I was not a John Hardy fan until I discovered how its jewels are made. John and Cynthia Hardy believe passionately in a concept of luxury that extends to the people involved in the process of making their beautiful jewelry. “When you invest in something that might be passed on to your children and grandchildren, it’s nice to know that it was made by someone who learned his craft from his father and grandfather,” says John. Their workshop is built literally out of the earth of Bali. The place is a complex of rustic buildings whose walls are made of woven bamboo and mud plaster and whose floors are of soft local stone. “You don’t turn rice fields into a factory without leaving a way to convert them back again,” says John Hardy, now fifty-three, who has lived in Bali for nearly thirty years. “You’re not going to be on earth forever. So if someday the Balinese want to turn this factory back into rice fields, they could do it in about a week. There’s no concrete here.” The jewelry workshop is also a small organic farm, and the food is grown to feed the people who work there. The food supply is augmented by rice fields and organic gardens in another part of Bali, owned by a company that John helped start.

If you are looking for a gift with a little bling but do not have a 7 figure income to indulge at Harry Winston, this could be the gift for you. At $595 you get a lot of style and Balinese craftsmanship. John Hardy Kawung Diamond/Silver Necklace at Saks