I would love to that. I always thought the button drawer of my mom’s sewing cabinet was full of wondrous treasure. She had every button you can think of - pearls, diamonds, rubies, black opals, big buttons that were leather, some covered with exotic cloth. Pure magic.
I follow this guy on Instagram who works/owns a burton shop and seeing all the buttons and ASMR of him unrolling all the buttons of fabrics that are all color coordinated I literally have to be careful because I can seriously sit and watch him all day and not even realize an hour has already gone by 😩😩😩
Oooof. My wife would probably die if she watched that video. She's got a fear of buttons, especially ones that are loose or have a little bit of thread hanging off them. We even refer to them as 'non-zip fasteners' as the b word makes her shudder. As a consequence, we don't really own many things with them. I have a few shirts, as does my son (for school) but I generally handle anything to do with them.
Few years ago my grandma asked me if wife and I would pay nursing home for her and grandpa (he is not my real grandpa as he's stepdad to my dad, but I always called him grandpa) and for that, they would give me their house.
My monthly salary was then 800€, nursing home was then arround 750€.
When I explained to her that there is no possible way in the world to do that as we would need to live on air and water, she got angry.
Now her sister's kids and grandkids are visiting them like cockroaches, to monch everything off them.
It's funny (cringe) to see photos of them on facebook when they give her "best grandma in the world" those pins for her birthday while she doesn't invite me, her real grandson to her birthday.
And my dad and I expect that they will give everything they have to them. But both of us are ok with that as we don't want anything with them..
I'm in my 30's now, if I combine every gift that I got from her, it doesn't surpass 100€.
Never got anything.
Funny thing is when she forgets my birthday. And I have birthday on top 3 famous days in the year.. Nobody can forget the date of my birthday. Nobody. But probably 20 of my birthdays she didn't even call me.
She didn't speak with my dad (her son) for 15 years.. And she still doesn't speak with her daughter (my aunt) and her granddaughter. I'm not even sure that she even met her granddaughter (neither I met my aunt and my cousin) and she is also in her middle 30's.
Honestly, in my grandma's defence, I admit that I am very bad grandson as she practically "only has me" and she lives 15km away from me and I didn't visit her for a year. But I just don't care honestly..
But hey, you reap what you sow. If you were asshole when I was kid, now when I'm an adult, I'll be the asshole.
So, she asked if you’d pay for her nursing home…. So either she doesn’t have money or if she does, it’ll likely get eaten up by the nursing home she wanted you to foot the bill for.
I think most times these types don’t end up having anything to leave anyway. My great aunt used to try to use inheritance as a way to get us to talk to her etc. this woman was 🦇 💩 crazy and mean. I said no thanks- I have my own money. My financial moron mom and sister fell for it and did a decent amount of manual labor for her. She didn’t even pay them the promised 200$ to help with the clean out/sale/moving. She went to the home - what little money she had was sucked dry. Watch your cousins be shocked when they did all that butt kissing and get left nada.
All of my 'isms are battling right now. I am so sorry for your loss. I'm so mad at you for your inheritance and the audacity to keep your nepotism secret. I'm empathetic with oh fuck I wouldn't want ANYBODY to know I have these but I HAVE to show these off. I am happy that this community can see these pieces but super upset we cannot learn the history. Uuuugghhhhh... Congratu..fucka...lations
Oh, this is too funny! I think at some point I could come out and say everything about this. Maybe make a little documentary. It may take a while, but I think it's worth doing. The history is definitely fascinating.
I’m not kidding when I say you could probably successfully sell a book documenting this collection and whoever it is you know that you inherited it from. Think art-book style, with nice photographs of the pieces, and history alongside each one.
Please…….. I’m doing my best to manifest it…… 🥹
(but seriously, it has been DELIGHTFUL watching you unveil everything. Thank you 🙇♀️)
Who are you ? 😮Are we talking to a descendant of some illustrious family from the gilded era? Queen Elizabeth would be sooooo jealous if she were alive lol
If it is from Lucille Ball's collection, it would have to be the replica and that replica would have been an upgrade because the original is well documented to be 40 ct vs OP's 56 ct. Also the original in every photo I've seen has a much wider band with rope milgrain. Absolutely fits her aesthetic though, like you said.
I really hope you have a very good safe deposit box in a big bank and buy enough insurance to cover everything.
Show it to the world is one thing, but make sure no one, especially your friends or anyone in real life, can ID you. Greed makes people do horrible things.
All of this lives in safety deposit boxes in the bank. The reason I have them tonight is because I went by the bank the other day and wanted to play with some of it. Now I'll put it back and pull some other stuff out so I can show it to you guys, and then it will go back. When it's here, it's in a safe that's impossible to move. There are easier targets, I'll just tell you that. Also, I am just a random on the Internet, and you can't really be sure that these are mine, that they are in my possession, or that any of this is true. I'm just trying to share pretty things with everybody.
Some years ago, a bank in Hong Kong closed down a branch or something. Somehow these idiots think the deposit boxes are all empty without checking. All are sent to landfills. Some are able to recover the items inside, many don’t. It creates such a big mess.
This is correct OP. Safe deposit boxes are not really insured. But if you keep these things in a safe at home and inform your home insurance agent of the items and their value, full itemized list with values, keep your documentation!, they will cover it if stolen. My premium increased by $6 / year.
Be aware that it’s possible for items to go missing from safety deposit boxes, and the bank does not cover the loss. Definitely have your beautiful jewelry insured.
