Cross Pendants

The woman asked herself if men's diamond cross pendants that had caught her eye several weeks before in a jeweler's magazine would be appropriate for her grandson on such an occasion. But those thoughts were lost for a few minutes as the young man came up out of the baptistery, the robe dripping wet while celebratory music played in the background. The grandmother sat a few rows back with a smile as big as the sun on the woman's face and some hallelujahs on her lips. Prayer had been answered, the young man had professed his faith and carried it out through the ordinance of baptism and now it was off to a family picnic and a time for great rejoicing. The woman would never shop on a Sunday, but this was Saturday and she stopped at the jewelry store on the way to the picnic to pick up the special piece of jewelry that had been ruminating in the woman's mind for weeks. One of those white gold cross pendants would be perfect for gift giving on this historic day.

The grandmother had done the homework for weeks before the purchase. The education into this kind of jewelry began with finding out just exactly what 14k gold white jewelry actually is. The purest gold is 24k, but the grade is the metal's softest form. This pure form is fine for monetary exchange transactions, but is much too soft to be used as jewelry. The woman had found out that some online jewelers actually offer 21k gold in jewelry form, which makes the jewelry very expensive, but also questionably too soft for durable jewelry. When gold is formed to make 18k grade, the metal has twenty five percent alloy added to its existence and consequently, 18k gold is more expensive than its 14k partner, because the 14k grade is fifty eight percent precious metal and forty two percent alloy added. Both grades have a white metal supplement such as silver, palladium, nickel or platinum to give the silver color that is often much desired.

As the grandmother began looking around for just the right piece out of the many white gold cross pendants available, the thought arose that perhaps one of the men's diamond cross pendants the older woman had seen at her local jewelry store might also be appropriate for the teenager that had made such a leap of faith recently. Since this was the only grandchild in the small family, money would be no object in terms of deciding which jewelry piece would be best. The woman had imagined in mind that this jewelry piece would be an heirloom that the teenager could one day pass down to his son on an auspicious day such as this. The senior adult thought about the security of such a piece, knowing that thieves wouldn't care about the spiritual significance of something they steal, as long as the piece has great worth or value. Perhaps this gift might cost the young man his life. But in the imagination of this older woman was hatched a plan to mitigate such risk.

As the older woman decided that not only would one of the white gold cross pendants be the choice for the young teenager, but a second necklace would be one of the men's diamond cross pendants in white gold that she had seen. The first pendant would be an everyday cross pendant necklace that the teen could wear to school and never have to worry about losing because it would be relatively inexpensive and easy to replace. But the second cross pendant that she would also give him at the picnic would be the heirloom piece that could be passed down from generation to generation. And so her plan was finalized and after leaving the church, the stop was made at the jewelry store and the purchases were made. When entrance into the store was made, the owner who knew the woman through many years of doing business gave a loud and robust greeting. The older woman told the man of her plan and his eyes lit up with excitement and appreciation that his establishment was chosen to make this business transaction. "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord all ye lands." (Psalm 100:1)

She looked first at the showcase that housed the three dozen white gold cross pendants that the owner had for sale. They were all 14K grade and after some looking, she decided on a modest seventy dollar 14K weight white gold cross and chain for seventy five dollars. The heirloom piece did not take long to choose. Out of the thirty or so men's diamond cross pendants that the jeweler carried, the loving grandmother chose a 950k weight platinum diamond cross necklace and pendant with 1.17k of diamonds. It was a rather lightweight white gold necklace that was paired with the beautiful cross, so the grandmother chose a heavier rope chain to go with the pendant, bringing the price to a little over twenty three hundred dollars. Both pendants and chains were wrapped beautifully in red paper and gold bows and grand mom was on the way to the picnic.

The food at the picnic was great, and the rejoicing was even greater as another sheep had come home. There were tears and laughter and great joy that afternoon, and then came the big moment. The grandmother gave the young man the first of the two red and gold boxes. The young man opened the white gift box and smiled with every tooth in his mouth. The young man said he would wear the necklace with pride. But the loving grandma wasn't finished, and then gave him the second box and told the grandson that this one was only for special occasions, and that the hope was that one day the pendant and necklace would be passed on to a great grandson. And then the picnic grew silent when the teen showed everyone the gift that was now his.

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