I was round visiting my dad at the weekend and he's been trying to have a bit of a clear out. In amongst rifling through old newspaper cuttings and sketch books from my school days (hello teen angst charcoal sketches) I was handed a couple of jewelry boxes that had belonged to my Granny and my Mum. It was fun looking through them and seeing what was held inside. Both had a rather fine collection of single earrings (my mums being clip on ones) and many that were missing their fastenings, tricky wee things.
It was interesting to see how my taste differs from their's. While my shelves are stacked with statement acrylic and enamel pieces, these boxes contained a lot of shiny gold and pearl effect. There wasn't anything of great monetary value and I suppose that's where our collections would hold some similarities. I own very few pieces that are made of precious metal and even less (read none) that contain precious stones. Yet much of my jewelry collection is very precious to me. This might be because it was an item gifted to me by a family member or close friend or because of where I was when I bought it. It could even be because I connected with the designer who made it or just because I felt a connection with the piece itself. Most of my jewelry has it's own wee story and that's what makes it special. It made me wonder about the stories behind my Gran and Mum's collections. Some bits may be slightly damaged or bent out of shape but this could just show a life of use (or misuse). I've taken a few pieces that I think I can work into my style so I guess I'll just make my own stories with them.
This is one of my favorite necklaces that was my Mums. I've actually had it for a while but collecting the other pieces made me want to get it out and show it off. It's a locket and inside it has the tiniest folded paper for the owner to write medical details on. It doesn't actually have any information written on it, which is a bit of a shame. I can understand it though because you'd have to have the smallest handwriting ever to fit it on. It has a little stone missing from the front and its a bit scuffed round the edges but I love the SOS lettering and the pretty clasp. It also has a quirkiness that I am definitely attracted to when buying my own jewelry.
