When you are working in a profession that you care deeply about, you don’t always expect that an event in your workday will significantly change your outlook on life. In jewelry making I use my hands. In retail I translate the work of my hands and other jewelry artist’s work to the consumer. When that work lovingly caresses the hands of someone else, and it is received with great appreciation and joy, I am always deeply gratified I have chosen my craft.
It was a normal business day of showing my wares — an enchanting summer day. The couple who chose to enter my store were looking for something special. They were looking for something with opal for his hands. We specialize in Australian Boulder Opal. Most people don’t know much about it. He did. And, he saw something he wanted.
Later, for a special surprise, to mark a special moment in this couple’s journey together, his partner purchased the item he had chosen.
Subsequently, a few months later, they returned to the store, he wearing this beautiful ring, his gift. We took the ring outside to enjoy its phenomenal beauty in the sun. “Please don’t take offense, but your partner has beautiful hands,” I said to his wife. She smiled a smile with a hidden something.
“You don’t know what these hands have been through,” he said, discreetly showed me the fine scars circling his entire wrists. “An accident, in a helicopter, years ago, I lost them.”
I looked in his eyes with wonder. I held those hands with utter respect and awe. That ring nestled serenely in an extraordinary place, in an extraordinary moment, suited just to his hands.
I felt humbled and very grateful for the reminder that we are all so much more than our purchases.
(Poscript: That ring went to Iraq with him and served faithfully with its wearer.He returned safely to the U.S. and said, he never took it off.)
Deborah Koorey
Aloha Nui Loa: Thank you so much for sharing our story. I remember the day he saw the ring in your Saugatuck shop; its perfect fit, and custom setting. He was so surprised when presented the treasure, a magnificent Boulder Opal.
I also remember the day soon after, when he told me he’d received orders to immediately deploy to Iraq for a year and a half. The next few stressful days were a blur as he prepared to enter a war zone with little or no personal effects.
At the airport, I noticed he was wearing his wedding band AND the Boulder Opal. His comment, when asked: “They’re a reminder to me of love, strength, and beauty.”
Upon his return, we headed to Michigan to visit family. Tears flowed freely as we all celebrated the happiness of his safe passage. And I’ll always remember the care and love expressed as you took the still fiery Boulder Opal and washed away dirt and grime of a year and a half on the front lines.
We thank you for the most amazing creations, attention to detail, and above all, sense of family and spirit. Mahalo
Thanks so much for your amazing comment. WOW!!! I appreciate most of all the words you have shared that illustrate the silent sacrifices made in the quiet arms of love on behalf of us all. I am humbled that our craft can be a part of such a moment. Deborah, family and staff.
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