What should we look for when buying unusual handcrafted jewellery? - Jewelry - Shopping

Unusual handcrafted jewellery is now becoming a very popular choice among fashionable ladies due to the high workmanship which goes into creating each of these into a unique and original design.
In recent years with the rise in popularity of the ever increasing celebrity culture and the influence of fashion magazines this had added in helping to propel costume jewellery into the mainstream, giving it a wider audience among the fashion conscious.
Many stores including the main large department stores have taken up this latest fashion trend offering their customers a wide choice of necklace jewellery, bracelets, earrings and pendants in all the latest styles to compliment the ranges of clothes that they stock
We have to be careful when choosing pieces of handcrafted jewellery as not all crafted jewellery pieces are made from high quality materials, some pieces are crafted from inferior low quality material alloys which can irritate and cause allergic reaction with some people.
When you make the choice to buy handcrafted costume designs it's very important to look for the main signs which should give you an idea if that particular piece is of the highest quality that you are looking for.

Make sure that you always examine the handcrafted jewellery with care before you make a purchase. Most jeweller sellers will not mind if you ask questions about the materials used to design the handcrafted piece. Check the handmade jewellery carefully before you make the purchase as metal alloys may contain lead and it is not advisable to wear handcrafted earrings if there is a large amount of nickel in the post.
Take care to look for scratches in the metal and make sure that all the beads and stones are not cracked or damaged. If you some across any of these this could point to poor craftsman ship and it maybe best not to purchase the piece.
A piece of handcrafted unusual jewellery that is well made and of a high standard will stand the look test and won't fall apart if accidently dropped.
If the piece has been handmade from a plated metal is the colour even? Do you see flaking and see the colour underneath? If the answer is yes to any of these then this is an inferior piece.

Nickel is a commonly used material in silver plated handmade jewellery; it is used in the alloy because it is less expensive than sterling silver and can easily be used to create a vast array of unusual jewellery items.

Sterling silver filled sometimes called Rolled Silver can be a safer alternative to the most common nickel plated products. There are many other nickel- free silver plated materials on that you can purchase containing less nickel and again be very careful that the alloy does not contain lead.

If you purchase a nickel plated product look out for the European Directive there will be symbol displayed which tells you how much nickel is legally allowed in a silver plated product. This will be stamped on the piece of your unusual jewellery but if you are not sure or undecided ask the advice of your jeweller.

You can find many beautiful natural semi-precious gemstones like Rose Quartz, Tigers Eye, Amethyst, Obsidian and Amazonite on the market, but not all of these semi-precious stones are of a high quality or in some cases they are not even natural. How can you tell if you are purchasing a high grade semi-precious gemstone? One way of telling is by asking an expert in this field for their opinion, you jewellery should be able to give you an honest answer to this question.

Beautiful semi-precious stones are grade by letter and this usually runs from A through to G. The higher the letter denotes the higher grade of the natural stone. So a grade A stone is of a higher quality the a semi-precious stone of a grade G. Here is an example; Tiger Eye is grade A, meaning it is of the finest quality stone and one that is much sort after, Coral is graded at B meaning it is not the highest graded stone, but still with some value and Jade might be E again one of the higher grade stones

So what is the outcome of what to do when looking for unusual pieces of handcrafted jewellery? Firstly take care and time with your purchase, look for inferior workmanship whether it is necklace jewellery, pendant, bracelet or a pair of earrings that you are buying. As advice from an expert if you are looking to buy a piece of unusual jewellery that has semi-precious stones set in the design.