My birth month is October. As a matter of fact: nearly my entire maternal family is born in October. My sister's is the 3rd, brother - 19th, Grandfather - 23rd, Mother - 29th, and mine - 30th.Mother gave me a beautiful opal ring 15 years ago that has been in my family for a very long time. I never memorized the story behind the original owner: It had something to do with a lady named Emma Dartheula Stentson, who married into the Pinckney family, and I think she died giving birth to her umpteenth child, a daughter.
I never knew much about it, it has no maker's mark, and it isn't in "mint" condition. The gold has worn thin and one of the rubies is missing. But I remember being mesmerized by the ring on my mother's hand as soon as I was old enough to focus. It has such a beautiful blue and green glow, that it looks like the earth from outer space. I'm sorry that my camera can't do it justice, it's only a 2.0 mega-pixel. But it is magnificent to behold. They just don't make rings like this anymore.
I think my fascination with the ring during my entire childhood is the reason she gave it to me. It's actually a little bit too large for my hand, but I won't let any jewelers touch it. I just know they would break my opals.
Anyway, I was surfing around for antique jewelry and I came upon this site. They definitely have California prices, which is a shame, because I found a companion piece to my ring.
This pendant appears to be made by the same person. See the way the settings around the small round opals are pressed-in instead of pronged? Except for the fact that this is dressed in diamonds and my ring is dressed in rubies, it looks like the same craftsmanship. Lang Estate Jewelry in California have this pendant and they want $8,950.00 for it. They say the design is from around 1890 and it's considered Victorian jewelry.
Ouch. I could never ever spend that kind of money on a piece of jewelry. Even my wedding set was under $200.00, by choice. I wouldn't want a $4,000.00 rock on my finger, that's just silly.
But ohhhh how I would love to own this pendant. It's simply the most beautiful piece of jewelry I have ever, in my entire life, seen.
(sigh)
MsAmber
5 comments:
I love opals. Its one of my fav. stones. Beautiful.
I dont like my birth stone.. its light green.. starts with an "a" I think... just doesnt go well with me. So I stuck to my diamond wedding ring and ruby accents on the ring. I love rubies. I got them at first to accent the diamond on my wedding ring. The red of the rubies made the diamond just pop. looks beautiful. I'll have to take a pic and post it on my blog.
Later on though a guy at a dollar tree oddly enough asked me "Did you get those because of the Proverb?" and I said "Proverb...?" and then he quoted "A womans worth is above rubies." HAHA I didnt even think about that. Now I do though.
And also the ruby is very similar to the Jan. birth stone. That is the month I got married.
Weird. :-)
Although I'm not a jewelry wearer, I do admire beautiful pendants and rings (especially ones with histories). This is a gorgeous pendant and even if the picture of the ring isn't very clear, it looks quite unique and beautiful. I know I wouldn't pay for that amount either, but it's still nice to look at and perhaps secretly add it on your wishlist when you come into a windfall.
;-)
Occasionally I'll put on a pair of earrings but it's been a long time since I've worn any rings or bracelets (wedding band included). The reason for this is because my wrists and fingers swell up with the incessant "keyboarding" and "mousing".
One of the few jewelry items I cherish are a matching turquoise pendant with earrings my mother bought for herself many years ago. She gave them to me because ever since I was a kid I always told her it was my favorite colour, my favorite pendant shape (American-Indian) and I liked silver. It is a set of jewelry that can be worn with jeans or formal attire. It just has a personality of its own.
ZARDOZ SAYS :
YES IT IS VERY BEAUTIFUL
MY MOM HAS A PIECE LIKE THE NECKLACE
SAME TURQUISE TYPE COLOR.
---------ZARDOZ
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh! MsAmber, you've got SO much more self-control than me when it comes to jewelry. I'm not trying to get Paris Hilton about it but I love gemstones and baubles and sparkly things. And that pendant was gorgeous (though yes, obscenely expensive)!
ps - I have no problem acting a little "silly" with a $4,000 rock on my finger. Hey, I'm awesome -- I deserve it. ;)
If I could get a guy to buy me a $4,000.00 ring, I would ask for a $200.00 ring and $3800.00 cash.
I would buy a new guitar, a set of rims for my truck, new window tinting for my truck, and start paying for the new kitchen floor that I want. The linoleum is looking a little worn.
Then with the next $4,000.00 I would start by replacing the carpet in the rest of the house, and buy some building materials for enclosing my back porch.
Then with the next $4,000.00, I would have the front porch screened in, buy a new ragtop for the convertible Mazda Miata, and start putting together the gazebo and hot-tub in the backyard.
Then with the next $4,000.00...
Gee. I'm like a bottomless money pit here.
MsAmber
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