When shopping at department stores, you’ll most likely see mass-produced jewellery. These are made using commercial equipment. Manufacturers polish commercial jewellery with a heavy-duty polisher which produces a higher sheen.
Because it is produced with the help of machines, its style can easily be replicated into multiple pieces that can be made available in the market if the brand owner desires.
Meanwhile, designer jewellery is exclusively crafted by hand by artisan jewelers. They use unusual materials to produce this type of jewellery with a specific look, integrating the designer’s skills or intention.
And although artisan jewelers can create many pieces, each ornament will still look a bit different because it's made individually and by hand. This gives individuals a chance to own a one-of-a-kind designer necklace, bracelet, or a pair of earrings.
Note that some jewellery designers or jewellery design companies hire a group of artisans to mass produce prototypes of a particular design. There are instances wherein some celebrities launch a collection of designer jewellery where they are involved in determining the aesthetic and selecting their preferred materials. In this example, we can see that there are certain designer jewellery brands produced using similar methods as commercial jewellery.