What are Jim and Della's most valued possessions in The Gift of the Magi?

O. Henry tells about Della's and Jim's most prized possessions in a single rather fanciful paragraph early in the story.

Now, there were two possessions of the James Dillingham Youngs in which they both took a mighty pride. One was Jim's gold watch that had been his father's and his grandfather's.The other was Della's hair. Had the Queen of Sheba lived in the flat across the airshaft, Della would have let her hair hang out the window some day to dry just to depreciate Her Majesty's jewels and gifts. Had King Solomon been the janitor, with all his treasures piled up in the basement, Jim would have pulled out his watch every time he passed, just to see him pluck at his beard from envy.

The big irony in the story is that each sells his or her most prized possession in order to buy a Christmas present for the other, so that they both lose their prized possessions and acquire new possessions which are useless. But the emphasis throughout the story is on Della. it is told from her point of view. We see her being shorn by Madame Sofronie. We see her "ransacking" stores to find the ideal present for her husband. We see her trying to do something with what is left of her hair. We do not see Jim agonizing over getting Della a present or selling his watch. He is kept offstage, so to speak, until the end of the story. Readers will always remember "The Gift of the Magi" as a story about a young woman who sold her beautiful hair to get enough money to buy her husband a Christmas present. In discussing the story, it would probably be advisable to focus on Della's problems and not attempt to give both characters' sacrifices equal weight. 

What were Della and Jim's two prized possessions?

In a more conceptual way, Jim and Della's most prized possessions are one another and the love they feel for each other. While love is not a tangible possession, like a watch or one's hair, it is clearly of greater value to the young couple because they are willing to sacrifice their material possessions in order to buy thoughtful gifts for each other; the reason they are so anxious and desirous to buy thoughtful gifts for one another is because of their shared love. Near the end of the story, the narrator says, 

But let me speak a last word to the wise of these days: Of all who give gifts, these two were the most wise. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are the most wise. Everywhere they are the wise ones. They are the magi.

Jim and Della are the most wise, even more so than the wise men who attended Christ's birth, because they realize that their own sacrifice—sacrifices they were willing to make out of love—is ultimately more valuable than anything they might own. In this sense, then, you could even argue that the gifts they buy for one another are their most valuable possessions—not because they have are worth a great deal of money, but because they are symbolic of the love Jim and Della share and their willingness to sacrifice for one another.

What were Della and Jim's two prized possessions?

Della's prized possession is her long hair. At the time the story was published it was customary for women to let their hair grow extremely long. They would put it up in a bouffant fashion which came to be called the Gibson Girl style due to the popularity of the magazine illustrations of pretty girls by Charles Dana Gibson. Naturally the long hair required a lot of attention, but most girls and women spent their time at home like Della Young in "The Gift of the Magi." She could spend hours washing, drying, and setting her hair.

Jim's prized possession was a pocket watch he had inherited from his father, who had inherited it from his father. The fact that it was a family heirloom added to the watch's intrinsic value for Jim. Men carried their big pocket watches in a vest pocket with a watch chain and fob, attached. The chain stretched across the vest and had a weight at the other end to protect the watch from accidentally being dropped. If a man should happen to drop his watch the chain would keep it from falling more than a foot or two. The weight, or fob, at the other end would keep the chain from slipping out of the other pocket of the vest. All men who wore suits in those days also wore vests.

Since Della's hair and Jim's watch were their only valuable possessions, it was obviously a great sacrifice for both of them to sell them to buy each other Christmas presents.

What were Della and Jim's two prized possessions?

Good point about the proverb!

It's often difficult to teach great writing in a short period of time in the classroom. Combining teaching of the technical elements with modeling often helps cement student understanding and appreciation of good writing. To that end, I love the classical method of teaching, gleaned from the Renaissance masters! One of the ways students at the time learned was to copy the works of the masters.

Young artists also learned from copying celebrated works that could be seen in their own cities—Michelangelo, for example, copied paintings by Giotto in Florence’s church of Santa Croce—and they were encouraged to travel if they could, to Rome especially, to continue their visual education.

Don't get me wrong: the students did spend long periods of time mastering the technical elements. Teachers in the classroom today expend tireless efforts to teach the same things. Of course, students were supposed to give credit where it was due, just like today, in order to avoid charges of plagiarism.

Combined with the copying work, students eventually developed their own style. (the modeling of effective diction in eNotes Homework Help answers presents a very natural and organic process in helping students develop necessary skills).

I think this is a wonderful example of your proverb!

What were Della and Jim's two prized possessions?

