considering value


When I brought my mom's locket to the jeweller to ask him to fix the part that holds the chain from the main part .. .I was told . ."it really is not valuable.  It is a base metal locket with a very thin coating of gold over it".
I opened the locket to reveal my mom and dad's likeness. . .
and said. .."it is worth considerable value to me .. .I'm okay with the investment in my locket .. just fix it."

And of course they understand that kind of worth as well.

The he mentioned that if I had any bits of broken gold at home. .
I might consider bringing those things in which would more than cover the cost of the repair.
I went home and opened up my jewel box and found the little blue cardboard box ..
which clearly is worth nothing.
Inside I found my mothers wedding bands that she wore while married to the same man ..
my dad.  .one band worn through after another ..
and then tucked away into the original blue box.
Those bands and other bits would not be making the trek  to the jeweller .. .
they are worth considerable value to me. .
The jeweller could not afford to take them off my hands.



I did find. .
a broken thin chain. . .long since discarded into the bottom of my jewel box.
Single earrings and lonely backs with no post of its own ..
also was tucked into the little button bag.
My beloved got rather enthusiastic and tossed in a gold ring he had once found .. .with a very scratched fake sapphire.

I took my little button bag into the jeweller when I went to retrieve my locket of considerable value.
They photocopied the bits and pieces and promised to call me.
The next day . ..they called to tell me my little half full button bag of bits and pieces included some gold which is worth a considerable amount right now and the parts they could use would yield me  just over $250. 

They have the valuable bits in their possession now.
I have my locket.

all for now ..


Comments

  1. I inherited a fake ruby wedding ring that had belonged to one of my grandmothers. Her home was my place of refuge. Jewelers have not reacted so kindly to my desire to find a new setting for it. I think LOVE when I look at the stone. Our hearts cling to memories of love that often can not be expressed outwardly in a true way. So thankful we have our memories of love....

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  3. Isn't it wonderful to find you really do have a little buried treasure hiding in your home? We were given the task recently of cleaning out my dear MIL's home, preparing it for sale, and I came across a box full of "costume" jewelry. Upon consultation with her, some of it turned out to be - in her opinion - highly collectible. Sure enough, a little research proved that we, too, found some buried treasure!

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  4. I have some of those little bits of broken jewelry, too. Hmmmmm!

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  5. I think we will all go and look through our old jewel boxes.....I have a bit of broken pieces, backs and 'one of a kinds'....the locket has little earthly value, but I know it is worth a lot to you. Enjoy the memories that it holds.

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  6. Great choice Lovella, you chose what mattered most.

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  7. Some things really are priceless.

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  8. How interesting. I hear about gold prices all the time, but never considered finding the little lost bits and things that we don't even know what it is. I'm glad that your locket is back with you all fixed and good to wear. You will wear it??

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  9. Well isn't that handy?!?!?! I love that your mom had numerous bands worn right down. I did that to my promise ring....which is hardly of the same caliber as your mom's wedding bands.....and it wore down so much it broke. I took it to the jeweler and they fixed it. You could actually wear your mom's band (or favorite one) if you wanted to. What a lovely thought.

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  10. I can't help but smile and think of one of our favorite adds .. "you're richer than you think!" We like to use that one .. even for odd reasons.

    You've expressed something special ...Your moms locket is a true keepsake and the fact that it was a treasure to her... is what makes it more valuable than the thin coating of gold.

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  11. This post touched my heart. I would say that you chose to keep the priceless pieces.
    When my sister & I had the job of sorting through my mom's belongings, we came across a small envelope containing a few gold crowns. We were somewhat horrified, but recalled a conversation where my thrifty mother said she had heard the gold was valuable. After she passed away I took those crowns to the jeweler and walked away with $75 in my pocket. I guess it just goes to prove that sometimes mom really does know best.

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  12. ah yes, you chose wisely...got rid of what didn't matter,revived what did and your mother's locket is so worthy of that effort.

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  13. So true. Value is different for everyone. I recently thought it would be a good idea to bring in some old jewelery to cover the cost of one new ring that I wanted. I brought in 5 gold rings (no calling birds though)and the most they were going to be worth was 250.00 and the fairly plain ring I wanted was 2000.00.
    I decided I would rather give them away to a grandchild one day than to sell them for such a low price.

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  14. Isn't that great. I'm glad you had such a good return for your tidbits!
    Glad the locket is fixed...Yes what is valuable to us can't be measured monetarily...

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  15. I know exactly whereof you speak...the things that are the most valuable to me, likely have the least value to a jeweler. May you continue to enjoy your mom's locket!

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  16. It is so special to be able to keep some of these things close to our heart. I'm having some sentimental jewelry looked at right now also..and of course, it's not high on the priority list...but I just said. "Please fix it"
    I like that little bag of jewels. I have one similar to that.

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  17. Some people know the cost of everything and the value of nothing - you however,truly know about value.

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  18. It is so true that your Mom's locket and wedding rings are true keepsakes worth more than their weight in gold! Memories are more precious than diamonds.

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  19. What a warm and wonderful story. You gave me a heart-smile.
    As in God's kingdom, the truly valuable things are often the ones that don't fit the common profile of riches. But their value surpasses any dollar amount.
    I love this post, Lovella. Thanks so much for writing it and including pictures too. Such a sweet story.

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  20. What an interesting happening for you. I like how you kept that which was so special to you. I like how you cleared out old pieces of gold and came away richer for it. Now is a good time to do that. I like your sentimentality.

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