I

n this fast-paced digital and machine era, international jewelry and accessories brand John Hardy is one of the rare few that continues to make its jewels entirely by hand, from design to production.

Established by Canadian John Hardy in 1989, the brand is headquartered in Hong Kong, has a production center in Bali and a satellite office in New York. In 2007, Hardy retired to Bali and sold the company to Damien Dernoncourt, then CFO Asia and current CEO, and Guy Bedarida, the head designer and creative director.

Although its ownership changed, the company says it maintains its values as a luxury with a synergy between designer and artisans in an environment that respects people and nature.

“We want to maintain the tradition of handmade production, for it makes each piece unique. It also opens up more job opportunities,” Bedarida said recently during a visit to Jakarta.

The company employs 650 Balinese artisans to craft the products, and 400 people in the surrounding villages. Producing cuffs, bracelets, necklaces and rings, John Hardy takes its design inspirations from nature while combining traditional and modern techniques to create the pieces. Techniques used are granulation, hammering, chain weaving and cut work.

For the 2012 Spring Summer collection, the brand has six designs: Dot, Bamboo, Bedeg (Woven Bamboo), Kali (River), Naga (Dragon) and Cinta (Love). Dot designs feature bold symmetry and use tone-on-tone silver technique, Bamboo designs are shaped like sliced bamboo with six varieties of colored faceted stones, and Bedeg designs assume a casual modernity with crisp, polished lines and colorful stones.

Kali motifs have been re-imagined from softly rounded Balinese river stones, while the Chinese Year of The Dragon and Balinese folklore inspire the Naga collection. Cinta is a one-of-a-kind line that started when John Hardy asked Bedarida to design jewelry for his wife.

“When we first launched the Naga collection, many people said discouraging words, such as the dragon would only sell in Asia. But it turned out to be a successful collection,” Bedarida said.

The brand also has the “Wear Bamboo, Plant Bamboo” initiative, with a bamboo planted for every bamboo jewelry item sold. The company says it has already planted 800,000 bamboos.

“Bamboo grows very fast and we can use it for almost anything. We can use it for building material and furniture. We can also wear and consume it,” Bedarida said.

For the 2012 Spring Summer collection, the company will plant 150,000 bamboos. + Tifa Asrianti