Beyond The Label, If Jewels Could Talk

“Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.”  Yes, this is a bride’s list, but it also represents something greater; a tradition that is passed down over time, often in the form of an heirloom. Working as the manager for Daniella’s Steakhouse as well as an independent web designer, Elana Lucia has a diverse range of experience and interests, one of which is collecting. Sitting on the floor in Elana’s living room, I was surrounded by some of those pieces. A collection of articles from different family members, each of which meant more than their monetary value.

Growing up Italian Catholic, Elana was surrounded by dynamic characters her whole life, ranging from her grandparents, to aunts, as well as her parents, each in turn provided her with an education in keepsakes. The following is a collection of photos and stories, helping you see just what it means when we say “Beyond The Label.”

Working in a gun factory here in Syracuse, Elana’s  maternal grandfather, would pass her grandmother, day after day, and just smile. On one particular day, she turned to a friend and said matter a factly, “I’m going to marry him.” After finally taking the initiative to take her out on a date, it wasn’t long before he presented her with the first of many gifts, a blue topaz, set in a simple, metal bracelet (seen on the top left). After years in the family’s possession, the metal has discolored, but Elana has never had the heart to replace it with gold or silver. The budding love story lives in those links. He followed that bracelet with a ring and then the matching pendant, completing a set.

It was a short engagement before her grandparents married and were consequently separated by the war. They had met that spring and were married a short three months after they were enganged. Maybe it was the time apart that made those first gifts so important to their story, or maybe it was the foundation for what was to come, whatever the case may have been, those stones hold the secrets of a true love story that has been passed down to the grandchildren as sort of a ‘guide to love.’

Elana’s paternal grandfather, whom she fondly called “Poppy” was no different. The owner of a shop downtown, he was known for his dependability and generosity and early in those years he met his wife to be, they married and started their life together much like any other couple at that time. At the time they were so young, but knowing he didn’t want to settle on a small affordable diamond for his wife to be, her grandfather secured a wedding ring, promising that he would buy her the diamond of her dreams in time. He held up to his word, and in between all of the other gifts he surprised her with, he presented her with the diamond that is now the center stone in Elana’s engagement ring. Over the years of their life together, he would continue to surprise her, once dropping a tennis bracelet into a glass of Champaigne, and making a common practice of gifting her cars every few years.

The gifts are truly beautiful, but to Elana it is the love that they represent that truly matters. In a culture so wrapped in commercializing every holiday and making it easier to afford many of the baubles once out of reach to many, it is still these stories and heirlooms that Elana holds dearest. Sitting with me that afternoon, stroking the bracelet in her hands she told me of how as a child her Poppy always managed to surprise her as well. “I always had the latest toy, he some how always got it for me before it was in stores. Like, I would be watching TV and it would be the first commercial for that toy and I would go to my mom, ‘Hey! That’s my doll!'” What she cherished from those memories, which lasted much longer than those toys, was that he cared enough to spread joy to all those that he loved.

Over the years he continued to spoil her grandmother and all of his grandkids, but they weren’t ones to just take and not give back. A money clip can be seen in the above frame, Elana and her sister, Michelle, gifted their Poppy the engraved piece when she was roughly 7 or 8 years old. There was another one, but it has bits of the top coat missing from years of wear. In his later years, Elana remarked that she would cut his hair, choosing to spoil him in little ways, “He was my best friend.” Often we speak of how a scent can trigger a emotion, a song, nostalgia, and an heirloom a memory so vivid it brings you back to all the emotions of that time. Her Poppy was the catalyst in her love for collecting, but it is the rest of her family that have helped her add to the power and meaning of her collection.

The cameos you see in the above image were from her maternal and paternal grandmothers’ collections. It was during her junior year of high school during a trip to Italy that Elana saw cameos and fell in love. After coming home, she told her mother all about her trip and how she had fallen for those delicate pieces. Knowing that Elana would cherish them, her mother presented her with the large one belonging to her paternal grandmother and the two smaller ones belonging to her maternal grandmother, all three antiques.

Better seen in the first image of the post, are the earings right next to the cameos, belonging to her mother’s aunt, they are almost 100 years old. Yet, possibly even more delicate and precious is the watch that is at the top right hand corner that once belonged to her great-grandmother. In love with it and splaying it across her wrist for me, Elana shrugs and laments that she’s never had the courage to wear it out of fear that it might break. Looking at the delicate beauty of the gold band and the tiny face I don’t blame her, for the time I’ll just appreciate it with her pretending it’s ticking away as it once had.

