Think about it. Would you rather have a mass-produced print of your favorite painting, or would you rather have the original? A bespoke sartorial creation or a dress from a store on the high street? Or for that matter, a gourmet meal curated by a chef who understands your likes and dislikes or a packaged sandwich from your nearest supermarket? If given a choice, which one would you rather have? The choice is pretty obvious, isn’t it? You might have already guessed what we are leading up to.
What makes handmade jewelry unique and sets it apart from machine-made jewelry is the passion, personality and emotion behind each piece. The websites that sell handmade jewelry like Angara nowadays offer customers the best of both worlds. You can shop from the comfort of your home and yet have a specialist jeweler guide you through the process of customizing a piece for you. We could give you many reasons about why you should pick handmade jewelry, but here are the top six.
1. Original, One-of-a-Kind Pieces
The main difference between machine-made jewelry and handmade jewelry is the production process. Most machine-made jewelry pieces are made in assembly-line scenarios. What this means is that the various components of a particular jewelry piece are made simultaneously and then assembled to create the final piece. Handmade jewelry, on the other hand, is made from scratch by a craftsman. This involves designing, selecting the materials and crafting each piece individually. It is for this reason that no two handmade pieces are alike. So, when you buy a piece of handmade jewelry, you get an original!
2. Sparklers That Tell a Story
Making jewelry by hand is an art. And it is through art that a person expresses themselves. When an artisan creates a piece of jewelry, he or she is telling their story through their work, and you become part of their narrative. Every piece has a backstory and this makes the piece more significant and creates connection. After all, it is not the metal or the stone that makes a sparkler valuable, it is the connection and the sentiment you feel towards it that creates its value. Another aspect of handmade jewelry is the emotion behind it. A craftsman sits patiently and cuts, solders, polishes, casts and shapes the pieces that will tell his story. This way, the legacy of his craft remains. Apart from this, you can also share your thoughts with your jeweler and get them to create a piece that tells your unique story.
3. Let’s You Support Small Businesses
Let’s face it. The first few years of the 2020s have not been the greatest for economies everywhere. Among many other small business owners, jewelers and jewelry designers have taken a hit. Now, more than ever, they need the collective support of the community. The shop local movement is gaining momentum and has increased the prospects of small business owners for the better. Buying from small businesses goes a long way to support entrepreneurs and stimulate the economy.
4. Better Customer Service
Imagine being all excited about purchasing a piece of jewelry and walking into a store, and being met by a salesperson who is only interested in making a sale and not the product itself. This is often the case with bigger brands. The person selling you the necklace has no connection to it, since he was not involved in the process of manufacturing it, and he was only appointed to sell it. Smaller, family-owned jewelry businesses, online or offline, offer much better customer service. From start to finish, they are invested in the piece they are creating, and that connection comes through during the sale. They are able to convincingly answer your questions about the design process, material selection and creation of the piece. With individual craftsmen and smaller businesses, you get better customer satisfaction because you have direct access to the jewelry experts.
5. Incredible Process
A custom piece of jewelry is more than just a thoughtful keepsake. Spare a minute to consider the skills a craftsman has to acquire in order to be able to craft a piece of jewelry. When you describe the intent behind getting the jewelry, a craftsman will get to work and come up with a few draft designs for you to choose from. Then you, the customer, can tweak the designs and suggest your own customizations, which the craftsman can then incorporate into the design. Then comes the selection of the metal, stone, setting and proportions. All this takes an in-depth knowledge of how stones and metals behave, how to preserve them, what heat and pressure do to said stones and metals, what materials are best suited with what stones and so on. Placing an order is easy, but have you ever thought about what actually goes on behind the scenes? It is years and years of knowledge that an artisan acquires and implements when he makes a piece of jewelry from scratch, and you will be doing your bit to save this art form by buying handmade sparklers!
6. Higher Quality and Lesser Wastage
Precious metals and stones are mined from the earth and these are limited resources. Mass production as a concept is flawed, and large corporations are only worried about their profit margins rather than the environmental impact their mining might have. Patterns in consumer behavior need to change with more customers proving they will pay a good price for something that is sourced ethically and created with a smaller carbon footprint. Since handmade jewelers produce their products in small batches, they are more mindful of the quality of the materials they use and conserve every last resource and adopt a minimum-waste policy.
Buying handmade jewelry is a more eco-friendly, sustainable option. Mass production overuses raw materials and the focus of big corporations will remain to be profits. This tends not to be the case with small businesses. Handmade jewelers practice their craft out of love for it and are mindful of their methods. When you buy handmade jewelry crafted with thought and passion, you are ultimately investing in longevity, better quality materials that are sustainably sourced and minimal wastage.
