Not All Jewelry is Created Equal

Seeing as how we're pretty much drowning in jewelry at my house, I'd been kind of thinking lately about what constitutes an important, or valuable, piece of jewelry. Ultimately, I had to conclude that the most important piece of jewelry in our family is not, in fact, my wedding band (an obvious choice, I think) or my engagement ring, or even the ring that my mother gave me on the birth of my son.

No, the really important piece of jewelry isn't mine at all. Rather, it's the medical I.D. bracelet that my son now wears. It's unassuming and plain stainless steel but, although we hope he'll never have to rely on it, potentially vital to my son's well-being. It made me think about other types of "functional" jewelry like, say, dog tags, pill box necklaces or teething necklaces. As adornment goes, these are all very understated but all important in ways not necessarily connected to their aesthetic appeal.

So I was wondering: do you have any "functional" jewelry in your life? What jewelry is important to you and your family? Something functional? Something sentimental, like a necklace inherited from your grandmother? Please share!