Playing In Mom's Old Jewelry Box

Don't get me started looking at old jewelry.

I had asked my mom to salvage some old paper jewelry boxes for me, which caused her to pull out her entire jewelry collection (whoops).  Her jewelry is a veritable treasure trove: hidden away, barely looked at, dusty and in need of shining, resembling a simple pile of junk, but filled with plenty of gems.

Whenever the collection surfaces, I can spend forever pouring over it, opening up each box and zippered pouch, pulling out bracelets, single earrings, rings that I try to fit on my fingers.  Maybe because I love jewelry so much myself--I love making it and buying it and of course wearing it--I find such a strong connection to these old pieces, and especially to the people who wore them.

Many of these items belonged to my grandmother.  Though I only knew her for a short time, I've always appreciated her sense of style and elegance.  My mom tells about where she had gotten different items, or what occasions she had worn them for.  The collection also includes a lot of my mom's old jewelry.  Though her taste is a bit more subdued than my own, I am excited to pull out pieces I remember her wearing in my childhood (which are unmistakeably out of the 80s and 90s), and especially pieces from her own youth in the 60s and 70s.

One piece I found that was just too cool to let disappear again into the shadowy abyss of the closet was a lucite watch with a gold bangle band.  My mom laughed when I pulled it out.  "You like that mod watch?" she asked incredulously.  "Of course!" I said.  "It's so cool!"  She laughed some more so I asked why she thought it was weird that I liked it.  She said, "Because it's old! It's from the 60s or 70s!"  My response: "Exactly!"

Sadly, most of my mother's clothes and accessories from that time (which would be vintage gems now) have been discarded over the years.  But I'm excited to have found the watch, and will wear this "old, mod" thing with pride!

What vintage treasures have you found in your own home?  What contemporary items do you think one day our daughters will be excited to discover?