John Hardy

If you value handwork over a logo, the Classic Chain earns its price. Each link is woven, soldered and polished by John Hardy's Bali artisans using traditional Balinese techniques, so you are paying for hours of human craft rather than machine output. It is designed to be a long-keep piece, not a trend, which is exactly the kind of jewellery that holds its place in a wardrobe.

Yes. John Hardy works in reclaimed sterling silver and gold, the same hallmarked .925 silver standard you would expect from a serious jeweller. The brand's whole identity rests on artisanal handcrafting using techniques passed down through generations of Balinese makers, so the finish and the weight tend to feel a cut above mass-produced fashion jewellery.

They sit in similar territory but pull in different directions. David Yurman is known for its sculptural cable motif and a polished, modern American look; John Hardy leans into ornate texture and Balinese cultural detail, with the woven Classic Chain as its signature. Yurman often has the edge on broad name recognition, while John Hardy tends to win over buyers who want artisanal, nature-inspired pieces with a story behind them.

The Classic Chain is the design most people associate with the house. Its woven, rope-like construction is built link by link by hand and runs through bracelets, necklaces and more, making it the clearest expression of John Hardy's Balinese weaving heritage.

In Bali. The John Hardy compound was built in Mambal, Bali in 1996 and remains the company's production centre, where the jewellery is created. It is more than a factory: the site includes an organic farm and low-impact buildings, reflecting how closely the brand ties its making to the island.

John Hardy was founded in 1975 by Canadian designer John Hardy. He visited Bali in the mid-1970s, became fascinated by the island's jewellery-making traditions, and developed his first pieces by applying new design ideas to traditional Balinese techniques.

The brand changed hands well after its founder's era. In 2007, then-president Damien Dernoncourt and head designer Guy Bedarida bought the company from John Hardy himself. In 2014, the private equity firm L Catterton, associated with LVMH, acquired the brand and remains its majority shareholder.

The brand sets a clear standard here. All of John Hardy's diamonds are sourced in line with the United Nations resolution and the Kimberley Process, and its gemstones and other natural materials follow the company's Ethical Sourcing Code of Conduct. The metals themselves are reclaimed sterling silver and gold.

Sustainability is built into the company's identity rather than bolted on. Its Greener Every Day slogan sums up an effort aimed at becoming carbon neutral, and its 2006 Sustainable Advertising program offsets emissions by planting bamboo on Bali and Nusa Penida. The Wear Bamboo, Plant Bamboo program channels a portion of Bamboo collection sales back into those plantings.

John Hardy runs its own boutiques and sells through department stores. It opened its first flagship in Plaza Indonesia, Jakarta in 2010, its first US boutique in Houston in 2016, and a SoHo store in Manhattan, with further locations across the US plus the Caribbean, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Korea through major department stores. Buying from an authorised retailer is the surest way to know a piece is genuine.

Sterling silver and gold jewellery rarely returns its full retail price second-hand, and John Hardy is no exception, so treat a purchase as something to wear and keep rather than an investment. Its strongest case for lasting value is the handcraft itself: pieces like the Classic Chain are made to be timeless, which helps them stay wearable for decades.