We all have a favorite piece of jewelry. Perhaps it’s a wedding ring, an antique brooch that once belonged to your grandmother, a pair of earrings bought on an exotic vacation. It could even be a macaroni necklace made by your kindergartener or a friendship bracelet crafted by a dear friend who wears the matching piece. While many of us have jewelry boxes overflowing with rings, necklaces, and bracelets we mix and match with our daily outfit changes, it’s never hard to pick out that one piece that holds special meaning for our lives. This jewelry is important to us because it’s a one of a kind—something that no one else has or could have. Most of the time, the jewelry that holds a special place in our hearts is handcrafted.

Whether crafted by a local artist or imported directly from the studios of foreign jewelers thousands of miles away, handcrafted jewelry is a precious possession, every piece meaningful and truly unique. Sure, mass-produced jewelry is easy to find and usually cheap, but it’s quality and artistry is underwhelming, to say the least. Here are a few reasons why you should choose handcrafted jewelry over the factory-made, store-bought alternatives.

You Are What You Wear: Handcrafted vs. Mass-produced Jewelry

1. Handcrafted Jewelry is Unique

One of the most important reasons many of us wear jewelry is to make a statement. A single strand of pearls indicates sophistication and class where an eyebrow ring probably does not. Some people prefer large, colorful, and funky pieces that layer on top of each other and may send a message to others that you’re artsy or just a bold dresser. Others favor jewelry with meaningful symbols like religious or ethnic icons, plants, animals, or celestial images.

No two pieces of handmade jewelry are exactly the same. Handcrafted jewelry is a great way to make whatever kind of statement you want to make. Because it takes so much longer to make, each piece is only available in a very small batch. Unlike a piece you bought at a retail store, handmade jewelry is a one-of-a-kind. You’re unlikely to ever encounter someone else with the exact same piece—it’s uniquely you.

2. Handcrafted Jewelry Uses Better Materials

When it comes to handmade jewelry, quality counts. After all, an artisan’s livelihood depends on his or her ability to grow an audience or be picked from among the many options at craft fairs and online stores. While most mass-produced jewelry uses cheap materials that fall apart or lose their good looks after a few years, handcrafted jewelry is made to last a lifetime—or longer!

Jewelry makers handpick their gem, stone, and precious metal distributors, forming long-term personal relationships with them in order to get the best quality materials. Every piece of the ring, necklace, or bracelet is individually selected by the artisan to ensure cohesion and beauty.

3. Handcrafted Jewelry is Made with Care

Most artisans do not make jewelry because of income—they make jewelry because that’s what they love to do. Each jeweler is an artist, blending a creative vision with practical skills and dexterity to produce unique and beautiful pieces that are a reflection of themselves and that become a reflection of their customers. And unlike mass-produced jewelry, whose creation process is overseen by more machines than human eyes, handmade jewelry is painstakingly crafted to be the best it can be each step of the way. For mass-produced jewelry the construction process is much the same piece by piece. But for each piece of handcrafted jewelry, deliberate decisions and choices were made during design and construction, always with an eye for detail and the final product.

4. Handcrafted Jewelry Has a Story

From the artisan to the customer’s wrist, neck or ear, each piece of handcrafted jewelry has a long story that is unique to it. From a creative idea that was transformed into a design to a piece that spoke to a customer, the perfect handcrafted jewelry is often stumbled upon when least expected. It’s a way to communicate a message from the artist to the customer and to those who see it worn. It often holds meaning related to a specific time in a person’s life or a special place, a memory that should never be forgotten.

While it can be tempting to buy the cheap trinkets on display at the department store, handcrafted jewelry is an investment worth making. It helps artisans to continue to pursue their passion, it gives you a better quality piece of jewelry that will last for years, and unique and interesting pieces make for fantastic dinner party conversation. For your next gift purchase, an upcoming event, or as a present to yourself, consider exploring the selection of handcrafted jewelry that Paykoc offers, which is created by some of the world's best artisans in Turkey.