Sentimental jewellery pieces

[wolftress]

Hi everyone,

I''m sure all of us jewellery lovers know that jewellery isn''t just pretty and sparkly. It also evokes a lot of emotion and there are usually a few pieces in our jewellery boxes that carry a lot of meaning. Maybe it was a ring handed down from your grandmother, or your first jewellery gift from a sweetheart...

I would love to see everyone''s sentimental jewellery pieces and hear the stories behind them

I''ll get the ball rolling with my very first diamonds. This diamond cross was given to me by my parents when I was 16, and they opened the floodgates for severe diamond addiction!

I couldn''t get over how sparkly they were. 10 years later, this is still one of my favourite pieces.

 

[wolftress]

Here''s another piece that''s close to my heart. When my fiance and I first started going out, we were both at college and money was scarce. My parents didn''t approve of us being together, and came to Melbourne to take me away from him. On our last day together, we walked into a jewellery store and I saw this pair of earrings. I really liked them, but was put off by the price. Little did I know that my fiance had been saving to buy a secondhand computer, so he had the money to buy these earrings for me as a surprise.

Looking at them and wearing them reminded me to be strong when we were apart. In the end, I found my way back to him and now we''re getting married next May

He''s since given me bigger and better pieces of jewellery, but these little sparklers will always have a special place in my heart, and if we have a daughter, I''ll pass them on to her and tell her the story behind them

 

[zhuzhu]

The wedding band my mother gave to my father at their wedding date (he had since upgraded to another band). Inside this platinum band you can see engraving in Chinese letters and calendar year: "Given by __ (mom's name) 57 (196". Whenever I feel worried, anxious or nervous I put this on and it calms me.

 

[jfo]

wolftress, this is a great topic! I LOVE seeing and hearing about people''s sentimental pieces. It''s great seeing beautiful jewelry and knowing the meaning behind them. It makes them even that more beautiful.
Your necklace and earrings are gorgeous!

zhuzhu - that band is simply amazing to me. The inscription is gorgeous and it is wonderful how your mom captured that moment in time in such a perfect simple band.

Well, here''s mine. It is my grandmother''s ruby ring. She passed away in November of 2002. She was 95 years old and lived a wonderful long life. She was the only grandparent that I really knew because all of my other grandparents died either before I was born or when I was young. My grandma only spoke Cantonese, and I really only speak English, so we communicated in other ways. I was her youngest grandchild out of 9. When she died, she left one ring to each her granddaughters, and I received the ruby ring. The great thing is that in her later years in life, the ruby ring was the only ring she never took off.

Unfortunately, one of the prongs is loose, so I think I need to reset the ruby and the little diamond chips. I have no idea about any specs for the stones. But it''s set in yellow gold. I''m welcome to ideas for a reset!

 

[wolftress]

zhuzhu, what a lovely meaning attached to that ring! It also looks very classic and elegant.

Jfo, that ring is just beautiful. I love the rich red of the ruby, and it''s got a lovely story behind it too.

My grandmother speaks Chinese, and I only speak a little of it, but we share a common passion for diamonds

. She gave my sister and I a diamond ring each when we were born, and my mother gave it to me when I turned 21. Unfortunately, it disappeared when I moved a few years ago

. It wasn''t a very big diamond, but boy did it sparkle. My grandmother is good at a lot of things, and choosing diamonds is one of them. I would give anything to find that ring again

 

[zhuzhu]

I know what you mean all. I think my passion and love for platinum for white metal jewlry did not come from it being "more precious", rather because it is the metal that carries all the love between my parents and passing down to me.

 

[Skippy123]

That is wonderful. I still have a ring my mom gave to me when I was 18. It is a very sweet 1/4carat diamond solitare. I am saving it for my future daugther someday. Wonderful memories

 

[gingerandmichael]

My first piece of sentimental jewelry is a plain thin (1.8 mm) yellow gold band - it was my grandmother''s wedding band. She had such tiny fingers that it fits my pinky perfectly...and that''s just under a size 3! I don''t have any photos of it, but I think everyone can imagine what it looks like.

