A Century of Luxury & Legacy
A Rabbit’s Foot, a Bench Pan, and a Family Story
Published: May 17, 2026
A Rabbit’s Foot, England, and Family Legacy
There is something special about standing in a place where your family once stood.
On this trip to England, my wife and I had the opportunity to visit some beautiful places. We spent time in London, traveled through the Cotswolds, stopped in Gloucestershire, visited Birmingham, and made our way up toward York and the countryside beyond it.
The scenery was beautiful. The roads were narrow. The towns were full of character. And, I will be honest, driving on the left side of the road was an experience all by itself.
But this trip became more than a vacation.
It became personal.
Gloucestershire is where I learned my great grandfather was born. From there, we made our way to Birmingham, where my grandfather was born and raised until he was three years old. At that point, the family came across the ocean to Canada, beginning a journey that would eventually lead our family into the jewelry business.
I have heard bits and pieces of these stories over the years. My brother had shared some family history with me. But there is a difference between hearing that your family came from a place and actually going there yourself.
When you drive through the countryside, walk the streets, see the homes, and experience the weather, it begins to feel more real. You start imagining what life might have been like for the people who came before you. You wonder what they saw, what they hoped for, and what decisions shaped the path that eventually led to your own life.
That is one of the things I love about legacy.
It is not always found in a big moment. Sometimes it is found in a place. Sometimes it is found in an old story. And sometimes it is found in a small tool sitting at a jeweler’s bench.
The Story Behind the Rabbit’s Foot
For years, we had an old rabbit’s foot at the jewelry bench.
When you are working on jewelry, you file, sand, polish, and trim metal. Those tiny pieces of gold, silver, and metal dust have value, so jewelers use what is called a bench pan to collect them. Our bench pans were square wooden trays with a metal bottom, and we used the rabbit’s foot to sweep the dust and filings into the corner.
Then we could collect it, sort it, and recover what had value.
It was just part of the work.
But one day I started asking a question I had never really thought much about before.
Why did we use a rabbit’s foot?
I asked around, and nobody seemed to know for sure. Maybe it was for good luck. Maybe it was just a tradition. Maybe someone had used one years ago, and it simply became part of the bench.
While I was in England, I started looking into it a little more. I learned that rabbit’s feet had been used as small brushes back in the day. They also carried that old association with good luck. While I was there, I stopped at a pet store and found several rabbit’s feet for sale. They were inexpensive, but they meant something to me.
I bought one for myself and a few for my brothers.
To someone else, it might just look like an odd souvenir from a trip to England. But for me, it represents a connection to my grandfather, the jewelry bench, and the little traditions that get handed down without anyone always knowing exactly why.
Sometimes the things that stay with us the longest are the things we almost overlook.
Learning to Slow Down
Traveling through England also reminded me that sometimes you have to slow down and let the journey be what it is.
There were plenty of moments that tested my patience. Trying to drive a rental car on the opposite side of the road was stressful. Roundabouts are everywhere. The streets can be incredibly narrow. In some areas, you feel like you are driving down an alley or someone’s driveway, wondering what you will do when another car comes toward you.
Then there was parking.
We drove into York for an All Creatures Great and Small tour, and I thought we needed to leave early because I wanted plenty of time to find parking. Thankfully, we did. It took nearly an hour to find a place to leave the car.
That could have ruined the day if I had let it.
Instead, it became part of the story.
The tour itself was a wonderful experience. My wife and I have enjoyed watching All Creatures Great and Small, and it was fun to see some of the locations where the show is filmed. We even saw part of a town being prepared for filming later that day. It was interesting to see how a modern town can be transformed to look like another time.
That is really what this whole trip felt like in many ways.
It was a chance to look back.
To see where my family came from.
To think about the roads they may have traveled.
To appreciate the way one generation can influence another, even when they are separated by many years and many miles.
Legacy Lives in the Details
As we celebrate a century of luxury and legacy at David Douglas Diamonds, I keep coming back to the idea that our story is about more than jewelry.
Yes, we work with diamonds, gold, gemstones, and beautiful pieces that mark some of life’s biggest occasions. But behind every piece of jewelry is a story. Behind every family business is a story. And behind every tradition, there is usually someone who cared enough to pass it on.
My grandfather may not have known that one day his grandson would travel back to England, stand near the places where he was born, and think about a rabbit’s foot at a jeweler’s bench.
But that is the beauty of legacy.
You do not always know how your life will influence someone down the road.
You simply show up. You work hard. You care for people. You build something worth passing on. And you leave behind small reminders that tell the next generation where they came from.
For me, this trip to England was filled with beautiful countryside, unfamiliar roads, wonderful places to stay, tea rooms, old towns, and a few stressful moments behind the wheel.
But more than anything, it was a reminder of home.
Not necessarily the home where I live today, but the kind of home that comes from knowing your story, honoring your family, and being grateful for the people who came before you.
And now, when I sit at my jewelry bench and see that little rabbit’s foot in the corner of my bench pan, I will think about England.
