Let's discuss perfection
I am curious what you all think here. I am a hobby silversmith. It's just a side thing I do to make things for friends and followers. I do it greatly because I can make things for 1/4 of the cost that I see similar things for sale by professional silversmiths. Some of my stuff is as nice, some of my stuff is more rugged. The key is, my goal is to make something to a finish that the intended person is happy with, to save them quadruple the price at the jeweler, not to make my things perfect.
This seems to make some people VERY angry. That putting a less than perfect piece of jewelry out in the world is almost a literal crime, even if it saved the buyer 75% of what they would have otherwise paid for the perfect professional version.
So....let's discuss this. These are some basic solid silver rings I made for people. I charged them $60 for each. They are very solid and totally round, but they are not perfect. They have tiny dents here and here from forging and the finish isn't mirror. But the recipients are overjoyed with them because they prefer such a handmade yet still nice craft for $60 over basically the same but perfect version at the jeweler for $200+.
Some people that have seen my stuff have a huge issue with this, and it baffles me. I make imperfect but really nice inexpensive stuff. Everyone that has bought it absolutely raves about it. Yet many jewelers suggest to release something imperfect is an absolute crime.
So what is the consensus here? Does jewelry have to be perfect and expensive? Or if I make imperfect things to keep the price down, and my customers know they are solid, beautiful, but imperfect, and 1/4 the cost, is that totally fine?