Not All Jewels Are the Same

A reflection on sameness, individuality, and the quiet rebellion of handmade jewellery

At my local Chelsea London gym, I couldn’t help noticing how many women were wearing almost identical jewellery — the same thin or thicker gold bangles stacked in rows, the same little pendant necklaces, all glimmering faintly under fluorescent light. Beautiful in their own way, but eerily uniform.

It made me think about how easily luxury can become anonymous when it’s mass-made — how something as personal as jewellery can lose its voice when everyone is wearing the same piece.

For me, jewellery has always been about individuality — about pieces that feel like they belong to someone, not everyone. The small imperfections, the hand-shaped curves, the quiet irregularities — those are what give a jewel its soul.

I left the gym thinking about how much I want my work to resist sameness. To remind people that beauty isn’t in repetition, but in authenticity — in a piece that carries a human touch, a story, a spark of its maker.

— Leto Lama