Some Of My Things Part 4

The Bracelet

My mother, Marta, had some distinctive jewelry from Germany and also some she purchased in America. One piece is very memorable to me as I can visualize it on her left wrist all during my childhood. It was a simple gold bracelet engraved with flowers and leaves. It opened with a clasp and had tiny hook as second security.The jewelry was kept safe in a cedar wooden box, in her bedroom, which I enjoyed opening when I was alone in the house. She didn’t like me rummaging into her private things. If it was Sunday or a day to go out with my father the gold bracelet always adorned her outfit. 

  When I visited her for the last time before her death, I asked to have the bracelet. She was hesitant. I don’t really know why. Maybe because at 92 years of age she still believed she would live on and there were still places to go. Or, maybe it was because she wondered if I really valued this bracelet as much as I said I did. Nevertheless, it was gifted to me and I wore it proudly, still do, each time thinking of my mother. I should have asked for the ivory necklace as well but that would have been greedy. 

My mother enjoyed dressing well. At times I saw a streak of vanity which embarrassed me a little bit. Teenagers are often embarrassed by their mothers and mine was an immigrant who spoke broken English with an accent.  She trained in Germany as a seamstress like her mother. In fact, my aunt was a milliner and made hats in the later 1920s. All the women on my mother’s side followed fashion up to a point. Their style was conservative and refined. They loved fabric, lace, and matching jewelry except for my Aunt Hunni. 

Aunt Hunni came to America and joined a polygamist sect. That changed her way of living and dressing. The Amish lifestyle most closely matched her newfound way of living. Dresses were long, sleeves to the wrist, and no jewelry was allowed. In comparison to my aunt, my mother was now a fashion icon. Okay, that is an exaggeration. But after my aunt telling me my skirts were too short and my shirts too skimpy I appreciated the little elegance my mother demonstrated. But was my mother a little vain? Yes, a little bit and she modeled that to me. I like a good haircut and I do also value pretty things.

So, is the gold bracelet valuable? That is a good question for which I don’t really have an answer. I’m sure it is gold plated if not 10 carat gold. My father fully understood the value of precious metals having lived through the German recession where a wheel barrow of paper money couldn’t buy a loaf of bread. He liked having a small stash of gold as a hedge against inflation. Did they bring the bracelet from Germany? I don’t know. I have a a memory of it being on my mother’s wrist when I was a small child. Shall I make up a plausible story? 

The bracelet was purchased in Germany by my father on a solo return trip to Germany in the 1960's to visit his mother and sisters. The marking inside the bracelet is a typical German marking according to some research. He purchased it to give my mother a special gift.

 

When I wear her bracelet I finger the engraved flowers and think of the sacrifices she made in coming to America. I also fully appreciate the countless opportunities we had, as her children, to be educated and raised without fear of war and economic hardship. I so wish that for my grandchildren which is why I like to teach them about my family stories.  

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