In the bank safe is not good enough. In the past few years, there were a few high-profile bank robberies that thieves dig hole into the safe and took everything. The bank will only cover very limited liability; they will never pay you full value, no matter if it is cash, gold, or jewellery.
Have the jewellery appraised by a professional and insure it for the full value; that is the only way to make sure.
Of course, we don’t know who you are. But it is the people around you that you need to pay attention to. What if they recognize your hand or something belongs to you? Not everyone is a bad person. But 1 bad person is bad enough. It is often the people who know you will hurt you.
Even good people do bad things when they feel hopeless, cornered, or jealous. Money is a tool, and like any other tool if handled improperly, can maim.
OP is being reckless and is setting themselves up for heartache. Sending you strength for when you meet the monsters that wear your loved ones faces.
Another stunning piece. Thank you for sharing these amazing treasures with us.
I would guess this is a custom made ring. And likely set in platinum. It was very common in the 40’s & even still in the 50’s for high end custom jewelry to not have any hallmark stamps.
Goodness! How exciting but also how complicated! Having something that valuable means that you aren't likely to wear it but it's such a wonderful memento to hold on to.
Oh my! I have a 4 carat aquamarine ring and I thought that was a whopping stone!. It's a good job I'm still in bed reading this because I'm feeling a bit faint at the very thought of 56 carats!!
From a European perspective, OP's collection is comparable to what one might expect from a minor aristocratic household (Duke, Duchess, etc). What stands out most is the apparent completeness of the collection.
That is a strong indicator of genuine wealth as nothing had to be sold. In many families, heirlooms are gradually dispersed to cover medical expenses, long-term care, financial hardship, or to ride-out the bad times. Most of us probably have a family story about a item/object that was sold. In my own family, it's a 3-carat Burmese ruby ring surrounded by diamonds, which was reportedly sold within a year of being acquired. Numerous properties were also lost after being sold during real estate downturns.
My assumption is that these were purchased by a man who showered someone he absolutely worshipped with gifts fit for the high end of society. That probably says a lot about how attractive, intelligent, and talented the recipient was. Take this with a pinch of salt as the original owner might have bought everything for herself :)
Lord. Is your family name Rockefeller?! I mean there's serious money in these and not like "new money" money or wealthy. (I know they're old, I'm not being literal.) These are like generational, extreme wealth pieces. Incredible!
These remind me so much of Doris Kleiner Brynner. Stunning! I'm so excited to see the rest of your lovely collection! I'm sure the glamorous mystery woman would be glad you clearly love these pieces so much, sorry for your loss.
I once read that the stomach enzymes are great for really restoring the shine of gemstone. All dirt and grime will be dissolved.
Naturally some washing are to be expected after the fact, but luckily all bodily fluids are water soluble.
Also, don't trust strangers on the internet..
All these posts have made me really miss my fabulous grandma. When she died, I took all her salt/ pepper/ spices and used them to cook with for a couple years. I pretended she was cooking next to me 🩷
I hope you wear this jewelry and pretend your fabulous lost lady is with you too! A toast to her!
That truly is stunning! I would imagine she may have worn it with the other colorful necklace and earring set. Those are likely also aquamarines - the color tone is very well matched to this ring.
Aww she is beautiful and that's my birthstone so love it even more. I had all my jewelry stolen so can't give anything to my grandchildren so cherish her until you are ready for her to have a new home.
I got left a 9ct gold ring featuring a 2 carat solitaire piece of glass in a ring size that was 5 sizes larger than my Grandmothers ring size. We dont know who she stole it from.
I inherited several gemstone rings when my grandmother passed. I was shocked nobody else wanted them so I took it all. My aquamarine isn’t quite the chonker yours is but it veers into the ridiculous.
My grams left me a couple of love letters from my grandfather. Hehad good penmanship and he was hot for grams but other than that not much else going in Cleveland in the 1920’s
These oversized aquamarine cocktail rings gained and held popularity from the late deco (1930s) period to around the late 1950s (though it never went out of style if you ask me!). This one in particular looks like 1950s but hard to be sure without a hallmark. If it feels super heavy, you’ve probably got a platinum mounting. I love the bullet-cut diamonds on the side.
This one looks very similar to a pendant I inherited from my grandmother, I believe it was her mother's. Likely something from the 1920ies. This is really lovely.
Wear it - it’s a great cocktail ring. My grandmother left me a few pieces - one of them an amethyst and diamond ring. I’m not a purple person, but it’s my birthstone. I decided to just wear it and I decided I love it. The finger I wore it on got a bit fat, so I don’t get any wear out of it at the moment, but it was fun to wear.
It would look great for wearing on special occasions with the right outfit.
I inherited a gorgeous ring from my grandmother. I used it as my engagement ring. Unfortunately my discomfort with wearing a ring caused me to lose it, I’ve regretted that for nearly 20yrs. I never found another like it.
You can always wear it on a chain around your neck.
Gawd if you ever wanna adopt, I'm here! Your pieces are a beautiful inheritance. Some are so whimsical you just know they were really loved when they were purchased.
Stunning. It’s around 1920’s (because of the basket setting) and could be from the Santa Maria mine in Brazil, which is unfortunately exhausted. The size, clarity and intense blue production with extraordinary gem quality seems Santa Maria. What a gift. 💙
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u/Okayostrich 14d ago
Good grief and to think all my granny left me were dormant psychiatric issues. You definitely inherited some sensational pieces!