Unique Serving Platter

We have had antique silver in my family for generations. It does not all come from one source. Some families seem to inherit all their jewelry from some ancient ancestor who was extremely successful, lucky or crooked. In my family, it seems like we add to the collection generation after generation. There is antique silver from my grandmother, my great-grandmother and relatives that no one can name any more. Some of it is gorgeous antique sterling silver jewelry, while some has been considerably damaged by the years. In general, we try to take good care of it, but apparently this wasn’t always the rule. Some of the oldest antique jewelry, in fact, is so tarnished as to be barely recognizable. I decided that it was time to do something about this. I decided to take it in to get it fixed up.

I had never really worried very much about the value of the antique silver jewelry. No one in my family had ever sold off any of the silver jewelry antiques and I assumed that no one ever would. Value didn’t matter, to us they were priceless. Nonetheless, while I was taking it in to the store, I decided to have it appraised. After all, I had always been a little bit curious about it and I figured there was no harm in finding out. I had already had the antique silverware valued a few years back when we were fixing that up, so why not?

What I found out shocked me. The antique silver was worth a fortune! It is hard to admit this now, but at the time I was convinced that I needed to sell it. After all, the temptation was almost too much. I am glad that I came to my senses before I did just that. With the Antique International Silver Market being what it is, I could have unloaded that stuff very quickly, cashed in on a priceless family treasure and never had time to look back until it was all done. Maybe that would have been the practical thing to do, but it wouldn’t have been right. After all, it is my daughter’s birth right as much as it was mine. Still, it is good to know that if things ever get dire, we have a little nest egg for emergencies. No matter what happens, the family heirloom jewelry will only continue to get more valuable.

I have three friends that I treasure. They are important to me in so many ways, and even though we don’t get to see each other very often, they are the ones that I trust with my thoughts, feelings and my life. They are always there for me and I hope that everyone in the world has at least one friend like this that they can count on. Though we can’t always be together, we know that we are there in spirit. This year for the holidays, I am going to present each one of them with friendship rings so that they can look at them each day and know that I am thinking of them.

The best thing about friendship rings is that they can be anything you want them to be. They don’t have to be expensive and they don’t have to match, if you don’t want them to. The most important thing about friendship rings is that they have a true intention of love and friendship behind them. It’s not like an engagement ring that is traditionally a diamond. These can be anything, and you can find them almost anywhere you shop for jewelry.

You may be more satisfied with your friendship rings if they match, but you shouldn’t have a hard time finding what you need. You can make them simple bands of gold or silver, if you want too. You might also choose one color for your friendship rings and that color can come in the form of a stone. You don’t have to spend a fortune on them, just make sure they are not made of material that will deteriorate once they are worn. You know the ones I mean. They often turn the finger green or brown after just a few hours of wear.

If you want to make your friendship rings extra special, you can have them engraved with a special message. It might just be a date, or it could be your names, or anything else that you think symbolizes your friendship. Sometimes no words are needed and perhaps just the friendship rings alone will say everything that you cannot say with words. Friendship that is really a part of you often goes beyond words anyway and you may never find a word that is powerful enough. I have yet to find anything that does our circle of friends justice and believe me, I’ve tried.