Jim and Della both have possessions that they have cherished their whole lives.  Jim has a gold pocket watch that his father had given him and his grandfather had given to his father.  This was a family heirloom and was meant to be passed on from generation to generation.  Jim may some day pass it on to his son or daughter to keep it in the family.  Della's treasure was her hair.  Her hair went all the way to the floor in beautiful tresses.

Both of these possessions meant as much to them as the jewels of the Royal Family.

What gift did Della purchase for Jim in "The Gift of the Magi"?

Della wants to buy her husband Jim a nice Christmas present but has only managed to save $1.87 by scrimping all year. The author does not specify what kind of present she has in mind until after she has sold her beautiful long hair and raised another twenty dollars. Then when she has the money to spend, we learn that she has had only one kind of present in mind all along. She goes to many different shops looking for what she wants.

She found it at last. It surely had been made for Jim and no one else. There was no other like it in any of the stores, and she had turned all of them inside out. It was a platinum fob chain simple and chaste in design, properly proclaiming its value by substance alone and not by meretricious ornamentation—as all good things should do. It was even worthy of The Watch. As soon as she saw it she knew that it must be Jim's. 

The watch fob chain costs her twenty-one dollars, so she has only eighty-seven cents left. Men did not wear wristwatches in those days. Those who could afford watches carried big, heavy pocket watches, usually in their vest pockets where they would not get scratched up by coins or keys. It was customary to keep a chain and weight (a fob) on the watch, so that if it were accidentally dropped it would not fall all the way to the ground and probably leave both the case and the intricate  internal mechanism damaged. Since Jim had an exceptionally good watch, it obviously needed an exceptional chain and fob to go with it.

Everyone knows what happens in the story. Della sells her hair to buy the watch chain and Jim sells the watch to buy expensive combs for Della's hair. The story is sad, but both are comforted by the knowledge that they still have each other.

What do Jim and Della value most at the start and end of "The Gift of the Magi"?

Jim and Della value non-material things more than anything else.

While the question seems to imply that what Jim and Della value at the beginning of the narrative differs from what they value in the end, there is evidence to the contrary. Granted, although Della is proudest of her luxurious hair, "shining like a cascade of brown water," and Jim is proud of his gold watch--

Had King Solomon been the janitor, with all his treasures piled up in the basement, Jim would have pulled out his watch every time he passed just to see him pluck his beard from envy--

nevertheless, the young couple obviously value most their love for each other. For, as narrator O. Henry mentions, despite having his salary cut, Jim is "greatly hugged" by his wife Della, who loves him as much now as she has before his wages were lowered.
Also, that Della would so quickly sacrifice her beautiful tresses, in which she takes a "mighty pride," in order to buy the watch fob for her beloved Jim is proof of her placing a higher value on love than on a physical possession. For, her greatest wish is to bring joy to her beloved husband. 
Likewise, that Jim, who is so proud of his heirloom, the gold watch, would willingly sell it in order to give his wife the pleasure of possessing beautiful combs she has envied is clearly proof of his higher regard for her happiness and love than for material things.

Truly, then, Della and Jim Dillingham are a young couple who know what it means to love since they acknowledge the unselfishness of real love. Moreover, they are willing to deprive themselves of the pleasure of material objects in order to provide the other a gift of love. Indeed, they are, as O. Henry declares, "of all who give gifts...the wisest. They are the Magi."

What do Jim and Della value most at the start and end of "The Gift of the Magi"?

At the beginning of the story, Jim and Della value things more than anything else.  For Jim, his prized possession is the watch that he has inherited from his grandfather.  For Della, it is her long beautiful hair that she prizes most.

Of course, in the middle of the story, they each go and get rid of their prized possession.  They do this so they can each buy a present for the other.

By the end of the story, then, what they value most is each other and their love for each other.  They have realized that these are much more important than things are.

What resources do Della and Jim use in "The Gift of the Magi"?

Della and Jim are a young married couple. Their material resources are rather slim so they improvise to make the best of their situation. Their primary resources, which are not material, are what enable them to weather not only the financial straits they are temporarily experiencing but also any hardship that might come their way. Their love for each other and their generosity of spirit are what matters the most. Although these emotional qualities also cause them to spend what they do have, their reasons for making these decisions are more important than the immediate consequences of their actions.

The gifts they choose and the sacrifices they make are connected to their inner resources. Although Della is a bit vain about her hair, it is a natural part of her person rather than something she purchased. Jim’s watch may be valuable, but he treasures it because it was a legacy from his grandfather.

Each of them is attuned to something that the other values. Jim would enjoy seeing Della’s glorious tresses adorned with a lovely comb while Della would gain pleasure from Jim’s having the appropriate chain to go with his grandfather’s gift. In the end, even though their intentions are not successful, they both understand that the other’s choice of gift represents both their understanding and their desire to make the other happy, even at personal cost.