Many handcrafted jewellers use manufacturing techniques in their work. So let's break down what we mean by the term ‘manufactured'.

I'll let you in on a little-known controversy in the jewellery world. The term handmade can be a loaded one. It's technically defined as hand-forged jewellery. It's used to denote a more premium product and justify the higher costs associated.

But how do you define handmade? Is something crafted with stamping, casting, 3D printing, wax or a combination - are those things not made by hand as well? Based on the burns and scars on our team's fingers, we indeed agree that they are.

Artists use various techniques that include technology, chemistry, and more to paint a painting, and I doubt someone would consider a mixed media canvas “manufactured."

We do recognise that highly skilled jewellers who hand forge jewellery justify the higher costs of their pieces because of the skilled labour involved but in the end, that's the only reason these products are more premium.

If modern technology can make the crafting process faster and cheaper - why wouldn't they? Machines are available to compliment the hand-making process. The finished piece and the creative process are what we value most.

At Leonardo Fernandez Jewellery, we are design-focused. If we take the labour out of a process using a manufacturing technique, our team will put that extra time, energy and cost into the design.

Simple rings are relatively easy to hand forge, but more elements are left up to chance (and risk) once the design gets a little more complicated. At our studio, we love a good design challenge, and we will throw every technique available to us at solving the puzzle of how to make it, depending on what's required.

Handmade elements with manufacturing methods will coexist in our jewellery pieces because this is how we make the best use of the tools and experience we have at our disposal. And this is how we give our clients the highest quality and most unique custom jewellery.

Something you won't find at most jewellery design studios is 3D printing prototypes and computer-aided design (CAD). We do everything in-house and have the computer and design skills to do so. We don't outsource any of our production to other trades. Bigger picture; this means we have complete control over every step required to make your custom jewellery.

We think that however you create your art or craft, what matters most is the end result.

So the key differences between ‘handmade’ and ‘manufactured’ depends on how you define it. When you hold your treasured object, does it make a difference how it came into the world?

There is no difference between handmade fine jewellery made by skilled craftsmen and handcrafted fine jewellers.

"We conceptualise something like a relationship and materialise it into an object. To us, that's far more important than the process we use to create it." Leonardo Fernandez