Sentimental Stones

A few years ago, I started getting more intentional about a small gift for myself on certain birthdays. Not all of them, and usually something small, but a token of another trip around the sun that I can always have as a marker and memory of time.

For my 40th, I knew I wanted to do a more significant one and, having been a Brent Neale fan for a couple of years now, knew she was the perfect woman for the job. I wanted to use existing stones that have meaning and let her put them together in a new way.

I visited her showroom on the upper east side with a few pieces in-tow. After explaining a few ideas and inspirations I had seen, I left all of the pieces for her to take time drawing up a vision. We landed on two sapphires from my wedding earrings (an unexpected and favorite gift from my husband) to flank a larger center stone, Tanzanite, that we purchased on our most recent trip to Tanzania. Africa stole our hearts early, and traveling together there as a couple and a family stands out amidst all of our memories.

I couldn’t love the piece more and what it symbolizes—love and family, travel—and the increasing conviction that such experiences with the ones I love are what it’s always been about...and always will be.