A sparkle in Mom’s eye
Posted on Wednesday, May 7, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Family/225017/
Michelle Duggar of Springdale is
inarguably the state’s most famous
mom, if not the nation’s. Featured
numerous times by various national news media outlets, she and husband Jim Bob Duggar are the proud and prayerful parents of 17 children. So it would stand to reason that Michelle Duggar would have a killer wardrobe of “mom” jewelry, right ? Well, she has a few nice pieces. “I have one of those necklaces with all of the babies that have... the birthstones on them,” she says. The chain is dotted with girl and boy figures, a charm for all except for the four youngest of the Duggar children. She received it years ago and wears it occasionally when going out. “It’s quite full,” she says. “I think I may have to go to two tiers instead of one.” Duggar also owns a “mommy’s ring,” a gold piece given her by another mother who designs mom jewelry. The ring, which depicts a mother and child, is roughly in the shape of a heart. A third piece, from a friend, is a silver necklace with a pendant of arms and hands forming the shape of a heart while cradling a baby.
According to the U. S. Department of Commerce and the Jewelry Information Center, the month of May is the second biggest jewelrybuying time of year (after December ). Mother’s Day draws even more jewelry purchases than Valentine’s Day.
It’s the perfect time to make a gift of what we’ve come to recognize as mother’s jewelry, or “mom” jewelry — a necklace or bracelet jangling with symbols that represent each child in a mother’s life. Or the ubiquitous birthstone ring, a colorful circle dotted with the stones that represent children’s birthdays. Or, as cited by the Jewelry Information Center, stacking rings — thin bands bearing each child’s birthstone — and jewelry engraved with names, initials or messages.
POPULAR STONES Birthstones to represent children are among the elements found frequently in mom jewelry. At Stanley Jewelers Gemologist in North Little Rock, past Mother’s Day sellers include a $ 1, 000 antique brooch featuring five lovebirds with different-colored gemstone eyes to represent the mother’s fi ve children.
Other offerings at Stanley Jewelers include slide bracelets bearing the children’s and grandchildren’s birthstones, with prices ranging from $ 200 to $ 1, 200 for each slide. Mother’s rings start at $ 300. Journey necklaces with children’s birthstones are $ 250 and up. Gold chain necklaces have individual birthstone pendants. There are stacking rings with birthstone centers and diamonds in the band, and “past present future” pendants featuring birthstones go for $ 400 and up.
“The big [price ] variation in all Mother’s Day jewelry is the birthstone month,” says gemologist Laura Stanley. “Diamonds in April cost a lot more than garnets in January, for example.” Whether the piece has a synthetic birthstone or a natural gem also causes considerable price variations. Charms are another inevitable mom-jewelry element. Popular charms include silhouettes of a boy’s or girl’s head, says Mary Healey, owner of Mary Healey’s Fine Jewelry in Little Rock. Sometimes charms are chosen to represent a mother’s pet, favorite sport or favorite vacation destination.
CHARMING PEARLS At Faux Pas, a two-location Little Rock boutique that carries faux and fi ne jewelry, classic pearls can be found combined with charms. Owner Betty Brinkley cites the North Little Rock company G. Spinelli, maker of freshwater pearl / child’s birthstone bracelets as well as charm necklaces. (Faux Pas stores are hosting a G. Spinelli trunk show through Saturday. )
While bracelets, necklaces and earrings in general are good Mother’s Day jewelry gifts, Brinkley says, her stores custommake pieces using Rembrandt charms, and do engravings on sterling silver disks.
When her mother passed away two years ago, Brinkley had G. Spinelli make her a charm necklace from her mother's jewelry pieces. “It’s really meaningful to me... It’s a memory to me and it’s very warm to my heart.”
Charm jewelry by Roberto Coin is a big seller at Mary Healey’s. Each boy or girl figure has diamonds on one side and color enamel on the other; a tiny ruby accent is usually placed close to the heart. “He’s known for putting a ruby on every piece of his jewelry,” Healey says, citing an $ 880 necklace that bears Roberto Coin charms. His charms also include initials, treble clef symbols, palm trees, butterflies, hearts, and locks that open and close. At Stanley Jewelers, bracelets bearing individual charms for each child start at $ 75 for silver to $ 500 for gold. Enamel baby shoes, pink or blue, go for $ 75 each.
SUBTLETY But mom jewelry doesn’t have to be this obvious. “We find a lot of people pick out pearls because pearls are so feminine, and they’re so in style right now,” Healey says. Healey, who has presented her own mother with pearl and lapis lazuli jewelry over the years, offers a selection of pearls — starting at $ 35 — that includes freshwater pearls, the traditional Japanese akoya pearls and South Sea pearls in all colors, shapes, and sizes. (Chocolate brown is a color mentioned by the Jewelry Information Center as a new trend in pearls. )
“Pearls are always elegant,” Brinkley agrees. “And I think that is something that a mother can wear every day with the crystals representing her children’s birthdays.”
The aforementioned freshwater pearl bracelet bearing such crystals is a highlight among the mom-jewelry offerings at Brinkley’s stores. “We’ve done that for several years and we’ll probably bring it back again.... It is a very popular piece.”
These bracelets sell for less than $ 100, Brinkley adds. “They are beautiful. And the kids like it too.”
Designer pieces also can morph into mom jewelry around Mother’s Day. A lot of Healey’s customers choose David Yurman and John Hardy pieces for their mothers, she says. Made of sterling silver with touches of gold, these pieces usually retail for several hundred dollars.
Dads, meanwhile, are likely to choose something more romantic for their wives, Healey says. Sometimes they upgrade the diamond in an existing piece; sometimes they’ll do diamond-set earrings; sometimes they’ll do a brooch. Stanley recalls a customer who bought a pair of $ 20, 000, fourcarat diamond studs to mark the gift recipient’s first Mother’s Day.
But thoughtful as Dad and the kids may be, the mom jewelry they pick out isn’t guaranteed to be a hit.
That Mother’s Day piece might not be Mom’s favorite, Brinkley says. “But she’ll wear it anyway.”
Sometimes, moms will take matters in their own hands. They’ll come in and “they’ll guide us on what they want. [Then when ] the kids come in with Dad, we’ll direct them in that area, try to help Mom out a little bit.”
In whatever form Mom receives it, jewelry remains one of the most popular ways to celebrate motherhood. And unlike babies, who grow up, a mom can carry her treasured jewelry with her always.
“Being a mom is a special thing,” says Duggar, who would like to have more children. “And to have special jewelry that represents that is most fi tting.
“ I look forward to being a grandma one day and having grandma jewelry too.”