The other piece of jewelry that I cherish is my diamond necklace - Mom bought it for me to wear at my wedding. She saved up her own money for it, which was a feat since she only works about 1/4 time. It was something I said that I loved, but never even dreamed of receiving. It''s stunning, but I''m a horrible photographer.

It can be worn in two different ways - like this:

The top of it, if you look closely, is just being held together by tiny imbedded magnets

Or opened up, like this:

It''s absolutely lovely. The stats are F/VS1 on all of the diamonds. It''ll definitely be an heirloom after I''m done with it!

 

[LaurenThePartier]

This is a great thread!

This first piece is actually my newest, but the Alexandrite has been in my family for almost 70 years. My Father gave it to me as a wedding gift, and I had my jeweler create a halo pendant for it.

This sapphire and diamond band is the first piece of jewelry my husband gave me, and my very first platinum piece I ever received.

The ring on the right was a ring I designed with the diamond from an old engagement ring. It was basically my "never settle" ring, and I wore it until my husband and I met.

This is the Fakey McFakerton ring that my husband gave me before we went on our first international vacation together because I didn''t want to bring my diamond and sapphire rings.

My most sentimental piece other than my engagement ring, this is my Great Grandmother''s engagement ring from 1929.

 

[diamondfan]

I love all the stories. I love the Chinese symbols and how it makes you feel, Zhu. Wolf, not to be too personal, but you are still with the man who gave you those, your fiance, how are your parents treating it now? I am so glad you two stuck it out...

I had (it is lost, sad to say) a little bangle bracelet that was vintage. My sister is a June birthday (pearl) and I am a December birthday (turquoise, and many other blue stones) and my mom saw this bangle in an antique store. It was yellow gold, alternating pearl and Persian turquoise stones across the top. It just happened that it had both of our birthstones so she bought it. I got it later on and somehow cannot find it. My mom is January (garnet) and also at the same store found a pin, it looked like a genie bottle, and the bottom of the bottle was an oval garnet, and then at the top like a stopper, was a small pearl topped with a tinu turquoise stone. All three of ours in one.

I remember my first add a pearl necklace, a ring that was a little butterfly with paved wings and a marquise sapphire as the body. I also had a Cartier love bracelet and had a ring with two hearts, each heart had a tiny diamond in the center. All of them are gone, I think stolen.

I did find some little pieces that my parents had given me, a tiny charm bracelet in 22k from Singapore, and a tiny ruby and diamond pendant in the shape of a circle...and I totally remembered getting them as a kid...

 

[Gothgrrl]

These are very inexpensive charms and such but the boy/girl charm and santa charm are from my father when I was a wee child. The tourquise earrings and broken ring are from him too. I think the ring was my first piece of jewelry. He was a gentle and soft spoken man who didn''t really give gifts. He just wanted to provide for the family and put a roof over our heads, food to eat and to for us to have a good education. Later on in my early teens, he gave the the butterfly charm. I''m not sure what the occasion was though.

The gold earcuff was from my mother. I was just barely in high school when out shopping at Macys, I saw the cuff and really liked it. So she bought it for me and I never took it off since. I have been wearing it for over 20 years. It does bug my time to time when I sleep on the ear I wear it on.

My father has since passed and I every so often look at those little treasures and remember what a great father and man he was. I am so proud he was my pop.

 

[Gothgrrl]

Heres the pics.....

 

[diamondfan]

GG, I totally remember the kissing charm! I loved it!

 

[wolftress]

ginger, I love that necklace! I saw something very similar at a jewellery store and was captivated by the unusual design. That was so sweet of your mother to buy it for you

Lauren, I love the idea of a ''never settle'' ring. Every woman should have one!

diamondfan, my parents eventually came round. Things are still a bit tense sometimes, but they''re much more accepting of him than they were before. I think he wore them down in the end with his niceness

Your pin with your mum''s, yours and your sister''s birthstones together sounds really special. Antique jewellery is so unique.

Gothgrrl, it sounds like your dad was a wonderful man. It''s great that you have those treasures to remember him by.