Buying sacred jewelry from a stranger on the internet takes trust. Here is everything we promise, and the things we will never say to make a sale.
There is a lot of Tibetan and Buddhist jewelry for sale online, and a good deal of it comes with promises attached. Wear this for luck. Wear this for protection. Wear this and money will come. Most of those promises are made by people who will never meet you, about things nobody can check.
We would rather tell you what can be checked. This is the list we hold ourselves to. If we ever break it, we want you to write and tell us.
What a symbol means, and what we won't promise
A vajra has meant something specific to the people who have held one for well over a thousand years. So has a stupa, a wind horse, a garuda with a snake in its beak. We spend a long time finding out what, and we write it down in this journal, because the meaning is real and it is worth knowing.
What we will not do is tell you that a piece will protect you, heal you, bring you luck or change what happens to you. We don't believe that is ours to promise, and we don't think a carving needs it. A symbol worn with some understanding of where it came from is already enough. If you're unsure whether a Buddhist piece is right for you to wear at all, we wrote about that honestly in Can You Wear Buddhist Jewelry If You're Not Buddhist?
Every material by its real name
The silver is S925 sterling silver. We never use the phrase "Tibetan silver" for our metal, because on new jewelry that phrase often hides an alloy with little or no silver in it. Here is how to tell the difference on anything you buy, from us or anyone else.
Our gold goes on the old way, by fire. It is 24K fire-gilding on sterling silver, and our page on Traditional Fire-Gilding explains exactly how it is done.
Stones are named for what they are. Swiss blue topaz is never sold here as sapphire. If you want to know more about a particular stone before you buy, ask us.
Where it is made, and by whom
Every piece of our jewelry is designed and handmade in China, carved by hand in silver and finished under a 40× microscope. None of it is made by, or presented as made by, Native American artisans, and we will not borrow anyone else's heritage to sell it.
Small differences from one piece to the next in carving depth, in the dark of the oxidised ground, in the tone of the gold, are part of handwork. We would rather you knew that before you order than discovered it afterwards.
Our thangkas, exactly as they are
This is the one people misunderstand most, so we will be plain. Our thangkas are printed on heavy card from our own drawings, then finished by hand at a temple with glass crystals and gold glitter outlines. They are not hand-painted, and we will not tell you they are. A hand-painted thangka is a different object at a very different price, and you deserve to know which one you are buying. How to Choose a Thangka explains the differences.
What we promise once you order
- Free tracked shipping to 47 countries, with all import duties and taxes paid by us. The total at checkout is the total you pay. Nothing is collected at your door.
- 30 days to return it, for a full refund, with no restocking fee. That holds in the European Union and the United Kingdom too, which is longer than the law there asks. A few pieces, such as personalised or consecrated ones, are final sale, and each is marked as such on its own page before you buy.
- If a package goes missing, we open an investigation with the carrier. If it can't be found, we send a replacement or refund you in full, whichever you prefer.
- Free cleaning and care for as long as you own it. Send a piece back to us at any point in its life, with shipping to us at your cost, and we clean and polish it, check every setting, and send it home free.
- A reply within one business day, Beijing time, from someone who knows the pieces.
The details are in our Shipping Policy and Refund Policy.
Why we bother
The pieces we make carry other people's sacred stories, and stories only travel as far as they are trusted. A single exaggeration on a product page is enough to make every true sentence beside it sound like marketing.
So we keep it plain. Silver is silver. Gold is fire-gilded. A thangka is a print finished at a temple. A vajra is a vajra, with a long and remarkable history, and no promises about your future attached. If anything we sell ever turns out to be less than we said, we want to hear about it.
You can read where our name and our six marks come from in The Six Marks of Kangrinboqe.
Frequently asked questions
Is Tibetan Buddhist jewelry supposed to bring luck?
Many traditions attach hopes to symbols, and we write about those hopes as history. We don't promise any effect. We think a piece should be worn because its meaning speaks to you and because it is well made.
Is your jewelry real silver?
Yes. Every piece of jewelry is S925 sterling silver, with 24K fire-gilding where the design calls for gold.
Are your thangkas hand-painted?
No. They are printed on heavy card from our own drawings and finished by hand at a temple with glass crystals and gold glitter outlines.
What happens if I don't like the piece?
Email us within 30 days of delivery and return it for a full refund, with no restocking fee. The few final-sale pieces are marked on their own pages before you buy.
Tibetan Buddhist Jewelry · Thangkas · About Us
More from the Journal: The Six Marks of Kangrinboqe · Tibetan Silver vs Sterling Silver · Gold Vermeil vs Gold Plated