The Best Jewelry Is Someone Else’s

My daughter Edith is a collector. No matter where she goes, she finds something to bring home. At coffee shops, she requests four of those wooden stirrers—one for everyone in our family. At birthday parties, she whispers can we keep this when the goodie bags come around. She spent last weekend with my in-laws and returned with a pack of paper dessert plates, a childhood photo of my husband and his grandfather, and a silver ring my sister-in-law Sara received for her bat mitzvah.

We FaceTimed Sara later that night and I showed her the ring on my pinky. 

“That’s Tiffany!’ she said when she saw the long-forgotten ring. 

“Who’s Tiffany?” my daughter asked.

Some might call it hoarding, but I find it charming. And though I often toss the most ephemeral of her treasures when she’s not looking, I love the worlds she builds with her things. She knows that our stuff tells stories—and she’s starting to tell her own.  

The other night she was sitting on the floor of my bedroom with every last piece of my jewelry spread out in front of her on a silk bagel scarf (a perfect Etsy gift, now sold out, from my bestie Colette). 

As she combed through the pile, I realized that she wasn’t just looking at a tangle of necklaces. What she was actually looking at was a beautiful patchwork of lives and histories. 

I saw recent purchases from new designers alongside dangly earrings from college and my own bat mitzvah-era Tiffany bling. I also saw the Hadassah pin of my late Grandma Dora and the art-deco chai pendant that belonged to my husband’s late grandfather Irving. Edith’s middle name, Isadora, is a tribute to both of them.

There was the oversize figa amulet made of lapis lazuli, a good-luck charm that my Grandma Cecile bought when she lived in Brazil, which she gifted me during a recent trip to Florida. 

There were the beaded bracelets that Edith has made for me over the years, including my favorite, which reads M-O-M-E-D-I-T-H. 

These are my treasures. 

If there’s anyone who understands how emotional I suddenly felt in that moment, it’s Mara Bernstein of Pennyweight Prizefighter. She sources and sells incredible vintage and antique jewelry, including some very cool pieces with Jewish motifs. She now offers her own original designs, too.

I first learned about Mara when my friend Jamie Betesh Carter profiled her for Tablet in 2024, and I’ve been following Pennyweight Prizefighter on Instagram ever since, where her Judaica drops and themed collections typically sell out within a day. 

I wanted to talk to Mara about the way jewelry holds and preserves our stories, something she understood from a young age.

“I grew up around jewelry,” she told me. “My mom and I would take out her jewels and ‘play jewelry,’ which is exactly what it sounds like. I would look at everything and hear the stories of where it all came from.”

“Oh these beads. I went to 47th Street to sell my charm bracelet for college tuition money. Instead I traded it for gold beads. Whoops!”

“That bracelet daddy got me! He overpaid, Mara.”

Jewelry was “something that I knew was to be preserved and treasured,” Mara explained, especially because her mother’s collection was entirely antique or vintage. “To me, really special jewelry would be things that had a life before the one it would have with me.” 

It makes a kind of cosmic sense that she ended up in the vintage jewelry world, first as a side project and now full-time. A pennyweight is the measure used by jewelers when weighing gold, and Mara bills Pennyweight Prizefighter as sustainable shopping at its sparkliest, finding new homes—and stories—for old pieces. 

“I hate to think of all the beautiful pieces that have been melted for their weight,” she said. “But I especially can’t bear to see Judaica cast aside. These are pieces that shout and honor our Jewish identity, loud and proud and in the most precious metal.”

Mara describes the Judaica part of her business as a “personal mission,” and it’s one that feels especially poignant in this moment. “At various times in history it has been bold and brave to wear a Star of David, or Chai charm. Someone made a choice to wear their Judaism right on their heart.” 

She’s come across jewelry featuring all kinds of Jewish motifs, including Stars of David, menorahs, mezuzahs, Torah scrolls, and images of Moses. But the most popular design right now is a chai—the Hebrew world for “life.”  

“I have some theories why,” she told me. “It’s not just saying I’m Jewish. It’s saying I’m alive. And I love life.”

I asked Mara to share some of her favorite Jewishly-inspired picks, from her own collection and beyond: 

Handmade L’Chaim Charm 

In the last few years I’ve noticed people who have never worn Jewish jewelry are starting to. I designed a charm that is a perfect subtle entry point: it’s a small heart with l’chaim—to life—engraved. A celebration of life and of Judaism without being overtly in-your-face.

Noah Offitzer Tattoos

I have two chai tattoos right now. They’re my first (but not only!) Jewish tattoos and the crux of being a Jew to me. If you need a Jewish tattoo in or near NYC there’s no one better than Noah Offitzer. 

Hebrew Initial Necklace Charm

Of course I’m partial to vintage Judaica fine jewelry, but each of my kids wears their Hebrew initial from Izakov Diamonds and it’s now my go-to bat mitzvah gift: 

Gam Ze Letova ring

Sivan Lotan, based in Tel Aviv, makes these amazing secret message rings. I asked for a custom Gam Ze Letova (“this too is for the good”). And now it’s available for anyone who wants one!

Modeh Ani Hoodie

I bought this sweatshirt that says Modeh Ani (“I give thanks”) and I’m loving it. Noticing a theme? Life! Gratitude! 

Thanks to Mara for sharing her picks. Be sure to follow Pennyweight Prizefighter on Instagram to shop her next jewelry drop.

For those in NYC, I’ll be interviewing Emma Rosenblum about her novel Mean Moms (and the real-life millennial mean mom drama unfolding in LA!) next Thursday at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan. Get your ticket here.

Stay GOLDA,

Stephanie

GOLDA may earn a few shekels from purchases made through links in this article.