Jewelry Keepsakes

Someday, when I get around to opening a foundation in memory of Gabriel, one of the things I want to do is donate necklace urns to parents who have their child cremated. No we did not have Gabriel cremated, but if I thought I would get a necklace urn I may have.  I still might get one for myself one day, but I'll put a few strands of his hair in it instead.

I was bored one night and surfing the web for "necklace urns". Weird? Probably. Such is the life of a loss parent.  I came across a website - www.jewelrykeepsakes.com, They had some really beautiful designs, they appeared to be good quality, so I jotted down the website and moved on.

Flash forward a few weeks,  I received an email from one of their employees about their necklaces.  I was really surprised considering I never left any personal information on the website as I was surfing.   They had found my blog and got my email that route.

She told me about their photo engraved necklaces. I didn't see these when I was browsing, but I had a specific thing in mind so I didn't think to look for other things.  I got excited as I read the words "I'd be happy to send you a necklace of your choice free of charge in exchange for giving feedback and posting a link on your blog".  No hesitation here, I knew I was in.

I took a moment to browse through their jewelry. They had bracelets, urn necklaces, rings, pet specific remembrance jewelry and a lot more. I jumped into the photo jewelry.  I immediately liked that they had the option of Gold or White Gold for each pendant. I noticed there was a range of pricing from $39 - $180, nice that they had options that people could afford. It was hard to choose just one though, they were all beautiful. I chose a small silver plated heart pendant. I was happy to see that I could personalize the necklace and have words engraved on the backside. I selected to upgrade from the 20in rhodium plated brass snake chain that comes included, to the 18in rhodium plated sterling silver snake chain.  That would be an extra charge if I were placing a regular order.  I gave her my name and shipping information and sent a photo with the cropping request.

I excitedly waited for the necklace, I wasn't expecting it to come for at least a week or two.  A few days later I got an email asking if I'd received it.  I'm terrible about regularly checking the mail, but I sure got down to the box as fast as I could!  Turns out, it was delivered 2 days after my order!  Wow, I'm already impressed at this point.

I ripped open the  package and found a little white box. 

Inside the white box was a nice black velvet (felt) jewelry box.
I was pleased to see this, it shows me quality and care.

I was floored when I opened the box.
My photo looks a bit dark (poor lighting),

but the photo is much clearer than I anticipated it being.

There staring my in the face, was my favorite
Gabriel photo.  

Just trying to get pictures where you can see the photo. 

I flipped it over and saw my inscription on the back.
"Gabriel Ray
In Our Hearts
12/8/11"

They provide a 20 inch snake chain,
but I upgraded to the 18 inch better quality version.  It feels a little bit thin,
but it seems like it's sturdy enough.

I immediately noticed the pendant was about the size of a quarter, maybe slightly smaller.
 I appreciate that because I'm not one to wear big chunky jewelry if any.

Of course I threaded that chain on it as soon as I could and threw it on my neck.
Now Gabriel's face is close to my heart.

And now for a horrible "I just woke up" camera selfie,
perhaps I should have used my phone for this task
 (DSLR cameras are kinda heavy, this was not easy!)

 I really really like it. I feel like from a distance it looks like a plain heart necklace, but when you are within talking distance you can see his photo on there. It's  the size of a quarter but slightly thicker.  It isn't some cheap flimsy disc hanging on a chain, it feels like it's great quality and it isn't heavy at all.

I can look down and see his face anytime I want to. I'm a proud momma right now.

If you would like to take a look, go to www.jewelrykeepsakes.com and browse their site.  This specific necklace is of the "photo" variety.

The cool thing is, these don't have to be only for losses.  You could put a photo of your current living kids, a friend, or you're beloved cat.  You can put a photo of your parents, grandparents or great aunt Suzie.

I don't wear jewelry often, I have a necklace with Evelyn and Gabriel's names and birthstones that I wear sometimes.  I don't know how often I'll wear this in the future, but I can tell you one thing,  it won't be coming off anytime soon.