Ode à ma Mère

[BWeaves]

More corundum! The Rubyswan of Doggie Khayyám.



When I was little, my parents had a German shepherd named Kiam. He was the stupidest German shepherd I've ever met. My parents sold him to the FBI. But I digress. Mom had two swan pins, one sapphire and one ruby. My sister wanted the sapphire swan and I got the ruby one. Since I got both sapphires and rubies from my mother, it didn't really matter to me which swan I got. They were different designs, but both beautiful.

Ruby and diamond heart earrings with invisible setting on the ruby part.



Diamond baguette bangle.





And what I'm actually wearing today. Peridot earrings with omega backs. Very comfy. This pair is not as tight as the diamond ones and the sapphire ones I've posted previously.



A comment about my photo skills. I take the photo with my camera and then check to see if the jewelry is in focus and the background is not distracting. I upload the photos to my Mac into iPhoto. Then I pull up each photo and crop it mercilessly. This blows up the jewelry and makes sure it is centered in the photo. If I actually try to take a closeup, the jewelry is usually out of focus. If I back off a bit when I take the photo, and then crop the photo later, I have much better luck.

 

[MMtwo]

Thank you for sharing your beautiful jewelry and memories of your mother. Her taste was fantastic. Loved the multi-colored gold, the pearls, the precious gems. The sapphire was magnificent. Love the color of that sapphire.

It's an honor you have shared so much of your life with us, it gives the jewelry context and meaning.

 

[JerseyPearl]

Just gorgeous stuff BWeaves...I really love that baguette bangle.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

The swan is so pretty!

 

[Katbran]

How beautiful everything is !! I too love the bangle . Those Peridot look great !

 

[Pearly-Whites]

Great corundum and great photo tips!!

 

[amti]

BWeaves, I just finished reading all 9 pages with a smile on my face and a tear in my eye. How difficult it must have been to go through your mom's items and split them. Y'all did it so gracefully and maturely, and that's admirable because so many siblings fight. I was touched your sister didn't speak up about the ring, and you gave her the mikis and then when he came back to ask again, your sister's reply was so touching, as was your brother's. You all must make your parents very proud and get along well.

Your mom had great classic taste in jewelry and you're very kind to share her story and treasures with us. I know you will wear them with pride and grace, as your mother would want. I look forward to seeing the rest of the story.

 

[BWeaves]

PURPLE! I'm having pearl withdrawal, but it's OK because PURPLE!

This ring is so not my Mom's style. But everyone agreed it suited me perfectly. I don't think I ever saw her wear it. It is amazingly comfortable for a bulky ring. I can't decide if it's Art Deco or Retro in style. It has a bit of both styles combined.



The amethyst is a gorgeous royal purple with flashes of red and blue that the camera just cannot capture. It looks great with the baguette bangle, too. By the way, Dad is a huge fan of baguettes. Never get between him and loaf of French bread!



Mom's amethyst earrings. The omega backs on this pair are killing me. I've already ordered a bunch more of those acrylic disks from Rio Grande. I think I'm going to put a pair on all the omega back earrings and some of the studs.



I'm wearing my 50th birthday present to myself (the pendant).



And on my other hand, another birthday present to myself, but I can't remember which year. It's an amethyst cabochon between iolite trillions.

 

[Katbran]

Wow I love the big Amethyst ring ..such an interesting setting ! I just love Amethyst..thanks for all the great purple love !

 

[BWeaves]

Just a bit more purple. These are mine that I bought 35 years ago. The oval ring is a gorgeous red garnet that most people mistake for a ruby because it has a lot of life. I always thought that if I ever found a similar ring in amethyst and pear shaped, I'd buy it. And it showed up shortly after. These are no where near as nice as my Mom's sapphire ring, but I think I have all my tiara accessories in order should a prince ever invite me to a ball.

 

[JerseyPearl]

I love the purples...and your mother's ring is wonderful! To me it looks very 1960s...like something Liz Taylor would have worn poolside, with flowy coverup and turban sporting a matching pin. Just beautiful.

