10 Things You Might Not Know About Handmade Jewellery By LuLu & Charles Jewellery
The personal attention to detail and love that silversmiths & goldsmiths infuse into their work is evident in the masterpieces that they create. What most people don’t understand is why handmade jewellery is more of an investment than it’s mass produced counterparts… I strongly believe it’s impossible to replicate the look or feel of a piece of handmade jewellery, which has been ingrained with the passion and skill of it’s maker.
1. No mass production machinery is involved: By definition, handmade jewellery is literally that, made by the “hands” of the designer maker. Each piece of jewellery is carefully sawed, carved, shaped, filed and soldered, using specialist hand tools of the trade, without the use of heavy manufacturing machinery. In this digital age we live, a machine can churn out hundreds of units an hour while a pair of human hands can only make a fraction of the amount. The only downside to the job… My hands look like this!
2. The value of time: As previously mentioned, since there is no digital or heavy manufacturing machinery involved in the production of our jewellery, each piece of handmade jewellery takes an incredible amount of time, effort and patience to produce. Hours can be spent on the design of a bespoke piece of jewellery for a client, before it can be started and depending on the complexity of the design, the time it takes to hand make can take weeks.
3. The Maker’s Process: The maker has a very personal relationship with each piece they individually design and hand make. The design process and finish is key to the value of each individual piece they make, as a maker’s energy, heart & soul goes into each and every piece that is produced.
4. Materials: Handmade jewellery is made from the highest quality of precious metal & gemstones available. It’s difficult to regulate or even know exactly what alloys are used in mass produced factories where metals are blended together to create mass produced costume jewellery. At LuLu & Charles all our jewellery is handmade from gold or silver flat milled sheet or wire sourced from highly reputable & ethical British suppliers.
5. Sustainability: Jewellery makers are often dedicated to sustainability and ethically sourced materials. Each piece of LuLu & Charles jewellery is handmade from ethically sourced material including Sterling Silver, Argentium Silver & Gold from the UK.
6. Quality: Small scale production is almost always higher quality because the ability to track and control the process from start to finish is an intrinsic part of the making process. Silversmiths & Goldsmiths across the world are extremely proud of the work they produce. They aren’t going to let something of inferior quality leave their workshop with their name to it.
7. Locally Handmade with Love & Care: There is a huge trend to “buy local” recently. Reducing your carbon footprint and supporting local artisans, designers and makers is good for the environment and has never been so important, particularly given the current economic climate. Artisans and makers inject love, energy and passion into each piece of work they hand make. Along with the added value in purchasing a piece of handmade jewellery you are also buying a truly one-of-a-kind product, as even if the handmade piece is part of an limited edition – no maker can hand make two pieces that are 100% identical. Therefore you are the only person with that specific piece of jewellery which is rather special.
8. Service: By dealing direct with small independent businesses and individual makers you cut out the middle man and can build a relationship with your local jewellery. As a small family run business we deliver first class and personal customer service, thanks to social media, email & What’s App we share progress shots with our customers, throughout the design & making process, to ensure the final piece is exactly what the customer wants.
9. Satisfaction: A great satisfaction can be had from knowing that the jewellery you buy is helping to support an independent designer maker and will enable them to carry on creating more unique work… So the next time you’re consider purchasing a piece of handmade jewellery, remember you are investing in a hand manufactured piece of jewellery, supporting something so much bigger and better than a mass produced product…it’s rather special!
10. It’s Addictive: Yes it’s true… Once you have experienced the pleasure of owning a piece of handmade jewellery there’s no going back. Jewellery should be a powerful and intimate expression of thoughts and feelings, holding symbolic and personal meaning to the wearer.