Imagine having a disease for which there is no cure, with an average survival rate from onset to death of only three to four years, a disease that starts with symptoms of stiff muscles, muscle twitching, and gradually worsening weakness due to muscle wasting. It gets progressively worse until you are not able to walk or use your hands and arms. Then you lose the ability to speak and swallow food. after that you will end up on a ventilator, as you will no longer be able to breathe on your own. This is the description of a disease called ALS or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
You may know it more commonly as Lou Gehrig’s disease, because it affected the famous baseball player Lou Gehrig, One noteable exception who has lived for more than 50 years with ALS is Astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, whose ALS was diagnosed in 1963, the longest recorded time.
ALS certainly doesn’t discriminate, it has claimed the lives of many famous people including some that might surprise you: Mao Zedong folk singer Woodie Guthrie, actor David Niven and politician Jacob Javits, among the many other people who have suffered and perished from this debilitating disease.
You probably have also seen or heard of the ice bucket challenges where people dump buckets of cold water and ice on their heads for a good cause. There was also one for ALS where the contestants raised $79.7 million for the ALS Association, compared to $2.5 million raised over the same period in 2013. Maybe you’ve been part of one, yourself?!
The ice bucket challenges may have faded away, at least for now, but a young, hip jewelry company has been inspired to create a trio of jewelry pieces: ring, bracelet and pendant, that pays homage to the challenge, and gives 20% of the sales from these pieces directly to the ALS Association. The Must Jewelry y Ice Bucket line pieces look like ice buckets, complete with a few little sparkling diamonds as the “ice” , done in silver or gold.
According to the press literature, Must Jewelry specializes in diamonds. Must Jewelry manufacturs their own diamonds and implements them into the jewelry. Each piece is hand polished. Must jewelry pieces range from $125 to $150,000.
To be perfect honest, when I saw a photo of the pieces,. I didn’t think “ice bucket” I thought “Champagne Bucket” and so, I’m suggesting these pieces as a celebratory talisman. I think they’re the perfect little gift for a special friend or a lover, to commemorate a special occasion. They’re not expensive — the silver and diamond pieces are just $125 each . I selected the ice bucket pendant, which arrives nicely boxed in a hard-sided black presentation box, on a slim, sparkling, 26-18″ sterling silver chain. The piece is quite petite and delicate, with an open work bucket and six teeny, tiny diamonds (Carat total weight .03.). It is appropriate for a young girl or teenager, but large enough so that a “mom” could wear it as well, without feeling foolish. The bracelet could be worn by a younger, more metrosexual man, the ring, pretty much by anyone –an attention grabber that will start a conversation.
I see this as an inexpensive way to commemorate a birthday, graduation, that first six month anniversary, perhaps finally acing the driver’s test. It would also be a nice little gift for Valentine’s Day. For more “how-to” and avoiding disappointments on giving a gift to a man or a woman watch my guest appearance on the Dr. Joy Show (it’s about 25 minutes)
Whatever the reason, these Ice Bucket Jewelry Piece are affordable, and a nice way to “celebrate” and give back to a worthy cause. The collection is available at: http://mustdiamonds.com/als#about
