A Locket made for a Hero's wife

I can now safely say that I have officially made my most important piece of jewelry yet.

Yes, my wedding ring was important, but definitely not in the same way.

Captain Matthew Freeman
Matthew Freeman, was killed in Afghanistan on August 7th, 2009 at the age of 29. He was a fighter Pilot who volunteered to go serve in Afghanistan. He was an exceptional person, in school, with friends and family, and in life. He came from a family that includes many servicemen and women. He was married to Theresa Hess only three weeks before he passed. This story is tragic and my prayers continue to go out to the Freeman's and the Hess's.

http://freedomremembered.com/index.php/capt-matthew-c-freeman/

My family has been friends with the Freeman's for almost as long as I can remember--summers consisting of camping trips, boating days and weekend crab boils. I also played Varsity Soccer and went to Saint Anne's Catholic church with Theresa. When Matthew's Mother Lisa asked me to make a locket for Theresa, you can imagine how perfect and meaningful I wanted this locket to be. I understood that it was something Theresa would keep and cherish forever. Lisa wanted to use some of Matthew's baby hair and their wedding photo in the locket. I had the leeway to decide the rest.

This is what I came up with...

"A Locket for Remembering"

Sterling Silver with 18 Karat Yellow gold accents.
Garnet set in Yellow gold bezel. (Matthew's birthstone)

Theresa's birthstone is Amethyst. I set her birthstone in a hand-pierced heart and engraved "Always" on it. I made the chain so that she could wear it at 3 different lengths 18, 20 and 24 inches.

I used watch crystals to "encase" Matthews hair. I wanted this to be two-sided, so that she could wear it with hair or the birthstone facing forward. I did not put their wedding photo in for the photo shoot...I thought that too personal.
I also wanted to make the packaging just as special. I hand-stitched this pouch out of recycled leather from a local Athens leather shop.Hand-made down to every last detail....

Thank you Kelli Guinn for the great photos!!

http://www.kelliguinn.com/