Mismatched values

From a young age, my mom has been an avid gemstone and jewellery collector. I think this came about because grandma died when my mom was three and she inherited grandma's jewellery collection. Mom told me that whenever she felt sad or lonely (she was sent away to stay with my great-grandparents because grandpa didn't know how to singlehandedly bring up a child), she would open up the jewellery box and finger the items there. I have to say that grandma had some amazing jewellery. Some were pure bling, like two diamond tennis bracelets, each consisting of a row of 1 carat diamonds. Some were more personal items like her gold hairpin in intricate Chinese design that she used for securing her long hair in a bun. That started mom's fascination with jewellery, and over the past fifty years she has collected a jewellery collection to rival that of grandma's.

I have been the lucky receipient of her obsession. There is the rare colombian emerald ring acquired in the 1960s when she was in England, which apparently is now impossible to get hold of or only if one is willing to fork out crazy sums for it. There is the regal looking tanzanite pendant flanked by double rows of diamonds in the preferred setting by European jewellers. And there is the "canary" fancy yellow diamond ring with the sweetest heart shaped diamonds on both sides of the diamond that makes my heart tingle that little bit when I set my eyes on it. I hardly ever wear any of this jewellery, preferring to keep them at the bank, but these gifts have also piqued my interest for gemstones. A little bit. What's more important to me though is that these gifts represent mom and her younger days, when her passion would drive her to travel across continents in the hunt for loose gems or vintage pieces. Each time she passed me one of those pieces, she would tell me of that particular trip she took to acquire it. Whenever I look at the jewellery, I am reminded of the various stories she told me.

So there, I think I have been spoilt jewellery wise. I'm kind of embarrassed by it. This evening a friend was telling me how another friend's husband was getting that friend a diamond ring that cost XX thousand as a present for giving birth to their first child. I realize how mismatched my values are when it comes to jewellery. Just last month, I did not hesistate to spend one and a half times more of that amount to replace a single earring I had lost six months ago. Like mom, I had justified it with the line "gemstones last two lifetimes". Golly, I sure know how to come up with excuses. Heheheh.