The red necklace in the middle on the trunk and the crystal choker in the bottom row both were gifts from her maternal grandmother for prom. They aren’t real stones, but that’s irrelevant, they hold memories of high school prom, laughter with friends, ‘prom pose’ pictures, and as the years followed, random nights out with friends, integration into her other outfits and then those of her little sister. Those necklaces saw more parties than they were ever meant to, but they somehow survived the events and now make their way into the light of day on a rare occasion, more often just kept to bring a sly smile to her face for their unexpected versatility.

Although the collection of blue topaz started early on as gifts from her maternal grandfather to his wife, it was after the passing of her husband that she gifted it to herself one day. She said it was “to make her feel pretty.” With a classic emerald cut, this ring is a stunning addition to Elana’s collection, reminding her that sometimes you are allowed to spoil yourself.

Who says that when you get older you have to give up your passions? Her maternal grandmother is a prime example of someone who hasn’t lost her touch, creating delicate, hand painted brooches even at the age of 90. For years she painted on differing medias, inspiring Elana to take one particular vase to a tattoo artist, using herself as the next canvas of that work.

Alex and Ani as well as Pandora might be the best known tennis bracelets of this decade, but Elana has her own that were passed down from both sides of her family. The gold one to the left belonged to her paternal grandmother. On the bracelet are various charms and precious stones, each charm signifying something or someone special, like her children. The one on the right was her mother’s. Going through each charm, Elana shows me the one for her mother’s high school graduation, and the one for her first flight, and many more ‘first’ moments from her life.  Elana often wears these bracelets, stacking them with other pieces from her ever expanding collection of jewelry.

This necklace, seen in the flatlay of the first frame, is a collection of items, some over 100 years old. The medalions and the one earing, in particular, date that far back. The earing, at one point part of a pair, was a gift from her aunt and after losing one hoop, was attached to the chain as an attempt to avoid losing it as well. Each madalion has a different image, one of Mother Mary and the other of Jesus, each priceless. The band on the chain belonged to her paternal grandmother, serving as her wedding band once upon a time.

But of the chains Elana has been given through the years, it is the one that once belonged to her mother that she wears often. The gold pieces dating over 70 years old, she toys with them as she holds them, and we both giggle when she tries on the ring she was given as a baby, barely coming halfway down her pinky. Maybe in time, it will find itself a part of the beloved chain.

Taking after his father in a way, at Elana’s high school graduation, her father gifted her the blue topaz ring worn on her pinky in the above frame. It almost seems that given this story line, blue topaz is a necessary part of this family’s history as much as the sentiment behind each stone.

Elana is all for joining the family tradition and, taking a page out of her maternal great-grandmother’s story, she has started a collection of watches. It seems to be her weakness, the bigger the better. One watch in particular is a favorite for Elana, and again, it’s not about the price or the status, it’s a Swatch Watch, reminiscent of her childhood, loaded with sprinkles. It took her a while to convince her fiancé that it was a necessary addition, but at the end of the day it is one of her favorites.

Now, Elana’s fiancé, Eddie is helping her continue the tradition, providing her with a place to keep all of her watches. This watch case was a gift, one of the many he presents her, letting her know that he is paying attention to her interests and the value she places on her collections. As a collector of various knick knacks, many of which are strewn across the house, Eddie values the stories that Elana has shared over the course of their relationship, hoping to keep the tradtion going in their own way.

A TransAM sat for years in Elana’s garage, once upon a time her ride to prom, she had told herself that it would never drive again, but the memories from years past wouldn’t let her sell it either.  And so last Christmas, Eddie presented her with the center console that needed to be replaced. Working dilligently on the rest of the car through the following months, he fixed it and they spent the rest of that summer and the fall driving into the sunset. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist)

Let’s hope that the years to come for this couple add to the brilliance of this family’s tradition of showing love through heirlooms. Maybe by the time her kids grow up, they will have learned the value that Elana learned from some incredible people, starting with her Poppy. The beauty in things is that it truly is, Beyond The Label.

Xo,

Maliha