Family Heirlooms: My Gram’s Engagement ring

I’ve mostly written about my grandmother on my dad’s side of the family when it comes to jewelry because she loves jewelry and her Italian heritage fostered that as well. My grandmother on my mom’s side of the family never really loved jewelry like us, but the “collector” aspect of her is what I inherited. She is truly a collector in every aspect. Her house became her display–like a museum with shelves and cases, which I always remember looking at growing up. I also remember going to shops with her and garage sales seeking out treasures. Her main collection is teapots, which she still collects and displays. She moved from a medium-sized log cabin tucked away in the woods and mountains of Pennsylvania to a small townhouse in a bigger town. Her collections went with her, to where now she has built-in shelves throughout her entire house lined with teapots.

Her engagement ring was fun to examine and look at now that I am doing my GIA studies. I’ve known her to wear that ring since I could remember. Looking at it now and testing it proved interesting. It is in fact, glass. The gold is 10k yellow gold. I also learned that it was not her engagement ring after all–it was her grandmother’s ring. When she was a little girl, her grandmother got in a fight with her husband and threw the ring in the trash. My grandmother as a little girl snuck into the room shortly after and dug the ring out of the trash! It has been hers ever since!

{above pictured are her ring, a photo of her when she was a toddler, and her with all five children including her only daughter, my mom!}