Sara Anderson
Sara Anderson's great grandmother, Natalie, survived the Armenian Genocide and was able to settle in Worcester, Massachusetts. When the time came, Natalie got engaged to Sarkis Israelian who proposed with an engagement ring made from Barmakian Jewelers.
This engagment ring is extremely special for Sara as she had mentioned she gave up her whole inhertiance for Natalie's ring. This ring being passed down to Sara allows her to have Natalie with her and pass the story of Barmakian Jewelers down.
When Sara Anderson's grandmother was getting close to becoming engaged, Natalie brought Clifford Wilson Senior (Sara's grandfather) to Barmakian Jeweler. When Natalie knew that a proposal was soon to occur she would bring the couple to Barmakian Jeweler and point them in the right direction.
"When my father proposed to my mother, my great-grandmother took him in to Barmakian's in Boston. It was time; as soon as she knew anybody was going to get married, she'd whisk them away up to Barmakian's."
This ring also holds special meaning to Sara as she had mentioned she never takes the rings off. Through this ring, Beatrice's story lives with Sara and allows her to share these stories before they die out.
Barmakian Jewelers was important to Sara's family because her uncle, Luke Sarkis Israelian, had worked with them for awhile. The Aquamarine Ring was made by her uncle Luke, in which she was able to keep after it was passed down.
Barmakian Jewelers was also important as it started with five Armenian brothers who fled the Armenian gneocide and decided to open their jeweler shop. Since it was Armenian owned, Natalie believed it was important to help the Armenian community succeed. To Natalie the jewelry wasn't important but allowing her Armenian community to grow was what she wanted to see. After that engagment ring, every generation has gone to Barmakain Jewelers to have it created through them.
Sara's rings were not the only special jewelry she showed us. When Sara was younger she was passed down the Scarab bracelet by her great aunt Mary. The meaning behind this bracelet was that every Armenian woman has a Scarab bracelet and Sara was finally given one.
In Sara's family, the passing of jewelry has great meaning as it represents stories and beliefs held by her great-grandmother which was later passed to each generation after. Through the jewelry, Sara's ancestors and their stories continue to live through her.