Over the years, my jewelry box has changed as have my habits. As a teenager in the 60s, jewelry was kept to a minimum. Maybe some pearls for special occasions, but that was it.
In my 20s as a young wife and mother who also worked, I added a lot of costume jewelry to my stash. Small brooches/pins, and pendant necklaces ruled until I got my ears pierced. Then I slowly added earrings with gold/sterling/stainless backs. A few nice necklaces, but nothing spectacular.
This continued until my late 30s-40s when I met and married my late husband. When we married, we had next to no money so I used my mother's wedding set (as mentioned in this post). Over the years, I added Black Hills Gold rings, earrings, and necklaces - something I loved that was sparked by my first pieces bought for me by my husband when he was traveling for work.
When I sold the house and became a full-time RVer, maybe a dozen special necklaces came with me as well as a couple of rings and pins. Nothing spectacular. I was no longer working and had no need.
Now in my 70s, I only keep things I will wear on a cruise to dress up a top, my wedding rings, my special nugget heart necklace, and three pair of gold earrings (my gold ball studs, my diamond hoops that I bought as a widow when I saw them on sale, and my Hugs & Kisses (X & O) black hills gold semi-loops) Around the house, I only wear a simple gold stud earring and the rest stays put away.
Back when I was working, as soon as I came home, all jewelry came off. While I loved the look of the necklaces, they irritated my neck and if it was warm, they really bugged me. Same with my rings - hot weather means swollen hands, means rings off.
What kind of jewelry do you have and love now? What do you wear & when?
I have given away most of my jewelry to my daughter and sister. I can't wear pierced earrings or rings these days, which is so sad because I loved them for decades. I kept a few sentimental things, but jewelry can only be worn in the cool months in my corner of Arizona. If I wear a necklace outside in the sun, it will heat up and burn me. I hang on to my mom's charm bracelet, engraved with dates from the 1960s to her for Mother's Day, her birthday, etc. On the rare occasion I am meeting a writer friend for lunch, I will wear my gold Desert Rose necklace, which was a VIP award for service from my Romance Writers of America chapter, back in the day.
ReplyDeleteSounds like we've taken a similar journey in jewelry. I love the award necklace!
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