I have a piece of jewelry I call, “My Beating Heart”.

One day I will pass this wonderful piece of jewelry down to my children with a message. That message will explain why I created this heirloom for them to ponder and touch. I envision my great-great-grandchildren seeing a picture of me, and being told my name as they look at the beautiful rainbow of colors and touch the smooth softness of the gemstones and gold. They will hear the words I left for them, from a long time ago, and they will know not only what life meant to me, but become connected to the very personal history we share as a family.

As a jeweler for many years, I have heard the most amazing stories. Almost every person I meet has some story to pass to the future. These kinds of stories are alive with meaning, full of unexpected twists and turns, and in many cases, just plain fun. In my opinion, whether these stories are completely true or part fable, their main intention is to convey the values, joys or sorrows of the speaker and the house they come from.

That's why I created this book. To find ways to awaken and equip as many people as possible to write their personal stories down, and attach them to jewelry articles or other heirlooms. By attaching stories to jewelry appraisals we encourage a greater catalog of human experience for our historic world family to share. To write the stories we know for coming generations is to respectfully bow to our past, and lovingly nod to the future with a richer historical perspective.

What stories will you leave behind?