Who Will Inherit My Jewellery?
On my father’s side of the family, over many generations and hundreds of years, value was created and stored in jewellery – literally gold and gemstones. As the value of the “family jewels” increased on the market, so too did my family’s financial security. And the longer many of the pieces remain in the family, the greater their sentimental value, making them too valuable to ever part with.
My father can explain the origin of every piece of jewellery that he possesses and that he has been keeping to “one day” pass down to me and my siblings. He also has specific pieces put aside for the grandchildren. He carries a catalogue of items in his head, which I have been gently urging him to write down so that “one day” we can carry out his wishes.
Ever since I was a small child, I have been told which pieces will be mine. Over the years, some of those pieces have been given to me on special occasions, like my wedding, graduations and the birth of my children. Every piece means something special to my father and before that, was of significance to my grandmother.
I wear about 1 per cent of what that has already been handed down to me. Not because I don’t appreciate the history and beauty of the individual pieces, but because I am a minimalist when it comes to adornment. My sons are even more minimalist. They don’t even wear watches. How quickly change can occur between living generations. I suspect it is my fault, as I don’t discuss jewellery in the way that my father always did. I definitely don’t value it in the same manner.
But the sentimentality of the jewellery has been burned into my memory over the past five decades. These items are never sold unless one has no choice. My mother still tells the story of how she needed to sell the glorious diamond ring that she had been gifted by her mother-in-law, shortly after marrying my dad, so that they could find their financial feet as a young couple. My father also once sold off some of his gold jewellery to buy a block of land that he hoped to build on some day. But such instances remain rare.
Of course, I will participate in the family ritual of passing down my jewellery in the years to come. The question for me will be: who do I leave my jewellery to “one day”? I have two sons. One day they may or may not have wives and daughters to wear and appreciate the family jewels. I have lovely nieces who will inherit the jewellery that will be passed down to them by their parents, my brother and sister. For sure they won’t need me to hand over my collection, too.
It seems like such a small issue in the scheme of things but within my family, it’s meaningful. My father, ever more urgently now that he is in his 81st year, has been asking me to promise that I will never sell the family jewels, and that I will only pass them down to those who will value them and keep them within the family. The dilemma is real.