Whether you are looking for pieces to add to your collection or shopping for birthday presents, there are brilliant online jewellery shops for handcrafted earrings, pendants, jewellery sets and necklaces.
Genuine gemstone jewelry is as beautiful as it is unique. For a wonderful buying experience, follow these five tips.
1. Find a reputable source. This may go without saying, but don’t confuse commercially manufactured jewelry with handmade jewellery. The latter is made by artisans that take great pride in their work, the former is mass produced, usually abroad. Look for a company which has customer reviews not only on their own website but on an independent site such as FreeIndex.
2. Take full advantage of customisation. When jewellery is hand made, it can usually be customised in any number of ways, from the lengths of necklaces and bracelets to the types of gemstones used in pendants and rings. You don’t need to be happy with “almost good enough.” Instead, you can get the piece you’ve always dreamed of, in exactly the right size.
3. Measure carefully. As customised pieces of jewellery usually are not returnable, it’s important you ensure that the handcrafted jewelry you order will fit. It only takes a few minutes to get a good measurement, and doing so will ensure that the piece of jewelry you order will be exactly what you want. For rings, ask a friend to take a piece of string, put it around the knuckle or largest part of your finger, and mark the string. To determine the size, hold the string against a tape measure. You can also use string to measure for bracelet, or necklace length.
If you are buying for someone else and don’t want to ruin the surprise try to get your hands on a piece of jewellery they wear often and measure that. A good jewelry maker will be able to work with whatever info you can give them.
4. Do your gem stone research. The best online jewelry sites have information on gemstones and how to care for them. Before you buy, read up on the gemstones you are considering. It’s important to know, for example, that aquamarine can be cleaned with dishwashing detergent, but that ultrasonic and steam cleaning may damage the stone. Similarly, you may know that pearls are delicate and can easily absorb liquids, therefore should not be worn in the shower but you might not know that turquoise is also porous and can easily become stained.
5. Ensure that you know what you are buying, just because something is described as silver does not mean that it is in fact silver – it could just mean silver coloured! For example Tibetan Silver is an alloy of copper, and sometimes tin or even nickel, with a very small percentage of actual silver. Reputable sellers will be very clear about what you are buying. When you invest in hand crafted jewellery, you’re not only buying a piece you will treasure, but one that may become an heirloom for future generations. Do not buy jewelry which you suspect may contain nickel or lead as this will cause allergic reactions in most people.
Happy Shopping!
At Trickys Boutique you will find a collection of gorgeous hand made jewelry, which has been handcrafted in Devon, United Kingdom using ethically sourced genuine gem stones.