When I was 16 years old, my maternal grandmother gave me a gift I would not soon forget – a diamond set into a donut bezel (all the rage at the time) on a sturdy gold neck chain. The necklace was a birthday present meant to commemorate one of the first milestones of my adulthood, but it meant much more than that. My grandmother had recently beaten terminal cancer, so this gift was one that I might never have received.

Over the next few years, I wore the necklace whenever I could: piano performances, holiday parties, and in my high school senior photos. I graduated from high school wearing it, then wore it again for my college graduation party. Still, it was not every day that I could wear this special occasion piece. I felt bad for the many months it lay in its blue-velvet jewelry case unseen.

But last week, on Christmas Day, the stone that was the star of that necklace emerged from the pocket of my boyfriend who, on one knee, offered it to me in an engagement ring. “Stacy Anne Hillmer, will you marry me?” Accepting my man, and the ring he held, I watched my special diamond take up a new home on my left ring finger for all to see every day.

And so our jewelry makes its way into family traditions and legends…What are some of the stories behind your most prized pieces?