As I was pondering about Mother's Day, I began to think of the women in my family and how lucky I am to have always been surrounded by them. To start off I am the daughter and granddaughter of strong, loving, giving and caring women. Then I became a mother of four kids myself, and now I have been very fortunate to see my three daughters give birth to their children, caring for them and becoming exceptional mothers. As I continued to remember significant moments with my loved ones, I realized that jewelry has always connected me to them. And now as a designer I have the privilege to create jewelry  that creates a bond between my clients and their loved ones. 

The earliest memory I have of a meaningful piece of jewelry are my grandmother’s gold bangles. My grandmother or “Abuelita” wore her two bangles every day and never took them off, ever since I remember; her bangles were to me a part of her just like her eyes, or her hands or her smile. In 1990 I went to visit my family in Mexico and my Abuelita came to eat lunch with us. At that time she was getting older, she started to forget things and she didn’t remember I was going to be there. She felt bad about it and said that if she knew she was going to see me she would have brought me a present. She looked down at her arm; she took one of her bangles off and gave it to me with a big smile. That was the last time I saw her, shortly after my Abuelita passed. Needless to say her bangle is one of the most meaningful pieces of jewelry that I own, and I wear it on special family occasions, to keep a part of her close to all of us. 

Another piece of jewelry that is full of meaning to me is a pendant that I designed in memory of my Abuelita for the occasion of my daughter’s wedding. The meaning of this piece was to represent two things my Abuelita made sure to give us throughout her life: blessings and hand knitted blankets. This is what inspired me to design the pendant in the shape of a doily that pivots over a medallion in which a blessing is engraved both in Arabic and Spanish.

This blessing was distinctive of my Abuelita, who used to welcome her many children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren every Friday for lunch and dinner in her house. Whenever anyone of us was about to leave her apartment she made sure to follow each one of us up to the elevator and give us a blessing that she composed in Arabic and that translates: “May G-d be with you, give you great fortune and make pleasant every thing you see before your eyes. And when you touch the soil, may this turn into gold in your hands. May God send you stability, health and peace in your soul, and may He enlighten the lives of your children and of your children’s children”.

The doily shape in the pendant represents a significant gesture that touched us all in the family. My Abuelita used to knit all the time, she made a baby blanket for every child that was born in our family. When she died we found in her apartment more baby blankets, each one had attached a piece of paper with a name written on it. My Abuelita made sure to leave a blanket for each grandchild in the family that had not had a child yet.

Doily Pendant in Memory of my Abuelita in Sterling Silver

Another piece of jewelry with a personal meaning for me are two matching wedding bands that I designed for my parents to celebrate their 50^th wedding anniversary. They are engraved with a phrase my father always says. On one ring its engraved: "I forgot to tell you that...", and on the other one it says:"...I love you since you were born". For the meaning of this phrase to be complete, both rings need to be together. This represents them as a couple, their union and connection.

My Parents 50th Wedding Anniversary Bands in 18k White Gold

The bond and love throughout three generations is clear in an ID bracelet that I made for one of my clients, which was a gift to a Bar-Mitzvah boy from their parents. On one side, the bracelet has engraved the name of the boy who was named after his late grandfather. On the other side, the signature of his late grandfather is also engraved, along with a dedication from the boy’s parents and the date of his Bar-Mitzvah.

Custom Engraved ID Bracelet in 18k Yellow Gold

A piece that has touched my clients in a deep way is a 14K gold bracelet that I made in the shape of her late dog's paw. She had his paw printed on a plaster mold and I modeled the bracelet from it. After I delivered the bracelet I received a text from her that read: "Thank you. I cried all the way home. The dog is always with me in my heart, but I look down at my wrist and I feel like he is really with me even more."

Personalized Paw Bracelet in 14k Yellow Gold

As I designer, I am grateful for the trust my clients have in me when designing a meaningful piece of jewelry for themselves or their loved ones. Should you be in need of a piece of jewelry that reflects a connection to someone you love please contact me at info@viviansaade.com. I will be happy to help you.

Do you have a piece of jewelry that has special meaning to you? Please share its story on the comments below; I would love to hear about it!