Disrespecting Heritage

Look around your home; there may be many “old” things that are taken for granted. It could be a rocking chair or another piece of furniture that once belonged to a cherished loved one. It could be a vase or a knick–knack, even jewelry that belonged to your mom or grandparents or even your great-grandparents. You may have a great-grandfather’s pocket watch tucked away in a drawer somewhere, for example.

Maybe it’s only me, but I have nothing but respect for things from long ago, meaning from the last century, you know the 1900s. Many of you reading this were born in the year 2000 or later and missed some epic life- learning experiences.

A perfect example of this would be the life of my grandfather Alfred; he was born in the year 1901 of Italian Neapolitan parents who immigrated to Boston to find a better life in America two years earlier. He began his life in what was then a “new century,” and growing from a child to a young man in the 1900s, he could not begin to comprehend the experiences he would witness in his lifespan of nearly 100 years: an epic stock market crash, several depressions and recessions, radio, silent movies, airplanes, TV, computers, and telephones to cell phones. Pa was even a witness to at least five major wars. Memories of my grandparents are still alive in photographs and also many of the things they left behind, such as the things I mentioned in the first paragraph. I still cherish my grandfather’s ring that I will someday hand down to my son Andrew.

My sister Michele has my grandparents' entire bedroom set; high-quality, handcrafted in the 1930s, made from real wood such as cherry, maple, or birch and mahogany veneers; some of the drawers were even lined with pungent cedar. The inlaid details and hardware still shine and look like fine jewelry.

My point is that back then there was no fake plastic wood, particleboard, or DIY slap-together “furniture” that has less than a three-year lifespan. I still have my mother’s GE refrigerator in my barn that has to be close to 40 years old by now and it works fine! Since I built my house twenty-some odd years ago, I have replaced my “modern refrigerator,” not to mention numerous other appliances more than three times!!! The young naive whippersnappers can make fun of the old days all you want; it’s a searing fact nobody today makes anything like they did as little as 40 years ago. I may have mentioned some of my jewelry manufacturing equipment in the shop dates back to the late 1800s, which includes the walnut-iron stool I’m sitting on while writing this.

Speaking of whippersnappers…please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not using the term in a derogatory way, I’m just relating the term folks used in the 1960s when describing me in my younger days by America’s greatest generation (those that were born between 1901-1927). I am considered part of the Baby Boomer Generation (1946- 1964). The reason it was called that was because of the unprecedented surge or boom of births as a result of our soldiers and sailors returning home after WWII. There was a whole lotta loving going on!

Which brings me to the point of the article; let’s begin with one of the not-so-latest generations known as “Y” or the millennials (1981-1996). This is something I can relate to because all my kids were born in this particular time span.

If you have millennial kids, you know what I mean, and that for the most part, a complete lack of appreciating what I have been rambling on about here, my children couldn’t care less about family heirlooms or nostalgic things because they never got to live the experience of any of it; to them it’s all old, ugly, and “out of style.” Needless to say, I quickly got the picture or as they say nowadays, “The Pic,” of what to expect from them today, meaning if and when I go to the happy hunting grounds, both I and my cherished personal belongings will probably end up in a yard sale, bonfire, or a landfill.

My day started like any other quiet summer morning. In walked what I assumed was a mom and her twenty-something-old daughter. The daughter asked if I was “the goldsmith”? Well, there I am standing there wearing a well-worn denim apron and a pair of jeweler’s magnifiers on my forehead; I jokingly said, “No, I’m the resident shoemaker.” She didn’t get it and still asked for the goldsmith; we were off to a great start, I could tell. I apologized for my city- boy sarcasm; she then presented me with a gorgeous antique (1920s?) Tiffany diamond and platinum dinner ring. The mother explained it was betrothed to her mom by her great-grandmother and then to her, and now the mom wanted to get it re-sized and then present it to her daughter standing before me.

Here’s where the drama begins. “But Mom, I thought we were coming here to re-design the ring into something new????” I could see the look of displeasure on mom’s face. “I told you I don’t like it; it’s too old-looking, and I don’t like white gold!” I interjected, informing her that the beautiful and unique ring was, in fact, handcrafted in platinum and quite possibly one of a kind.

Those of you who know me would understand that there is no way I’m going to dismantle or destroy a perfectly beautiful antique diamond ring. I should point out the ring survived being worn for a hundred years and still looked like it just came out of the Tiffany showcase.

I advised against it, but the young lady was adamant that I tear the ring apart and create something she likes. Once again, I told her no way. She looked at me as if I was downright insane and became visibly angry with me for not doing “the alteration.” Mom was silent through the whole heated conversation but I could tell from her eyes and body language she was hoping her daughter would take my advice and reconsider. I then asked her to let me give it a good steam cleaning and a slight buff and let’s see if you change your mind. After a thorough cleaning, the ring came alive; the platinum mounting glistened, and the diamonds sparkled as if in defiance to her destructive wishes. I then explained I knew a hundred women who would buy this ring if I had it in the showcase. Platinum is in big demand right now and the retro styles are the most popular. What you have here is not a copy but an original! I then asked if she had a sister who might appreciate it, if she can’t. She was the only daughter. I told her a story when, in my younger days, I did what a young customer told me to do to her grandmother’s ring: I removed the diamonds and melted the gold and made a modern-style setting for her. A year later, she came back crying; she wanted the old ring back. It was not possible; it is now gone forever due to your request.

They finally left “to think about it.” A week later, the daughter came back alone to just have it sized to fit her finger. To my amazement, she thanked me for convincing her to see the light and finally realized how important keeping the ring original was to her mother and now to herself. Her mom also called thanking me for “saving” a family heirloom.

I wish it had been that easy many years ago to convince my 17-year-old son that the limited model 1954 Chevy Corvette I once had my eye on wasn’t so old and ugly!