She wanted to redesign and combine two bracelets she inherited from her parents.
She inherited a yellow gold bangle bracelet from her mother, but she does not wear yellow gold. Also, as a hairdresser, she found the style was uncomfortable to wear continuously. This heirloom piece is imbued with meaning since her mother had commissioned the bracelet to be fashioned from ancestral pieces in 2009. She had specified that the beloved family jewelry be repurposed into a slip-on bangle bracelet and be engraved with “Cherished Forever.”
Her father had an id bracelet that he wore all the time. Upon his passing, she inherited this well-worn piece of jewelry that was so much a part of her memories of her father. The bracelet had been a gift from her mother to her father for a special celebration. This lovely silver piece was engraved with his name, and he obviously cherished it immensely.
My main challenges in combining these two family bracelets into one were to 1) leave all the engraving intact, 2) create a piece she can wear all the time and 3) showcase the silver rather than the gold. As a jeweler, I live for these kinds of challenges!
thoughtful design – combine two symbolic bracelets
First, being careful to preserve the engraving on the gold bangle, a sizable section was removed. One end was manipulated into a hook for a clasp that was fabricated from the links on dad’s silver id plate.
And finally the new piece needed to be polished in a way that would brighten, but not remove, all the stories told by the existing wear on both bracelets. Voila – it all came together so she can wear both pieces from her parents – a marriage of two heirloom bracelets.
- heirloom sterling silver id plate and stamped 14k yellow gold bangle bracelet combined into a new design
- Location: Canton, Connecticut
