Handmade Jewelry: Differences in Quality

Introducing a new wrap bracelet for those that like the look of black and white and sparkles.
This bracelet has been made with black and white glass beads, black and white lamp work beads, and crystal AB beads in 4mm. The crystals sparkle and shimmer in the light!
At the end dangles a little trinket key with a sparkly crystal in the center to add a touch of elegance to the bracelet.
This bracelet can be yours if you mark SOLD in the comments. Message me with your email address and mailing address, I will send you an invoice!
The price is $14.99 with standard USPS shipping, if you wish for an item quicker we can work out the details the cost of shipping will be an extra cost! Visit Skippy's Trinket's Fanpage to Order!

All handmade jewelry is unique, but not all of this jewelry is created equally. There are some major differences in quality depending on the method that was used to create the jewelry and the skill of the jewelry maker.

There are two main ways that handmade jewelry is created. One method involves using glue or epoxy to attach beads and trinkets to the bracelet or necklace pendant. This is the most commonly found method of making handmade jewelry because it is the easiest type of jewelry making to do. However, it has some major quality issues.

First, the beads and trinkets can easily come off with a small amount of force. They may also simply fall off when the glue or epoxy fails over time, which will eventually happen if your jewelry even lasts that long. They can also come off the jewelry in the shower or pool because getting the glue or epoxy wet breaks it down.  Skippy's Trinkets uses no glues or epoxies.

The up side to having this type of handmade jewelry is that you will be able to fix it yourself. All you need is a bit of super glue or epoxy and you can stick that bead or fake gem right back in place. If, that is, you can find it when it falls off. Otherwise the piece becomes ugly and fairly useless, and is basically just trash.

This is a Peruvian natural stone bracelet in alpaca silver made with artistic wire designs. This is an 8 inch bracelet with loops and curves and wire twists. Sitting in the center is a natural black stone in a teardrop shape with smaller black stones
Alpaca silver is an alloy of zinc, iron, nickel and copper. It will not tarnish or rust and it is very lightweight!
This bracelet can be yours if you mark SOLD in the comments. Message me with your email address and mailing address, I will send you an invoice!
This bracelet can be yours if you mark SOLD in the comments. Message me with your email address and mailing address, I will send you an invoice!
The price is $10.99 includes standard USPS shipping, if you wish for an item quicker we can work out the details the cost of shipping will be an extra cost! Visit Skippy's Trinkets Fanpage to order!!

The other popular method of handmade jewelry making is wire wrapping. There are no sauntering irons or epoxies used in this method of jewelry making. Instead, the high quality wire is twisted and looped on itself in and around the beads and stones used in making the jewelry. This means that they will not come off. There is no risk of a weld coming loose or a piece coming off. Everything is firmly in place with the wire looping.

About the only thing you have to worry about with wire wrapped jewelry is if the wire somehow breaks. This is highly unlikely, and would require some excessive force or wire cutters to accomplish. However, if it did happen, the piece would not be repairable in most cases. In some cases it may be able to be welded back together, but the weld would likely not hold for a long period of time. In addition, the weld may be visible depending on where the break is, taking away from the inherent beauty of the jewelry.

It is fairly clear from these examples which type of handmade jewelry is of the higher quality. Wire wrapped jewelry wins hands down every time. You can distinguish wire wrapped jewelry very easily. If you are ever in doubt, ask the maker what method was used in creating the jewelry. Even though it is not as easy to be repaired, it is much more durable and typically more beautiful, making it a much higher quality jewelry.