20 Stories Behind Family Jewels That Took Our Breath Away

Family jewels not only have special charm, but also convey family history spanning decades. In addition, vintage jewelry is often distinguished by a unique design that is almost impossible to find today.

“Grandmother-in-law’s engagement ring. Colombian emerald, probably from the 1930s. Grandpa sure loved her!”

“A cuff my dear aunt passed down to me. She had it custom made using some of my grandmother’s pieces.”

“My wife’s engagement ring, traced back to my great-great-grandmother from France”

“Antique Tiffany & Co 18K citrine ring inherited from my grandmother”

“My great-great-grandmother’s necklace”

“My great-great-grandfather had it made for his wife after his archeology expedition in Egypt because he was inspired by what he saw there.”

“This ring was given to me by my grandfather. It used to belong to his mother.”

“This ring belonged to my husband’s great-grandmother. It was a gift from his great-grandfather, who belonged to a royal family.”

“And yes, my fingers are hairy fingers. And my husband loves it, by the way.”

“Got engaged! This is his great-grandmother’s ring. 14K gold and diamonds confirmed by a local jeweler.”

“I inherited these rings, think they are real rubies?”

• The small one may be. The large one, if it were real, you’d be a millionaire! But probably not, since it’s set in silver or gold plate. Something that awesome would definitely be in gold. © mnth241 / Reddit
  

“My mom gifted 6 of these emerald rings to me and my cousins. Our inheritance from our grandparents.”

“Passed down from great-great-grandmother. My mom had always told me that it’s a real ruby set in gold, and the band is gold as well.”

“Inherited this insane ring from my great-great aunty.”

“I inherited a 4-carat diamond ring from my grandma.”

“My grandmother was something. She bought herself this diamond without telling my grandfather. Apparently he had just gone to Brazil for work, and she begged him to bring her home an emerald ring. And when he came back, he handed her a jewelry box that had a keychain with a plastic emerald hanging off it. So she went to buy herself an emerald ring in spite of him. Then decided that green didn’t go with her skin tone and bought the diamond.

She would wear it on the inside of her hand when he was around. My mom and dad were both there having dinner when my grandpa found out. She was serving him food, and he grabbed her hand, she had forgotten to turn the ring around! Asked her where the hell that came from. And she said she had earned it for herself.”

“Late grandmother’s jewelry I plan on using in my wedding.”

“My mother gave me the ring that once belonged to my great-grandmother.”

“Amethyst set from my husband’s grandmother. She gave me this set when my husband and I got married.”

“This is my grandmother’s dinner ring. She actually found this in the parking lot of a restaurant.”

“She notified the police and the restaurant, but no one ever claimed it, so she got to keep it. Now it’s mine.”

“Grandma left me this citrine pendant in 14K.”

“The ring originally belonged to my husband’s great-great aunt. His grandmother inherited it, eventually passing it to my husband.”

While we were dating, she said, “Either give this to your girlfriend or give it back to me.”

“Took family heirlooms to a jeweler for a makeover. Before and after.”

“The green was my Mom’s engagement ring but as my parents divorced, I wanted to reset it into something special combined with pieces that were my grandmother’s. The final result is 2 rings; a moi toi and diamond ring.”

And here is an article where common-looking jewelry items turned out to have a rich past.