Myrl’s Pearls - What is your Jewelry ‘Worth’?

December 11, 2020 1 Comment

What is the value of your jewelry? The value of diamonds and gold is obvious and measurable ... but what about the jewelry that just makes you feel good. Or, what about when there’s just something you love about it aesthetically? Or if it reminds you of someone you love. Or that amazing trip?

In Economics class we learn about different economies. The economy of time. The economy of scale. What about the economy of sentiment? Or the economy of a jolt of happiness when you put it on?

After my grandmother (Myrl) died, my stepmother sent me her “junk” jewelry for the kids to play with. Number one; it wasn’t all junk. Number two; none of it was junk! It all had sentimental value to me.

My grandma Myrl died 1997. Because I have Myrl’s pearls and rings and things - even the box she kept it in - I think of her all the time. What is that worth?

I don’t have a lot of “valuable” jewelry in the traditional sense, but most of the jewelry in my box has a story. A little tourist shop on that one trip. A piece of turquoise I got in Globe AZ. The first thing I ever soldered. I opened my first small business in Chicago in 1986 and the banker where I opened my account gave me a silver dollar. It resides in the bottom of my jewelry box. I also have a couple diamonds and things … but I’m not sure what I value the most.

As a jewelry designer, I love hearing things like “I wear your jewelry all the time, or your jewelry speaks to me.” So … when I hear this, I know it is something that makes that person feel good. But will LBJ Jewelry ever be the type of jewelry that has sentimental value?

A young son chose this dainty green Jade Delica ring for his mom for mother's day. Is it her favorite? Does she wear it all the time? Will it become something that someone holds generations later and thinks of her? Who knows ... but it's lovely to imagine :)

The last few available of these jade rings were just listed on Etsy as ready to ship. Click photo for more info.