Merle White is editorial director of Interweave's Gem & Jewelry Group and editor-in-chief of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist.

Personal Connection

	This antique ring was made in a time and place I can hardly imagine, yet wearing the ring is literally carrying a piece of that world around with me. Photo: Jim Lawson

Every time I slip my finger into my antique bronze ring, it sends chills down my spine.  I love how the newly applied rim of gold perfectly sets off the chocolate-brown patina with its hint of bluish green.  I love how the precision of that gold contrasts with the roughly forged contours of the ring's shank and the crudely worked design on top. But most of all I love the intimate connection wearing it gives me with the ring's original, long-anonymous maker, who lived at least a few hundred years ago somewhere on the other side of the world.

Handcrafted, Special Touch
Handmade jewelry is special for many reasons. It carries that almost direct connection from maker to wearer, like a handshake or caress once removed.  Like any jewelry, handwrought jewelry can mark a special occasion or make the wearer look and feel special on any occasion.  Handmade jewelry can look like a classic or be absolutely unique, use materials that are rare or found every day, follow an ancient tradition or tell a personal, contemporary story — but every piece of handcrafted jewelry is a little different from every other.

These lifelike, handcrafted bronze, silver, and copper leaves were fold formed by Hadar Jacobson from metal clay. Photo: Jim Lawson

Make Your Own Handmade Jewelry

Every time you make a piece of your own jewelry, whether for yourself, as a gift, or to sell, you make the world a little bit more special, express yourself in a lasting, wearable art form, and connect with others. At Jewelry Making Daily, we're committed to helping you connect with other jewelry makers, hone your jewelry making skills, and expand your jewelry design vocabulary. You can start right now with this free e-Book offer.  In Making Jewelry with Jewelry Making Daily, How to Make Jewelry: 3 Free Handcrafted Jewelry Projects, you'll find clear, illustrated instructions from expert jewelry makers for an impressive variety of jewelry forms and styles using many different techniques. 

Learn It All with Jewelry Making Daily
Learn to make a flexible, silver and gold-tone bracelet with nothing more than jump rings, pliers, and a clasp. See how to shape copper, bronze, and silver clays into elegant leaf shapes through the technique of fold forming — then attach a jump ring and wear one or several suspended in earrings or from a necklace. Hear firsthand how one artist developed a special setting for an unusually cut stone she just adored that is sure to give you ideas of your own.

		This flexible bracelet is made by linking jump rings in an interesting weave.  You start like this:

	The angled cut of the red jasper in this pendant by Lexi Erickson was too interesting to cover up, so the designer left it visible. Photo: Jim Lawson

Enjoy Making and More
Every piece you make may not be destined to be dug up as an artifact centuries from now, but every piece, no matter how basic, will carry a little bit of you with it into the future, and make the world a slightly more special place. That's a lot of return on an investment that's a pleasure in itself!

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