I will think about my grandfather.
And I will be reminded that even the smallest things can carry a whole lot of history.
There is something special about standing in a place where your family once stood.
On this trip to England, my wife and I had the opportunity to visit some beautiful places. We spent time in London, traveled through the Cotswolds, stopped in Gloucestershire, visited Birmingham, and made our way up toward York and the countryside beyond it.
The scenery was beautiful. The roads were narrow. The towns were full of character. And, I will be honest, driving on the left side of the road was an experience all by itself.
But this trip became more than a vacation.
It became personal.
Gloucestershire is where I learned my great grandfather was born. From there, we made our way to Birmingham, where my grandfather was born and raised until he was three years old. At that point, the family came across the ocean to Canada, beginning a journey that would eventually lead our family into the jewelry business.
I have heard bits and pieces of these stories over the years. My brother had shared some family history with me. But there is a difference between hearing that your family came from a place and actually going there yourself.
When you drive through the countryside, walk the streets, see the homes, and experience the weather, it begins to feel more real. You start imagining what life might have been like for the people who came before you. You wonder what they saw, what they hoped for, and what decisions shaped the path that eventually led to your own life.
That is one of the things I love about legacy.
It is not always found in a big moment. Sometimes it is found in a place. Sometimes it is found in an old story. And sometimes it is found in a small tool sitting at a jeweler’s bench.
The Story Behind the Rabbit’s Foot
For years, we had an old rabbit’s foot at the jewelry bench.
When you are working on jewelry, you file, sand, polish, and trim metal. Those tiny pieces of gold, silver, and metal dust have value, so jewelers use what is called a bench pan to collect them. Our bench pans were square wooden trays with a metal bottom, and we used the rabbit’s foot to sweep the dust and filings into the corner.
Then we could collect it, sort it, and recover what had value.
It was just part of the work.
But one day I started asking a question I had never really thought much about before.
Why did we use a rabbit’s foot?
I asked around, and nobody seemed to know for sure. Maybe it was for good luck. Maybe it was just a tradition. Maybe someone had used one years ago, and it simply became part of the bench.
While I was in England, I started looking into it a little more. I learned that rabbit’s feet had been used as small brushes back in the day. They also carried that old association with good luck. While I was there, I stopped at a pet store and found several rabbit’s feet for sale. They were inexpensive, but they meant something to me.
I bought one for myself and a few for my brothers.
To someone else, it might just look like an odd souvenir from a trip to England. But for me, it represents a connection to my grandfather, the jewelry bench, and the little traditions that get handed down without anyone always knowing exactly why.
Sometimes the things that stay with us the longest are the things we almost overlook.
Learning to Slow Down
Traveling through England also reminded me that sometimes you have to slow down and let the journey be what it is.
There were plenty of moments that tested my patience. Trying to drive a rental car on the opposite side of the road was stressful. Roundabouts are everywhere. The streets can be incredibly narrow. In some areas, you feel like you are driving down an alley or someone’s driveway, wondering what you will do when another car comes toward you.
Then there was parking.
We drove into York for an All Creatures Great and Small tour, and I thought we needed to leave early because I wanted plenty of time to find parking. Thankfully, we did. It took nearly an hour to find a place to leave the car.
That could have ruined the day if I had let it.
Instead, it became part of the story.
The tour itself was a wonderful experience. My wife and I have enjoyed watching All Creatures Great and Small, and it was fun to see some of the locations where the show is filmed. We even saw part of a town being prepared for filming later that day. It was interesting to see how a modern town can be transformed to look like another time.
That is really what this whole trip felt like in many ways.
It was a chance to look back.
To see where my family came from.
To think about the roads they may have traveled.
To appreciate the way one generation can influence another, even when they are separated by many years and many miles.
Legacy Lives in the Details
As we celebrate a century of luxury and legacy at David Douglas Diamonds, I keep coming back to the idea that our story is about more than jewelry.
Yes, we work with diamonds, gold, gemstones, and beautiful pieces that mark some of life’s biggest occasions. But behind every piece of jewelry is a story. Behind every family business is a story. And behind every tradition, there is usually someone who cared enough to pass it on.
My grandfather may not have known that one day his grandson would travel back to England, stand near the places where he was born, and think about a rabbit’s foot at a jeweler’s bench.
But that is the beauty of legacy.
You do not always know how your life will influence someone down the road.
You simply show up. You work hard. You care for people. You build something worth passing on. And you leave behind small reminders that tell the next generation where they came from.
For me, this trip to England was filled with beautiful countryside, unfamiliar roads, wonderful places to stay, tea rooms, old towns, and a few stressful moments behind the wheel.
But more than anything, it was a reminder of home.
Not necessarily the home where I live today, but the kind of home that comes from knowing your story, honoring your family, and being grateful for the people who came before you.
And now, when I sit at my jewelry bench and see that little rabbit’s foot in the corner of my bench pan, I will think about England.
I will think about my grandfather.
And I will be reminded that even the smallest things can carry a whole lot of history.