Golden Memories

As you might have noticed reflected in my designs, I love intricate jewellery, the kind which tells a story on many different levels. It may therefore come as a surprise that the piece which I wear the most and is most precious to me is a small, simple Star of David pendant which I have owned since I was 12 years old.

It isn’t the aesthetic value or the monetary value of this pendant which makes it priceless to me, but the story behind it, the woman who wore it before me and gave it to me a short time before she succumbed to cancer, my Nana.

My Nana was one of the greatest loves of my life. She gave me unconditional love, taught me how to sew, made the best chicken soup in the world and was a major role model for me.

Forced to flee Germany on the eve of WW2, the last time that she saw her own mother was at the age of 22 on a train platform in Berlin. Her two older brothers had been deported from Germany to Poland a year earlier, she never saw any of them again.

The small gold star that I wear every day was a gift from my great Grandmother to my grandmother who wore it every day. This small piece of gold which weighs no more than 2 grams carries the weight of her legacy and the memory of her life. I feel her spirit with me, guiding and encouraging me, a guardian angel. I carry a physical reminder of who I am and where I came from. It gives me strength because I know that I carry the legacy of two extraordinary women both of whom I admire so much. It reminds me that life is short. It reminds me to love my daughter as my Great Grandmother loved my Nana. To be able to release her and let her live no matter how hard it is to let go. It reminds me to treasure and respect my mother because who knows for how long I will have her around.

Most of all my pendant reminds me that I was loved by a wonderful grandmother who didn’t want to leave me. I refused to take it when she gave it to me. She knew that she was dying and with my childish optimism I refused to believe that she would ever go. We always had a special connection. Not a day goes by when I don’t think of her.

Since then, many other events and situations have changed my life. I have added other pendants with significance to the chain around my neck. It always amazes me how a small piece of metal can harness such energy and hold such significance. What does your favourite piece of Jewellery mean to you?