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Old is New

7/29/2017

12 Comments

 
Picture
The bracelet... before
First, there’s this.
 
I love my engagement ring.
 
Heck, what’s not to adore?  Unique because the Hubster and I and a jeweler designed it together, the white gold band has an oval, three-quarter carat diamond in its center—and yes, the stone is officially cruelty free. Then there’s a smaller, denim-colored sapphire on the left side, and another on the right.  The figurative cherry on top is eight tiny diamond chips, set flush next to the blue stones. 
 
I wear the ring proudly.  And, having married for the first time at the age of 50, I still sometimes find myself looking at it with a certain amount of awe.  In fact, except for the times when I’ve traveled to what might be iffy regions of the world, when I then leave the ring at home, I’ve never removed it.
 
Still.
 
If I’d taken a few steps back, I might have noticed that there were other options when it came to my left ring finger.
 
No, I wouldn’t have opted for a cigar band (as a former celebrity reporter, I can tell you that this is exactly what Richard Gere initially gave his first wife, Cindy Crawford), or a tattoo on said digit (a move that Pamela Anderson and rocker Tommy Lee did when they honored their vows).
 
But, maybe, I would have gone for something old and then made it mine. 
 
Which is to say, new to me.
 
A quick Ebay search for vintage engagement rings yields nearly 4,000 hits.  The jewelry here is mostly diamonds, but there are also rubies, sapphires and emeralds.  Prices are user friendly, too, with some pieces posted at less than $200.   (Because of my own mostly positive experiences with this site, both buying and selling, I believe most sellers stay honest in order to stay in business.)
 
Also, repurposing and recycling aren’t exactly unknowns to this girl clown. 
 
I’m the third owner of the vehicle I drive; second owner to a coffee maker, and no doubt here, the latest of several owners to a 1950s Kenmore toaster (it’s built like a solid car from that era, too, all chrome and flash, and works perfectly).  Most of my pots and pans came from estate sales, as did my nifty turquoise Sunbeam mixer.  There’s more:
I have a beautiful piece of art hanging in my office that’s nearly entirely made up of used pens and pencils.  This artist’s domain, I kid you not, is creating pieces from stuff she scavenges from junkyards.  Oh, and in the back yard, my raised herb box boasts recycled fence posts for borders; the same wood makes up the potting table. 
 
Yet the idea of repurposing a piece of jewelry wasn’t something I’d ever considered, until this happened.  
 
A good friend has an Etsy business that’s more a hobby than a money-making enterprise. A few months ago, she messaged me her latest offerings, mostly elegant vintage dinnerware, brooches and linens from France and The Netherlands.  I tend to be a collector of Americana stuff—show me an old Pyrex dish or cookbook that I don’t already have, and my heart goes pitty-pat—so I wasn’t expecting to find much.
 
Then… my breath caught at a single piece of jewelry.
 
It was a child’s delicate charm bracelet featuring The 10 Commandments, intertwined with tiny pearls.   I knew, immediately, that I had to have it.
 
Once the dainty bauble arrived, my friend explained a bit of its history.
 
The piece had come from the Irish side of her mother’s family, she wrote, and had probably been a communion or christening memento.
 
“I have a lot of religious items from my family,” she continued. “And, it’s hard to know what to do with them.  I didn’t feel right about discarding items that were important, even sacred to them.  And even though I’m not religious, I recognize
the beauty of the objects.”
 
My friend went on to say that there was a time when many fine things were made in the United States (and elsewhere, too).  Consequently, she continued, “I cannot see the point of buying new, inferior items when there are so many wonderful, real, quality things to be had.” 
 
I couldn’t agree more.
 
So now, with this sweet wristlet having been delivered to my doorstep, the stage was set to make it my own.
 
To this end, I carefully transported the piece to our local jewelers, a husband and wife team whose work I know and trust.  Neither was sure of its exact vintage, but they thought it could be from the 1940s.  In any case, within a couple of days they had replaced the clasp with a larger, adult size one; added a couple of inches of links to fit my grown-up wrist, and put on new, real pearls (turns out the original ones were not).  They also cleaned the bracelet, making each charm shine as bright as a new penny.
 
Wearing this now gorgeous bangle makes me feel that all is right with the world, so I’ve been wearing it a lot.  Having it on is also a pretty direct, in my face (or rather, on my arm) reminder to try my best to follow those rules of life that, I think, are found in some form in nearly every religion and philosophy. 
 
Just as important, I’ve now discovered one other way to leave less of a footprint on a planet that more and more, requires all of its inhabitants to be extra mindful and extra purposeful caretakers.
 
Recycling, repurposing, and in the end, giving a lovely piece of jewelry—and its history—a brand new lease at life.  
 
