Handmade jewelry is continuing to growing in popularity. If you choose the right combination, you can walk away with spectacular looking pieces at relatively inexpensive prices. The issue becomes knowing if you are buying good quality handmade gemstone jewelry or not. The best way to know that is to understand how it’s made so you can understand what to look for when shopping.

1. Gemstones: Nobody is going to take your ear and put it under a microscope to check out if your gemstones are real or not, but do keep in mind that there are “real” gemstones that are very bad quality. That means that you can buy gemstone earrings that look very bad. Don’t be fooled by the word gemstone. Take a look at the quality.

2. Silver. Beware on the word silver. Unfortunately, many times we’ve seen people using the word silver to describe color not the actual type of metal. So it’s possible that you think you are buying silver, but are buying a silver colored metal. It’s important to carefully read product descriptions.

3. If you recall, one of the steps to making your handmade gemstone jewelry was to file off the ends of your wire. If you are shopping in a store, you should run your fingers along the edges of the wire and make sure it’s well filed so that it’s not sharp and doesn’t catch on any of your clothes.

4. Take a look at the loops on the bottom of the earring wire. Make sure they are closed well. If not, chances are that your earrings will come apart. You would be amazed at what little force or movement it takes for the head pin to come off of the earring wire.

5. Check the head pin. The head pin holds the gemstones onto the wire with a little flat part on the end. If the “head” part of the head pin is thin or worn, then you run the chance of having the gemstones slide off. You should run your finger nail against the flat part of the head pin. If you see that it bends or cracks off then do not purchase them. If they are already weak or brittle, then you can only imagine what will happen.

You might escape wearing a duplicate branded garment but keen eyes can easily make out the difference between fake and authentic ones. Imitation jewelry might look good but they are completely outshone in the presence of uniquely handcrafted artisan jewelry.

Every piece of handcrafted jewelry is individually crafted by the artisan. This lends individuality to the ornamental piece, which is essentially lacking in other machine-made pieces. Since the effort invested in crafting these pieces is more, the prices are on the higher side. Hence your choice of the handcrafted jewelry must match your needs and personality.

The funkier kinds have lots on offer. You can choose a bright necklace with beads in all possible odd shapes and sizes. You can also layer several handmade necklaces for an out-n- out unique look. Hand engraved artisan bracelets, or armlets made of chunky semiprecious stones or gems are just the right accessories to express your taste and individuality.

Hand-made jewelry makes excellent gifts as they express your desire to gift the person something truly one of a kind! Purchasing handcrafted artisan jewelry ensures that you bid for the highest quality item and design as the artist can exercise complete control over the entire process of jewelry creation. So why not buy yourself a piece of beautiful handcrafted adornment and be the cynosure of all eyes!