Many people have asked me why I charge the prices I do for my handcrafted jewelry, versus what handcrafted jewelry from China, Korea, and other countries cost.
So, let me explain the differences.
The "handcrafted" jewelry made in these countries is not actually handcrafted. It is hand assembled. What is the difference?
Handcrafted means that the person making the item hand crafts each part, as far as possible, and then assembles it together. I don't make the cabochons I use yet, but many of the ones that I do use were made by an individual. That means that they made the mold, poured the resin, etc...
I do tumble and polish some of the stones that I use to make jewelry, but not completely on my end. Again, there is an artisan that I buy stones from, that cuts the stones, polishes and shapes them etc.... by hand, using the appropriate machines. It's not computer controlled.
A lot of these companies from China, Korea, etc.... make ALL of the parts by machine, then someone assembles the pieces by hand. So they are NOT truly handcrafted, or handmade, but rather, hand assembled, at sweat shops and child labor shops.
Whenever I can do so, I buy from other artisans who make the beads, cut and polish the stones, make the ear wires, etc... themselves. I do not advocate sweat shops, or child labor shops, and would rather help a fellow artisan out than buy supplies made under immoral conditions.
Now, as for the prices, there are several things to consider.
The first factor is that this is handcrafted. It is how I, and the artisans I buy my supplies from, make our living in a lot of cases.
So, you have the cost of the materials and supplies. There is also the cost of the tools.
Then you have labor that can include designing the piece, figuring out how much material it takes, which often includes making that piece using practice material. How much do you think someone's labor should be worth?