And that, I’m certain, is A Very Good Thing. 
 
How about you? What do you have that’s old, but made new?  I look forward to your comments and stories!
 
P.S. Find the junkyard artist at http://junkgirls.com.  My friend’s Etsy site is www.etsy.com/shop/JardinBlanche?ref=l2-shopheader-name, and for the jewelry store I so love, check out https://www.yelp.com/biz/legacy-jewelers-los-osos.

Picture
The bracelet... after
12 Comments
kerri
7/29/2017 02:19:14 pm

I framed a mirror out of broken pieces of my grandmamma's Fiesta Ware. It's the one thing I wanted to inherit when she passed away. My mom paid alot to have it shipped to me from Georgia, but still some of it arrived broken. The mirror isn't a masterpiece, but it has priceless sentimental value to me.

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Hilary
7/29/2017 02:30:17 pm

Oh, what a GREAT idea! And you probably couldn't have eaten off of that Fiesta ware anyway, since the dishes made back then were loaded with lead. Please send me a pic of the mirror!

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Larry Grant
7/29/2017 04:37:38 pm

I am living proof of your knack for repurposing. You, my wonderful wife, are such a blessing to share life with.

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Hilary Grant
7/29/2017 05:27:53 pm

Love it--my repurposed husband. :) xo

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leslie spoon
7/30/2017 01:06:02 pm

Hilary Your bracelet turned out beautiful. What is nice also is that there is a history too it. When my mom got into her 70`s she gave me all of her jewelry. She enjoyed all of it so much. When I wear it I feel close to her. I took the earrings to Legacy Jewelers to have them changed a bit because they were outdated. Cory did a get job on everything. I like things that have a story to them that is why my house looks like an opium den!

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Hilary Grant
7/30/2017 02:54:18 pm

Objects that have a back story are so much richer than objects that don't! It's also important to pass these things along; I recently sent a salt and pepper shaker set to one of Larry's daughters. It belonged to his mom, and he thinks it goes back at least to the 1940s. I hope she'll be able to enjoy it! : )

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andrea
7/30/2017 06:05:59 pm

Wow, really neat bracelet and interesting take on giving object away that have meaning. I'm normally not into jewelry as something that has meaning, not sure why, but this post changed my mind!

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Hilary Grant
7/30/2017 07:16:03 pm

I'm not really into jewelry that much; most of the time, just my wedding and engagement rings are it. Occasionally, an anklet, and when I go somewhere special, earrings (I like tiny ones). But as you read, something about THIS piece just called to me. And sometimes, the right thing to do is... answer. :)

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pam thomas link
8/4/2017 09:19:55 am

So glad this meaning imbued little bracelet went to you and will have a new life! Part of the joy in presenting vintage and antique objects is imaging where they have been, and seeing them off to a new life and purpose. They connect us in personal ways at times, and in cultural ways with the generations past. Also, the quality and aesthetics of most vintage items places them far above their contemporary big box store counterparts. Every item carries a story.... Best of luck with your wonderful new bracelet. Funny, I had something that looked a bit like that, but was shabbier. LOL.

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Hilary Grant
8/4/2017 09:49:42 am

Yes, part of the reason I love it so much is the story behind it. We don't know the story, of course. Still, I can't help but wonder what the bracelet meant to the first child who received it, and if anyone got it after that, and *that* person's story. For all, I hope it meant good things!

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Susan Jordan
8/4/2017 11:30:28 pm

How very cool. I'm also barely into jewelry myself, but there's legacy and history in the object you found, and something tells me it's possible its energy found its way to you, maybe at the urging of the one who once cherished it. I have no proof, but I like to think that sometimes, someone from the other side helps find "a good home" for things that they valued themselves. Old things pick up energy along the way, so it kind of adds up.

A for me...I probably have a lot of old things because I love the past and much of the *stuff* from it (without being an antiquer), but I can't really think off the top of my head of anything I've repurposed. If something has sentimental, personal, or somehow historical value, I'll want to hold onto it forever. Maybe that's part of the reason I still have all my childhood books and my toddlerhood rocking chair, which was itself handed down to me via my older brothers. That reminds me: I need to restain it to a nice espresso brown!

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Hilary
8/5/2017 12:38:08 pm

I love this comment. Nope, there is no proof that I was being pushed into buying this piece of jewelry, but something, some energy, *compelled* me to purchase it. In these troubling times, I find myself trying, more than ever, trying to be the best person I can be, and as I wrote, this bracelet, to do good, is a constant reminder to keep doing that.

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    Hilary Roberts Grant

    Journalist, editor, filmmaker, foodie--and a clown! 
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