On the omega backs, a jeweler can adjust the tension of the omega part so that they are more comfortable to wear.

 

[BWeaves]

Oddly enough, these omega backs are not tight. But the front of the earring isn't very big and cuts into my ear. Mom had her ears pierced with a needle and thread by a girl in college. Consequently, her holes were not straight across but angled towards the back. I've had to tweak her posts because they were angled, and I think that may be a bit of what is going on with this pair. I thought I had them straight, but they may need a bit more tweaking. I just don't want to break anything.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I've had to adjust angled posts, too. Use pliers (not fingers), grasping the full length of the post, and go slowly.

 

[BWeaves]

Thanks! I've got jewelry pliers.

 

[linda.wald]

I love amethyst, but that necklace has me swooning! Did you have it made for you?

 

[BWeaves]

Yes. Karen Brown Jewelry. She used to live near me, but has since moved to California. She had a similar pendant on her website and she found me an interesting amethyst and made a similar pendant. Her specialty is interesting chains with interchangeable pendants, amazing rings, and really cool earring jackets. She's the one who has remade my engagement ring a couple of times. A different jeweler is remaking my mother's ring for me. The two jewelers have very different styles.

 

[JerseyPearl]

Ok, so I had to look up her website (bet she sees a ton more hits today!) For those of us on the east coast, mid-Atlantic, she is going to be at Sugarloaf craft festival in Montgomery Co. Md on April 21-23

 

[Katbran]

I just had a look ...I like her work . Really interesting pieces !

 

[BWeaves]

This is Karen Brown's website: http://www.karenbrownjewelry.com

And this is the jeweler remaking my Mom's ring. http://www.okidanokh.com She also made The Swan and The Hamantaschen and my moonstone ring. And she carries the knitted gold chokers.

Now, onto today's goodies.

Bracelets. Sister got the diamond tennis bracelet. I got the other diamond bracelet with 4 rows of tiny hearts. Mom had bought both of us tennis bracelets years ago with CZs set in 14K gold, and frankly they look as good as Mom's diamond tennis bracelet.

The other bracelet is multicolors of sapphires. I think this will be a summer bracelet. It's light and pastel. Mom had summer jewelry and winter jewelry and I tend to be the same. Certain pieces just scream hot weather or cold weather.

In Sun:



In Shade:

 

[BWeaves]

The story of the 3 Bears.

Goldilocks Mom wanted to make sure that each sister got diamond stud earrings. Big sister (me), middle sister (sister), and little sister (sister-in-law).

Papa Bear: 3 carat total weight round diamond studs. Slightly yellow.
Mama Bear: 1.5 carat total weight round diamond studs. Whiter and clearer than the big pair. Diamond earring jackets, too.
Baby Bear: Pave' diamond studs. Oval shape. Sits flat to the ear.

Sister wanted the big studs. Fine with me.
That left me with a choice of the smaller solid diamonds or the pave' studs. I'm pretty sure Mom wanted me to have the solid diamonds and my sister-in-law the pave' studs, but I always like the pave' earrings better. I think because they sat flat against the ear. So I offered my brother the Mama Bear earrings and the earring jackets and he said, "Are you sure?" And I said, "Yes, very sure. I know you wife will love them."

I know sister-in-law was surprised and thrilled and very touched that Mom though of her so highly.
I'm thrilled, too. I got the pair I really wanted.

These earrings are really hard to photograph. They have incredible sparkle, and they "read" as one large stone unless you get very close. I'm trying to photograph them so you can see the separate stones.



Can you see the setting? The prongs are fake outs. All 7 stones are invisibly set. 4 marquis diamonds around the outside and 3 square diamonds in the middle.



Side view looks like a regular single stone setting, BUT . . . The top band that goes around under the diamonds has a ledge that fits in a groove that is cut under the girdle of the diamonds and holds them in place. It's invisible from the outside of the earring.