Anderson Ancestral Rings
Rings take on a whole new meaning in Sara Anderson's family history. Four generations of womens' engagement rings, from her great-grandmother in 1916 to her in 2006, were made at an Armenian jewelery shop. As she recalls;
"This is my great-grandmother's engagement ring. I gave up my entire inheritance for this ring! But, there's a jeweler in Boston, Barmakian Jewelers, opened in 1910. And all of the family's engagement rings have come from Barmakian's. So great grandma's engagement ring first- Sarkis to Natalie Isralian."
Sara jokingly remembers each time in her family history when a new fiance was dragged by an elder in her family (either her mother, or her grandmother Beatrice) to buy rings from Barmakian Jewelers. Sara also has a close personal connection to the store, as her uncle worked there for many years, and designed both she and her mother's engagement rings.
Undoubtedly, the rings help Sara feel a strong connection to her great-grandmother and grandmother, who have since passed, but both of whom she was very close with. She reflects upon the importance of Barmakian's;
"For great grandma, it wasn't so much jewelry as it was a way of supporting Armenians, caring for them, being part of the Armenian community, and continuing traditions, passing them on and keeping that alive. And so there was no other option other than go to Barmakian's. And then she'd tell us, you know, Armenians were the ones who kept the Turkish communities going. They were the scientists. They were the teachers. They were the intellectuals, right? They were the whole of the community. And when they sent the Armenians away, the communities collapsed. It was important for her that we knew that Armenians were not less than, and were not people to be forgotten. That they were gifted, talented, some of the brightest, of the people".