been at the forefront this past year (along with estate administration and probate sigh).

My mother always intended for me to get her old engagement ring that my father gave her in recent years(they are divorced, mother has remarried). In the end, she gave the diamond to my younger sister/BIL to get remade into a new engagement ring because her diamond fell out, and I have what's left: a super thick 14k gold band with two round cut red beryl stones. It has worked out for the best – that way my sister and I both have something from a very significant jewelry piece. She gave me what's left last summer, several months after my father passed.

I also have acquired slowly over time a couple of my mother's fine jewelry pieces that she is willing to part with because that's what I gravitated towards as child. My sister was more interested in costume pieces, so she has gotten that. What I wear daily from my mother is a gold ring with an opal and small diamonds.

With my grandmother, my uncle, my sister and I inherit her estate, so I've gotten their permission to take two pieces: her wedding set, which I had never seen before and a pair of pearl earrings with gold wire crisscrossing the pearls.

In organizing the house before her funeral, I also got to organize her jewelry. I had forgotten that my love of yellow gold jewelry and pearls had come from her specifically. She has an extensive collection in general and what I remember her wearing, I have left for my sister and my cousins (uncle's daughters) to peruse at their leisure.

All of my family is in the US, and I'm in Europe, so any mementos that I have of my family, they have to be portable. This is probably why I've always cherished the pieces that either given by or inherited from family members the most.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

First post here but long time lurker hihi.

There's no real strong tradition of passing down heirlooms in my family, but I've unfortunately lost two close family members in the past year: My father in March 2021 and then my paternal grandmother in February 2022, so the passing of heirlooms has been at the forefront this past year (along with estate administration and probate sigh).

My mother always intended for me to get her old engagement ring that my father gave her in recent years(they are divorced, mother has remarried). In the end, she gave the diamond to my younger sister/BIL to get remade into a new engagement ring because her diamond fell out, and I have what's left: a super thick 14k gold band with two round cut red beryl stones. It has worked out for the best – that way my sister and I both have something from a very significant jewelry piece. She gave me what's left last summer, several months after my father passed.

I also have acquired slowly over time a couple of my mother's fine jewelry pieces that she is willing to part with because that's what I gravitated towards as child. My sister was more interested in costume pieces, so she has gotten that. What I wear daily from my mother is a gold ring with an opal and small diamonds.

With my grandmother, my uncle, my sister and I inherit her estate, so I've gotten their permission to take two pieces: her wedding set, which I had never seen before and a pair of pearl earrings with gold wire crisscrossing the pearls.

In organizing the house before her funeral, I also got to organize her jewelry. I had forgotten that my love of yellow gold jewelry and pearls had come from her specifically. She has an extensive collection in general and what I remember her wearing, I have left for my sister and my cousins (uncle's daughters) to peruse at their leisure.

All of my family is in the US, and I'm in Europe, so any mementos that I have of my family, they have to be portable. This is probably why I've always cherished the pieces that either given by or inherited from family members the most.

Im very sorry to read about your bereavements and so close to each other
its lovelly you got the momentos of your grandma that you wanted and i love how you got your love of yellow gold from her
I wonder why she didn't wear her wedding set ?

What are your plans for the vacant centre stone of your Mom's ER ?

 

[sententia25]

Im very sorry to read about your bereavements and so close to each other
its lovelly you got the momentos of your grandma that you wanted and i love how you got your love of yellow gold from her
I wonder why she didn't wear her wedding set ?

What are your plans for the vacant centre stone of your Mom's ER ?

Thank you for your kind words.

Her wedding set rings are several sizes smaller than the two rings I always saw her wear. They fit me almost perfectly ( I'm 5.75, they are closer to a 6). The rings I watched her wear for 30 years are like a 7-8. She also needs two diamonds replaced.

As for my mom's old ring, I've been lurking in PS this past year to get inspiration. XD I'm gravitating to a vintage inspired toi/vous et moi style now that I have my grandmother's wedding set. However, I first want to confirm if I have found the original jeweler (99% sure the shop I have in mind is the one) so that they can give me more information on the construction of the ring. Also, given the rarity of red beryls, I definitely want their feedback first before I proceed modifying the ring.

So I have two new jewelry projects to focus on.

 

[Bron357]

With my great grand ma there was only a gold heart pendant on chain, a gold wedding ring and a 5 stone Ruby ring that “survived” her gambling son (Grandmas brother). The ruby ring only survived “in part” because the rubies were removed and sold by the wayward gambling son in secret and paste gems put in. Wasn’t that a kerfuffle.
The heart pendant should have gone to my elder cousin as her mother was the eldest daughter and Michelle her only daughter. I was the second born grand daughter.
However my elder cousin is an “air head” and careless. The diamond ring she got at 18 was lost within the year and the diamond earrings she received for her 21st birthday were also lost soon after so my grandma decided I should inherit it. She gave it to me on my 21st.
Well, well, well, that caused huge drama with my Aunt as my cousin “should” have received it. However my cousin couldn’t have cared less, in part why she always lost any jewellery given to her.
I have a daughter and my brother and sister also have a daughter each. My daughter does not wear necklaces, so I have left the gold heart locket to my brothers daughter, she is the eldest of the 3 girls. My daughter supports this, I checked first.

 

[Obscura]

My great grandmother's engagement ring was given to my grandmother, who herself had 4 girls. She decided to give it to the daughter that married first, which was my mom. She wore it for her engagement ring for 15+ years, but stopped wearing it because she didn't want to ruin it. Then dad got her one of her own.

When I got married, it was given to me on my wedding day as my something old. As well as a tennis bracelet me and my brother had bought for her (one of her busker list pieces) as a something borrowed.

Grandma has been slowly culling her jewelry collection, dividing it up between her 4 girls and us two granddaughters.

My mom, being the tomboy she is never wore much jewelry but liked shiny things has given most of her baubles to me already, save for her engagement ring, tennis bracelet, and a custom gold dragon necklace my dad had made for her.

I'm lucky to have a daughter and plan to continue the tradition.