The Diamond Family Heirloom That Keeps My Grandmother’s Memory Alive
My Nana used to love telling my siblings and me stories from her youth, a type of family heirloom we all still treasure today. One of our favorite stories was about her first date with our Poppy. “He was a bad boy, you know,” she’d say. “My friends did not think it was a good idea for me to go out with him. But he was so cute! I couldn’t resist.”
My Poppy, Jules, liked fast cars with big engines and had had a few girlfriends in his teens and early 20s. My Nana, Barbara, was a good girl from Brooklyn who once danced at Carnegie Hall and loved Broadway. It seems “opposites attract” held true for them, as they stayed happily married and in love for the next 64 years.
My Poppy proposed with a stunning 2.6-carat marquise engagement ring in February of 1960, and the two were married on July 1 of the same year. She wore that ring every day and cherished it just as she cherished her husband, my Poppy, and her three children—my mom, Laurie, and my uncles, Daniel and Howard.
Meet the Author: Jane Asher
- Jane Asher is a social media manager with a passion for pop culture.
- She holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from Washington University in St. Louis.
- As a journalist, her work has been featured in publications such as InStyle Magazine, Stylecaster, Martha Stewart Weddings and more
When my Nana was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2016, it was a slow, and then quick, decline. Eventually, she stopped wearing her jewelry, including the engagement ring, but its sentimental value remained, and it became a family heirloom. After she passed in 2024, my mom took inventory of her fine jewelry and divided it up among me, my sister, my cousins, and herself. One piece my mom knew she wanted to keep close to her was the marquise diamond engagement ring. So she set out to find out the best way to reset it for everyday wear.
What followed was an emotional journey to breathe new life into a treasured family heirloom—and ensure its story continues for generations to come.
Resetting a Family Heirloom: My Nana’s Engagement Ring
Lucky for my mom, I have a few contacts in the jewelry industry and knew exactly who would be the right person for the project. Constance Polamalu, an alumna of Natural Diamond Council’s EDDI program, has her own brand, Birthright Foundry, and runs the show at Zachary’s Jewelers, a retailer based in Annapolis, Maryland, just a short drive from my parents’ home in Potomac, Maryland.
“Reworking someone’s existing piece should always start with a certain reverence for what was and what is important to keep,” says Constance. Sometimes, the best thing to do is to break down the old piece and create something new, while other times, revamping or restoring the original design and setting is the right course of action for a family heirloom. “A great jeweler will listen and observe first, and then help you employ the right balance of discernment and design.”
A Sentimental Brooch Gets a New Life
Constance proved herself to be just that when we brought not only the marquise diamond engagement ring, but also another family heirloom—a diamond brooch that was passed down to my Nana from my great-grandmother. The center diamond of the brooch was used for my sister-in-law’s engagement ring, so my mom had to decide whether to take the brooch apart to make something new or reset the center stone with a new gem.
“I’m not sure I feel right about taking the brooch apart,” said my mom when we sat down with Constance. “I love the look of it, but I’m not sure how often I’ll wear a brooch.” Since she still loved the original design, Constance knew taking it apart wasn’t the right plan. She was actually impressed by the near-perfect condition of the piece despite its age and suggested adding a chain mechanism to the back so it could be worn as a necklace when my mom didn’t want to wear it as a brooch. A perfect solution, especially after seeing how excited my mom got about the idea of wearing it as a long statement necklace.
Eventually, my mom and Constance decided that a sapphire would be the perfect replacement for the original center stone. “Sourcing a great natural sapphire is easy when you know who to call,” Constance said. Working with Intercolor USA, an NYC-based colored gemstone dealer, was a no-brainer for both Constance and me, especially given my friendship with TikTok influencer Julia Chafe, aka Jewels with Jules, whose family runs Intercolor. When I texted her that we were sourcing from them, she was thrilled to be a part of the project. Intercolor sent Constance three different sapphires for my mom to choose from. The piece is still being worked on, but is sure to turn out perfect.
The Transformed Family Heirloom Ring
The marquise diamond engagement ring has since been transformed into an on-trend bezel-set pendant that my mom wears every day. “I feel close to my mom when I wear her diamond, even though she isn’t here anymore. It’s such a special piece to me,” she says.
Although we had the original receipt from when the ring was first purchased, we didn’t have the original GIA report. So before resetting the stone, Constance made sure to get a full GIA grading report. “Before sending the natural diamond to GIA, we took all the measurements to begin crafting the perfect new home,” she explains. Constance presented my mom with a few different styles of chains and bezel settings, using completed pieces from Zachary’s Jewelers. “We took time to touch and feel other completed pieces of jewelry in the store to understand what resonated with the new owner,” Constance said. “Ultimately, we selected the perfect chain and bezel setting.”
My mom surprised herself with how emotional the process became, knowing that resetting the ring meant letting go in a way. But once the piece was returned to her as something she could truly wear every day in my Nana’s memory, it was clear the emotion and attachment were in the diamond, not the setting. She says she feels close to her mom, my Nana, when she wears the necklace because she knows what the diamond meant to my Nana—a piece she cherished and wore every day of her life.
Cherishing a Family Heirloom Across Generations
“I love the opportunity fine jewelry presents to spend time getting to know a person and their family history,” says Constance, reflecting on her experience working with me and my mom. “Exploring what will make a diamond wearable again requires a real conversation about who wore a piece previously and who will wear it now.” As a ring, it fit my Nana and her life. Now, as a necklace, it fits my mom—the same diamond, worn with love by two generations of women.
“Diamonds are often thought of as romantic life gifts,” Constance muses. “I think there is nothing more special than a diamond worn by a mother, passed down to a daughter, and spoken for by a granddaughter.”
Both the brooch and the marquise diamond will remain in my family for generations, and I’m so excited I was able to help my mom give new life to these pieces, so she could actually wear them, rather than let them sit in a jewelry box. I’m sure one day my sisters and I will be wearing these family heirlooms and passing them down to our daughters. But for now, I love seeing the flash of sparkle from the marquise pendant on my mom’s neck—a forever reminder of my wonderful Nana.
