Jewellery and ornaments have been handcrafted by civilizations centuries before fast and cheap fashion even came into picture. Yet, even after all these years there’s something so alluring about handmade jewellery that simply cannot be reciprocated by mass produced accessories. If you don’t already love handmade jewellery as much as we do, then here’s 9 things you should know about it that will make you want to choose it over and over again.
1. Buying Handmade Jewellery Means Paying for Someone’s Time
Each piece of jewellery that is crafted by hand takes a painstaking amount of time. From ideation and design to sourcing the materials. From assembling the ornament to giving it finishing touches, a tremendous amount of focus and time is invested in creating in each piece. You’re not simply for the material of which the ornament is made of, but all the time that jewllery make put into that piece specifically to make it just right.
2. Each Piece Comes with A Story
If you’re buying handmade jewellery directly from the maker then make sure you ask them for the story behind it. There is always a story. What inspired the design, how did they assemble the piece, why did they choose a particular colour or stone, what was running in their head as they saw their idea come to life…there’s always a story!
3. You Get Unparalleled Exclusivity
Handmade jewellery is truly one of a kind, no other custom made ornament can give you as much exclusivity as handmade jewellery can. From choosing the raw material, to choosing the design and adding other kinds of personal touch, you can collaborate with your jewellery designer from start to finish.
4. Handcrafted with Love
Jewellery designing is an art form and for jewellery makers it’s an outlet of creative expression. Every tiny step in the process of jewellery making is carried out with utmost care and love, because each creation is like a baby for the artist. When you buy handmade jewellery, you’re actually buying a wearable labour of love.
5. Personal Quality Checks
Making jewellery by hand calls for enormous levels of attention to detail. Jewellers are well aware that the quality of their product is directly associated with their personal brand, and even one faulty ornament can damage their image. Hence, the jewellery maker is constantly checking for quality of the design at every step of assembly, ensuring that the final product they put out for sale is worth every dime on the price tag.
6. High on Ethics and Sustainability Scale
Since no piece of jewellery is mass produced, makers of handmade jewellery are always conscious of the material they source for their craft. Instead of opting for cheap supplies, jewellery artisans will choose to buy sustainable materials that are sourced ethically – after all, that is what sets them apart from the big corporations.
7. Inspired Designs
Jewellery artisans tend to find inspiration from their daily life and the beauty that surrounds them, which makes their designs way more alluring and charming than factory made fashion jewellery.
8. Personal Touch
It’s not just the jewellery that gets a personal touch when it’s handmade, but also the packaging. Artisanal jewellery is often hand packed into endearing Instagram-worthy packaging, and at times even accompanied by a handwritten thank you note from the artist!
9. You’re Likely Supporting More Than One Local Business
One of the things that the pandemic has taught us is the importance of supporting your local businesses to sustain their livelihoods. Artists who make handmade jewellery usually source all their material for both the ornaments as well as packaging from other small businesses. When you purchase a handmade piece of jewellery, you’re in turn supporting all the local vendors that the jewellery maker sources from!