Southern Jewelry News

Family treasures - a timeline

16:47

April

2008

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I Love My Job!

Linda called Sue, her very dear friend and said, “Sue, I am concerned. Harry’s death has left me with little money.” Sue replied with shock, “What, I thought Harry had a life insurance policy that paid you $150,000.00?” “Yes,” Linda replied and then continued, “But the donation to the church was $1000.00, the burial was $3000.00, the casket was $2500.00, and the memorial stone – that was very expensive.” Sue questioned, “According to my quick calculations you should have about $143,000.00 left. My god, how big was the memorial stone?” Linda quietly replied, “5 carats.”

I was talking to a very wise friend of mine the other day about jewelry. He mentioned that the interesting thing about a woman’s jewelry is that it is a visible, tangible time line. A woman can go through her jewelry box, lay out all the pieces and tell you when she got them, who gave them to her and what station of life she was at. If she is lucky she will even have a few pieces that have a story associated to them that is older than she is. My friend said, “We donate old cars, clothes and appliances to a worthy cause, but jewelry is something that we pass down to the next generation.” As I looked down at my hands I could see that he was right.

As I moved through the week, our conversation would occasionally come to mind. I shared his thoughts with a few friends who all agreed that it was interesting. Each agreed that they could lay out their own time line using their jewelry. The topic always seemed to bring a smile as they described the first piece of jewelry their special someone gave them, or how he saved for months to buy her wedding ring. Talking about firsts, growth, and change was great, but after looking back, I began to look forward. I am concerned.

When my daughter turned 18 my husband and I gave her a pair of diamond stud earrings. They were not large, they were appropriate (by appropriate I mean: if she lost them I would not want to strangle her; but if she kept them forever; I would not be embarrassed). Yet one of the mothers picking up her child from the party felt compelled to tell me that she gave her daughter a lap top as she thought that would be more useful. My daughter’s best friend, after dating a fella for over a year, got an MP3 player for Christmas – not the hoped for piece of jewelry.

One might think that the divorce rates would thrill retail jewelers, but I am not thrilled. People do not seem to realize – I sell diamonds to the general public – I do not buy them. The phone rang yesterday – it was someone wanting to get rid of their wedding ring. They did not care how much they got for it – they just wanted the ring out of their sight. Am I wrong to wonder what exactly did the diamond do? Why are you so willing to just throw away a diamond? Then the phone rang and it was someone wanting to scrap some old school rings for cash.

Add to all this a terrible economy, $900 gold prices, $1900.00 platinum prices and more and more people’s disposable income being spent on electronics that are obsolete the day you buy them, and you have a very bleak future.

My concern is for the future generations. Will daughters of today proudly wear the diamond their father gave their mother tomorrow? Will daughters of today become women with a treasure chest of the diamond studs they got on their 18th birthday or that sweet 16 small diamond chip? If the daughters of today are getting laptops, what will they pass on to their daughters?

As these sad thoughts raced through my mind, I began to wonder if my line of work had jaded me and if I had placed too much value on my piece of jewelry. Then on the radio, country singer, Jake Owen assured me that I was NOT over the edge, and concerned for no reason as he sang...

Verse:
I pawned my grandpa’s old guitar in college,
For a case of beer and a tank of gasoline.

Chorus:
If I had a dime, for half the things I did – that didn’t make no sense at all
I’d be livin’ a little higher on the hog.
If only I’d known, that later on down the road,
I’d look back and not like what I see
I’d change a lot of things – startin’ with me.

If April showers bring May flowers. I hope that the rains wash away: the craziness of sparkling cell phones with upgraded ring tones, the desire for a “newer” car, a bigger TV with more channels, the bad karma of every divorce diamond, and the “useful” attitudes of people. I also hope that May brings forth a renewed growth in commitment, a greater value of love and the smiles of looking back with a sense of joy - not regret. It is my wish that people and parents, of today, will take the time to reflect on their family traditions and family heirlooms with a renewed sense of value; I would hate for them to be singing Jake’s song 10 years from now.

Tammy L. Williams, Graduate Gemologist of GIA, also prizes her membership in AGTA. She is President of J D Jewelers, a salon private jewelry business located in Suwanee, Georgia and the Southeastern Rep for Global Diamonds. Tammy is very active as a speaker and authority on Gemstones and Diamonds. Whether in her laboratory at J D Jewelers, on the lecture circuit or writing about her experiences in business, her love and passion for gemstones becomes contagious. If you’d like to contact Tammy, please e-mail her at info@southernjewelrynews.com.