Hill Tribe Silver Earring 10

This beautiful silver jewellery is hand crafted in Northern Thailand. Each piece is as unique as the person who made it.

We buy from the Karen and Hmong people and visit annually to buy their treasures. They are among the few silversmiths that still work in the traditional way, no machinery, just hands and a few basic tools – a flame, a hammer, hand forged stamps - and tradition that has been handed down through the family for as long as anyone can remember. Pieces are finished off by scrubbing in a cotton bag stuffed with lime, rice husks and lime leaves, and then left in the sun to dry. Lime juice is a great way to clean your silver at home too, although as the silver is so pure it will not tarnish and should not need cleaning often. The purest of silver is used, at least 97.5% but often 99.9% pure (compared to sterling silver which is 92.5% pure). This means that those with allergies will find this much more gentle on their skin and it also means that the Hill Tribe silver has its own look and texture that it is well known for.

The symbols used on the jewellery are drawn from nature and some date back to early Thai currency when small silver bars that were pinched to form beads were used like coins. These were stamped with the flower symbol of a central dot surrounded by 5 or 7 other dots. This is now most commonly used today with 7 dots and is said to also represent the 7 human chakras. Stars, the Sun and leaves are all also commonly featured. Silver jewellery was traditionally worn to increase the wearer’s prosperity and also to ward off illness and evil spirits.

Buying in this way means that the tribes are able to support themselves without resorting to other common methods of income, like growing illegal crops like opium or sending family members off to the cities to work in factories.

We want you to love your purchase!

If for some reason you are not completely happy with your choice we would encourage you to swap it over for something you do love. Please read the fine print and then get in touch if you wish to return an item. macarla@basera.com.au

Here’s the fine print…

• Any goods to be returned must be in perfect condition. If they get to us and they are not in perfect nick consider them yours and you will need to pay the shipping to get them back to you. Please keep tags on and do not wash anything till you are sure that it’s going to be yours forever. 

• Shipping each way is to be paid by you.

• Sale items and custom made items are not able to be returned. Sometimes exceptions can be made depending on the item, please get in touch with us to see if this is the case with your particular item.

• Please get in touch with us before returning them so that we can coordinate it all for you and we know what’s coming. macarla@basera.com.au Please include a receipt number in the email.

• You have 30 days to get the goods back to us if you would like to exchange / return.
  We don’t offer a refund for change of mind but you are welcome to a store credit (or exchange if it is a simple swap) to the value of the item (not the shipping). You are also welcome to return items in store. 

• You can do this as many time as you like till you are happy. 

• Please note: we sell lots of beautiful vintage goods and they are in various states of vintage love before they leave us. We hand pick each piece and inspect everything carefully, if we are selling it then we are happy with it and not considering it faulty. We are however human and can make mistakes or miss things, and we do want you to love your purchase, so if you’re at all unhappy then please get in touch with us. We want you to feel really good about what you receive from us.

If something arrives to you damaged then please get in touch with us at macarla@basera.com.au so that we can try to work out what’s gone wrong and what we can do.

Shipping

• When you checkout the shipping cost is calculated automatically, comparing several local couriers and Australia Post. We use the cheapest service available for your item and destination combo. Some will be left in your post box, others might need you to be home.
• All goods ship with tracking and this info will be emailed out to you after your purchase.
• As we are nature lovers we use minimal packaging, just enough to keep your goodies safe. Please let us know in advance if you want anything gift wrapped or super mega wrapped with extra bubble for extra piece of mind. This might cost more to post also.
• Goods are shipped within 48 hours of receiving your order. We ship from Northern Rivers NSW and are technically (and blissfully) classed as rural, so it may take an extra day or 2 to reach you.
• Please track your shipment online and get in touch with us if you have not received it within a reasonable amount of time. macarla@basera.com.au
• All items leave us in great condition and we don’t accept any liability for lost or damaged packages.
• All taxes and duties, if there were to be any, would be due to be paid by you.