My Current Favorites [May 2022]: Jade Bracelet and Small Leather Goods
Since we’ve been back in Vietnam, I’ve been spending more time eating and shopping than reading, so unfortunately my current favorites don’t include any books. We’ll just talk about the talent of Vietnamese artisans.
Type A Jadeite Bracelet
at Duong Ha Gemstones & Jade 139 Hang Bac Street, Hanoi
I found this jeweler by chance. He’s the only one offering this type of bracelet, made of jade beads. While others only sell jade bangles, which I find not only old-fashioned but also fragile (easily breakable). I also don’t like the green color, “imperial jade” style either, so finding this slightly bluer shade was a real feat.
He didn’t have the color I wanted, so I left him my number, and he called me two weeks later to say he had found exactly what I was looking for. I was actually very surprised because in Vietnam, many people make empty promises and then forget. Especially for a small order like mine, but he didn’t forget.
Natural jade has several names, but the best one is jadeite, originating from Burma. Type A jadeite means it has undergone no chemical treatment. In feng shui, wearing natural stones, which have taken millions of years to become the beautiful stones they are, brings abundance and energy to the wearer. So, one cannot accept just any chemical treatment for these types of products.
I went to see the jeweler as soon as the stones arrived, and he made the bracelet right before my amazed eyes. Made to measure, then! With no extra cost. He took care to count the number of beads (apparently there’s a feng shui meaning that I’m unaware of).
Here’s the result 🙂 The bracelet has small 10K gold accents to make it rounder. Indeed, with an elastic thread and not-so-perfectly round stones, without these gold beads, the bracelet would have looked a bit twisted.
He also ships internationally. You can contact Mr. Duong on Whatsapp: +84979451921 or on Facebook and pay either via Western Union or PayPal (PayPal with a surcharge). I don’t earn any commission; it’s really to give a boost to a super kind jeweler who has quality products.
He has lots of other natural stones. The easiest would be to tell him what you want and he’ll find it.
Google Maps link to the jeweler in Hanoi, if you ever want to stop by.
Price: For info, I bought this bracelet for 94€, including the 10K gold. But if you have a larger wrist than mine (which will probably be the case), it will be prorated and you’ll likely pay a bit more because he’ll use more stones.
Small leather goods
I contacted Mr. Loc after his posts on Instagram. He’s one of the few offering small leather goods for Apple accessories (Airpods Pro, Airtag). He’s super fast and offered not only to make them custom (with the leather color of my choice, the thread, the edges, etc.) but also the items were available within just a few days.
Everything is handcrafted. The stitching is saddle stitch, which is the strongest and most durable stitching for leather items, entirely handmade. Even luxury brands are switching to sewing machines now, so it’s super luxurious to still access this type of service.
Leather choices at the leather craftsman’s:
When I received them, I was over the moon. It’s absolutely gorgeous!! And it’s so cute!
- Outer leather: smooth full-grain cowhide
- Lining leather: grained goat leather
- Thread: off-white
- Edge burnishing: dark burgundy color
After that, I asked him to create custom luggage tags for me. And here’s the result! It looks simple, but it required a lot of thought on my part and the leather craftsman’s. Because he had never received such requests before.
The letters are laser-engraved, and he lined my luggage tag with Zermatt leather, a high-quality French leather that is water-resistant. This allows the tags, which will surely be mistreated, to be less damaged. The buckle was lined with super thick Epsom leather to withstand stretching. Everything was thought out and reinforced inside to withstand abuse lol. This tag has gone through many rough treatments at the airport, and I can tell you they still look brand new. I’m so happy.
Sorry for the ugly photos, I’ll try to take prettier ones.
Photo: The other side, not engraved, is made of Zermatt leather and is water-resistant.
Price: These items cost me between 10€ and 30€.
I plan to bring you these custom luggage tags (for 25€, including shipping to mainland France), so follow me on Instagram. I’ll start taking orders in September (very limited quantity). It’ll be an improved version, meaning a better size and a longer loop. But it’ll be even more beautiful. Stay tuned!
In the meantime, you can contact Mr. Loc on Instagram for any order with international delivery. I don’t earn any commission.
I’m currently ordering other items from him in crocodile leather (Himalayan crocodile, the most expensive of all leathers). Can’t wait!
Leather Wallet and Card Holder
Mr. Loi gives leatherworking classes, but he also takes custom orders. Since JB’s wallet (made of cork, bought in Lisbon) had fallen apart, we went to see him. I could have gone through the first artisan, but I like trying out different artisans because each one has their own technique.
Unlike me, JB hasn’t read any books on leatherworking techniques, so when we went to see the artisan, I had to ask the questions and translate the answers.
JB wants natural leather (vegetable-tanned) because he likes the patina this type of leather can develop. However, he had no idea what wallet he wanted. So the artisan showed him an example of a wallet, one he teaches his students. From there, we modified the design to fit his needs.
JB made some modifications:
- so the wallet could hold euro bills, as well as USD and VND (the width of bills varies a lot depending on the country)
- so both sides of the card holder part open, to slip in an ID card (in the large French format)
The artisan sent us a few photos to show the manufacturing steps. Here too, everything is handmade, the hand stitching, in saddle stitch, is on point. Honestly, I looked at a friend’s Hermès wallet and compared it to JB’s. Even if our leather isn’t as good quality as Hermès (which is entirely improvable by opting for a more expensive leather), the craftsmanship, at least, is quite comparable to Hermès (I say that also because we have a vintage Hermès passport holder, hand-stitched).
He also ordered a strap for his vintage automatic watch. Outer leather: vachetta. Lining leather: Zermatt.
As for me, I simply opted for a card holder with a V-shaped opening to make it easier to slide bills in and out, and that’s it.
Price: Wallet 94€, Card holder 35€. Watch strap: 35€. 10€ for the custom stamp with our names.
You can contact Mr. Loi on Instagram. He ships internationally.
He doesn’t advertise much about custom leatherworking, but he always does it.
By the way, he’s currently making a custom bag for me. Again, I don’t earn any commission.
Tips
I think for your first leather item, to test the design and also the artisan’s skill, you can go for a not-too-expensive leather like full-grain vachetta (our leather). Once you like the design, and you’ve used the item long enough to know what bothers you or what you really enjoy, you can upgrade to a high-quality leather, worthy of luxury houses (novonappa, crocodile, box, swift…).
If Vietnam is too far for you and international shipping scares you, you can also contact French artisans via the Etsy platform, where all items are handmade. That’s where I ordered a custom piece of jewelry.
