We have been performing a more common service for our clients that we don’t list on our website and don’t promote but, is important for clients to know. When you have a loved one who will be living in a partial or full care facility, you should give consideration to the security of their valuable or sentimental jewelry items. Many clients have come to us and asked if we can duplicate their loved ones’ jewelry so that their family member can still wear the ‘look-a-like” while the family secures the actual jewelry items in a safe place.

Now before your blood pressure begins to rise about this apparent deception, let me share my own Fathers’ scenario: My father Lyle was admitted to a wonderful care/living facility outside the Chicago area and there were approx.30 residents in total. Many, if not most, had issues with memory loss, dementia or distorted reality. My Father would sometimes leave his personal belongings outside of his room in common areas or other residents rooms. Most of the time these would find their way back to him (who would want his electric razor or book that he was reading or photo album?) but many times the staff could not locate missing items. His wife Judy thought it best to hold onto his good watch, rings and bracelet while providing him with a utilitarian watch and inexpensive wedding ring. Sometimes she still had to go hunt these down…When our clients come to us, they sometimes ask if we could re-create a sentimental and valuable item so their loved one will still have it to wear without worry of a valuable, mysterious loss. We can also remove a valuable diamond or colored gem (with signed permission of course) and replace it with a synthetic or simulant that looks just like the original. The family is thrilled because their loved one can still wear their favorite piece without the liability of theft or mysterious loss. I can’t begin to tell you of the many stories that we hear of treasured jewelry pieces that have gone missing from clients who are in care facilities or who have home healthcare  with various medications and many different people coming into and out of their homes. The heartbreak is no one knows what happens to these pieces of valuable jewelry…thrown away in a used tissue, hidden in a strange place and forgotten or one of dozens of other scenarios…

Feel free to ask us if you have a family member who might require our assistance with this kind of situation. Taking action now might give the entire family great peace of mind for a loved one’s jewelry legacy.

In partnership with the Southwest Florida Symphony (of which I am a past Board Member) we assisted in raising money for the Symphony’s Golden 50th Anniversary. We were asked to collect gold from potential donors that the Symphony would send our way and I also attended two Classic concerts and was available to accept gold donations in the foyer. The great recycling twist we added was that we used some of the donated gold to fabricate the cool ring that you see here. The small oval gems on the sides were also donated to the gold cause and we decided they would work well in our chosen design. The pinwheel-cut Amethyst in the center was our donation as was the labor and skill. The piece was to be auctioned at a Symphony gala but due to last minute communication snafus, the ring rested in our vault. We were able to place the ring in our showcase and a few weeks later we sold the one-of-a-kind ring to an admiring client. We were able to donate the check for the ring as well as a check for the remaining gold that was not used…a great re-use for a worthy, local cause!