Men and women have adorned themselves with handmade jewelry since long before the age of reason. Bouquets, bracelets woven grass, shells, and stone; as it was the first decorations to beautify the human body. We may have been wearing jewelry as far as 75,000 years ago - 30,000 years earlier than previously believed - according to a recent report by National Geographic News.
For millennia, jewelry styles and materials have evolved along with the progress of civilization. From the Stone Age to the Bronze Age, from the Iron Age to the Industrial Revolution (and seemingly back again!), Styles have changed, modernized, and then often returned to their most basic forms and essential elements.
Today, jewelry primarily machine made, allowing manufacturers to produce uniform jewelry designs much more economical than handcrafting and hand-casting of traditional techniques allow. Casting is now quickly process into a uniform mold components such as metal, plastic, and resin, so that even complex jewelry designs to be produced with speed and uniformity. mechanical punch presses and weapons factories, as well, are also often used in jewelry manufacturing industry today, to help ensure the production of consistent, highly profitable products.
In the last decade, however, the modern market has experienced a resurgence of interest in handmade jewelry, and greater value placed on jewelry design unique and limited edition, made by hand with ancient crafting processes.
With this new demand, jewelry artisans all over the world are enjoying improved sales and recognition for their talents and skills. Many specialty galleries - and even major department stores - now feature an increasing range of handmade jewelry. With the advent and spread of the Internet as a sales tool worldwide, many international jewelry artisans, even located in remote areas, are also enjoying the benefits of direct sales to customers away.
The host Novica handmade jewelry market on the Internet, featuring some 15,000 unique designs, direct from master artisans in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Regina Bimadona, director of the regional office in Bali Novica, herself a jewelry artist, working with jewelers in Bali and Java, helping them bring their collections, and the unique stories behind the collections, to appreciative customers worldwide. Bimadona specializes in helping jewelry that still makes a limited edition collection with the traditional technique, handmade.
In the following interview, Bimadona outlines the basic differences between handmade and mass-produced jewelry, and the benefits and drawbacks of both handmade and machine-made techniques.
