Jewelry Pearls

My two brothers and I walked into the bank after the reading of our grandmother’s will. At the lawyer’s office, we received the name and location of the bank, as well as the necessary documentation that would give us access to the safe deposit box.

We arrived at the bank and were escorted into an empty office to open the box and see what we inherited. The three of us burst out laughing when we saw what was inside. It was the monstrosity! The ugliest ring in the world! At least that is what we always called it. Nana wore it to every holiday, every wedding, christening, and even every funeral. If it was a formal occasion, she had “the ring” on.

The ring was, to say the least, impressive; it was comprised of seven diamonds, one in the center, which was about a carrot in weight, surrounded by six other smaller diamonds, each about a quarter carrot. The setting was platinum and shaped like what appeared to be a combination of flower and a fireworks explosion.

Nana was vigorous and active into her late 80’s. She was funny and had a wicked sense of humor. I know she enjoyed the wide-eyed stares she would get when people would see her with that ring on her hand.

It was no secret to Nana we thought her ring was the ugliest ring in the world. It was actually a running joke between us. Once, when I saw Nana at an anniversary party, I made my usual, “Here comes Nana with that ugly ring,” remark. She laughed and said something like, “This is my cocktail ring, now be a good girl and get me a cocktail.”

Now here were the three of us, sitting in the office at that bank, laughing when just two hours before we had been in a lawyer’s office grieving for Nana, who had just passed away at the age of 93.

At the bottom of the safe deposit box was a note card that we almost missed. The note was in Nana’s handwriting. It read that she had the last laugh by leaving us the “ugly ring”, but she had a wish for what we would do with it. . Nana said that we could, of course, sell it. “Four carrots of diamonds set in platinum would buy one heck of an umbrella for a rainy day.” However, her wish was that we break up the ring and use the diamonds and platinum to make beautiful jewelry.

Nana wanted her diamonds to be worn with pride by her grandchildren and their wives and to grace the necks of her great grandchildren on their wedding days. She wanted these diamonds out of the bank and enjoyed just as much she enjoyed wearing the ugliest ring in the world.

For the first 10 years of married life my husband and I lived in the house that once belonged to my grandparents. Moving into a house with an already full attic can be a challenge, but to me it was also an experience I had been looking forward to for a long time.

Most of the family keepsakes were in that attic. As soon as we were settled I ascended the stairs and entered the attic to begin my project. Memories from my childhood flooded back with the musty smell and the sight of the old pictures hanging on nails, haphazardly nailed into the beams. My grandfather’s hammock was propped in a corner, now moth eaten and a skeleton of its former self, but still where my grandfather’s hands placed it so many years ago.

I selected a box from under the eaves in the back of the attic. I opened up the cardboard box and found it filled with items wrapped in newspapers from the early 1960’s. My pulse quickened with the excitement of my new discovery.

I found a small porcelain figure of a cocker spaniel, an oval mirror, a jewelry box and a very small bible. I have always loved vintage jewelry, so I opened the jewelry box first. Inside, there were some strands of beads and some clip on earrings, typical “old lady” style jewelry. Not the antiques I was hoping to find.

Thinking the box was empty, I turned it over to dump out the old crumpled newspapers, I heard a metallic “ping” as an object hit the floor. I tossed the scraps of paper back into the box and tried to find what made that sound. What I found was an antique rose gold wedding ring. It was about a quarter of an inch wide with a swirling leaf design across the center of the band. Inside were the initials A.B.B. and O.E.B.: the initials of my great grandparents.

I went back to the tiny bible and sure enough, it was inscribed to “Alice, from your Sunday School Teacher. 1893″ I was certain this entire box of items belonged to my great-grandmother.

I sat on the floor of the attic with my great grandmother’s wedding band in my hand and looked at it. The engraving of the leaf pattern had faded and part of the band was worn thin. From what I knew about my great grandmother, this ring was a good representation of her life.

Alice came to the United States from Liverpool England as a child. She grew up in Massachusetts as the much-loved daughter of a mill worker and married my great grandfather, who was a farmer. She gave birth to three sons and endured her youngest dying in her arms at the age of five. She survived the Great Depression, World War II and all of the joy and pain of this world until she died in her sleep in 1962. I heard stories about my great grandmother all my life but I never knew her, until I saw her life etched by time on that ring she wore until the day she died.