Heirloom Pieces of Jewelry

I have chatted about things that I have that were once owned by family members and not knowing what to do with them. I have discussed the problems of shadow boxes and silver here. Well, I have found a solution for pieces of jewelry which seem dated, not timeless.

Marianne Hunter made a presentation at the Washington Craft Show. Given I was not looking for jewelry at the show, I was very happy that I listened to her present what she does. I will confess that I do not love her 'Kabuki Kachinas' - but they are precious, beautiful pieces of art. You can see one standing on top of a beautiful wooden vase created by her husband - William Hunter. Marianne is primarily an enamelist, but she also works in gold and precious gems - and gems which she takes from estate jewelry.

Ms. Hunter indicted that she will do commissions - so an old piece of family jewelry can be re-imagined into something current and also meaningful. She indicated that for one commission she took several family pieces and incorporated them in to a collar for a client - using her enameling skills to tell the story of the current family.


I took this from her web page. This shows a piece she made from a client's pin - she made the rest around the original pin which one can see in the heart of the piece.


Here is an example of her Kabuki Kachina - but I guess this one's colors spoke to me more than some of the others, though they are all exquisite.


This is her card - but it shows a piece of gold from World War I illustrating the need to are for the orphans left behind because of the war. She used diamonds to hold the medal in to place.

I loved her solution to estate or old fashioned jewelry.

Theodore B. Starr silver

I have been thinking about some silver pieces I have that I don't use, but are associated with family members. I have a sterling cigarette box of my paternal grandfather's and an employee/colleague signed silver platter from my maternal grandfather. I have been reflecting upon a way to save each piece that didn't involve placing them on a coffee table or such - and also as a way not to have to polish them regularly. I struck upon the idea of a shadow box with a portrait of each above.

As I walked down the 33 hundred block of fun Magazine Street in New Orleans I saw a store called Sterling Framing - I thought, 'Aha!' how lucky can I get? A store that frames sterling silver. Well, it turns out the proprietor's middle name is Sterling and she hasn't ever included some sterling in a shadow box, but she helped me brainstorm about how I might accomplish my desired task. Ms. Hoell also suggested that I walk further down the street to a Silver shop and pose the same question to them.

As I walked down Magazine street enjoying all the shop windows I finally came upon the As You Like It Silver Shop in the 3000 block of Magazine. They have such beautiful things. As eloquently put on their web page, the owner "buys, sells and restores sterling silver and silver-plated tableware, flatware, and holloware in active, inactive and obsolete sterling patterns. In addition, we sell silver polishing products, tarnish prevention products, and other silver cleaning products in such brand names as Hagerty, Cape Cod, and Rich Glo. However, our customers’ favorite product is our own world renown silver polish, the best available anywhere. Some additional services include hand engraving, re-plating, silver-plating, and all types of silverware restoration, such as soldering, dent removal, handle repair, and garbage disposal damage repair."

I'm afraid they were not able to give me the desired answer to my question about keeping the tarnish off the silver piece in the frame - no good answer there, I am afraid. I may have to maintain access to the silver with a hinged back so that it may be polished periodically, though they did suggest that I include some of the tarnish strips in the frame with the piece. Oh well, I will continue to play with my idea, as I do want to keep the silver as an heirloom piece for my nieces and I think 'attaching' the piece to a portrait of the man would be worthwhile, particularly as the great grandchildren get further and further away by the years.

As I started to walk out of the shop it suddenly occurred to me to ask about Theodore B. Starr silver and if they had any. Theodore B. Starr is a great, great grandfather who owned a silver and jewelry store in Manhattan. Though he himself was not a craftsman, his name is on a lot of silver. The sales clerk looked in her computer and discovered that they did, in fact, have one piece of Theodore B. Starr silver - a compote for $895.

I am not sure what I would do with a compote, but it was a delight to see. Who knows if my great, great grandfather ever touched this piece, but it did pass through his shop once upon a time. I love that idea.