Anna Says - Heirloom Vs Junk

Heirloom Vs Junk

Everyone wants to have heirlooms in their possession. Especially ones that are worth a bit of money. No one wants junk in their possession. Unless it is worth a bit of money, of course. But can junk be heirlooms and can heirlooms be junk?


I guess I should take a moment to distinguish between 'Heirloom' and 'Junk' and then I will take you for a walk through a jewellery box in the very back of my cupboard.....


According to the Urban Dictionary - oh I how I love this resource - here are the definitions:


Junk:

Heirloom:

(I know that this is digressing, but did you notice the author of that definition? How could you miss it? It is circled in red! Me! Bbeingcool! Me! I have been racking my brains trying to find a word I could define to add to the Urban Dictionary - but all my cool words were taken. Imagine my excitement when 'Heirloom' had not yet been defined! Oh I was giddy with joy. The definition is under review, I will be sure to let you know if it has made it into the Urban Dictionary!)


So. Now that we know what these things mean, we can get into what is heirloomatic and what is junk.


My family is rich in history, I am proud of my family's stories. However, both sides of my family were not big on antiques or expensive jewellery. They were {and are} hard working, salt of the earth kind of people. My grandparents worked hard to support their children while also starting a new life here in Australia. When my grandparents passed away, there was not that much left to share out. My mum is one of nine children, so all the 'good stuff' {really want a better term to use here ...} went to the children, so what was left for the grandchildren was not that much. But, what we did get has lots of sentimental value.


These are some pieces of jewellery that I 'inherited' from my Oma when she passed away 7 years ago.

Now, these are not adorned with words like 'Cartier' or 'Tiffany' but I do remember my Oma {mum's mum} wearing things like these. My Oma had a very unusual sense in fashion and liked her costume jewellery.


I wanted to get these things valued, just so I knew where I stood {not that I was going to sell them, I was just interested}. I asked my mum if she knew where my Oma had bought them from. I was kind of happy, and shocked, and bummed, and charmed all at the same time. 


Some of this jewellery was bought in jewellers, some from markets, some were gifts and some even from ads my Oma saw on the television. How cool! I didn't think anyone bought things from the television, but MY Oma did. And I have them in my possession. 


I don't know if one day these things will be worth a lot of money. Maybe someday a museum could be interested in jewellery bought from the first of the television shopping campaigns... but, to me they are precious. I have worn a few of them and I am sure one day they will come back into fashion, so I am going to keep hold of them. These things fit into a small box so it is not like I have inherited a 5ft metal chicken or anything.


When I look at this jewellery I don't see gaudy colours and tarnished brass. What I see is a legacy. My Oma had great style. I remember she loved shoes and hats. She always wore lots of necklaces and wore Anais Anais perfume. She loved patterns and texture and even though she was of a larger proportion, she always looked nice.  


My mum has great style too. She is her own person and strives to be in fashion while still being comfortable and individual, I like that. I call my mum's style 'Gypsy caravan crashes into bead cart while wearing cotton and sensible shoes'. Both my sisters have great style too. One is classic, one is a bit off beat, I like their styles a lot. We all talk about clothes and shoes and what colours and styles are current. We all love jewellery too, which I guess is part of Oma's legacy to us. We also love to talk about bargains, something instilled in us from an early age.


I too am working on working on my own style. It is an evolutionary thing though, I have not settled on any one style, which I think is cool. I am not all about clothes though, I hope I can make that clear. I am all about finding your inner cool, which is more of an attitude or state of mind. I think that clothes are the easiest way to show this inner cool to others, as if we are all walking art works. But again, I digress...


What I want you to get out of this piece is that although some may think 40+ year old costume jewellery is junk, it has been passed down to me from my grandmother - this makes them heirlooms. I will be holding on to these things long enough to pass to my children, just like the stories that make up the rich family history that is mine.


Heirloom Vs Junk? It all depends on where it fits in your story I guess.


What kinds of heirlooms lurk in your family?