Our Story

Before I relocated full-time to this beautiful Island, commonly known as “The Island of The Gods”, I would come here from New Zealand for 3-4 week surfing holidays once or twice a year. I had a good group of friends over here that I could stay with and it was always great to see everyone. The year before I moved here to live full-time (2015), myself and a friend were at one of the Warungs at Echo Beach checking the surf and having something to eat when I noticed our waiter wearing an amazing Silver Ring with a Rainbow Moonstone set in it. I immediately complimented him on it and I was in total awe. I’d seen this style of ring before as many of the locals wear them, but never one like this. It was a Barong Ring and had the head of the King of Spirits carved into the sides and the beautiful oval Moonstone gemstone set in the middle. It had really clean lines and contours and the stone really stood out. The waiter was so thankful and almost a little bit modest with taking the compliment. The ring had been given to him by his family and it was very special to him. We spoke for a while and he was very interested to hear about life in New Zealand and how it compared to life here. He was from a village further north and came from a very humble family. He was working to help support his parents as one of them could no longer work.

After eating our food we cleared our bill and started picking up our things to leave. At that time the waiter started walking back to our table with his hand held out to me in a giving gesture only to open it with his ring sitting in the middle of his open palm. He was offering me his ring to keep, there was no way I could accept it, not only because it was so special to him but accepting a gift from pretty much a complete stranger. I refused and refused but he wouldn’t accept no for an answer. This is an example and testament to how amazing, caring and giving the Balinese people are and what I personally love about them. They would welcome you into their home, feed you if you were hungry and give you somewhere to sleep, very similar to our Maori culture in New Zealand. In the end I gave in and accepted it. I pretty much haven’t taken that ring off to this day.

Fast forward a few years from receiving this amazing gift.  Friends in New Zealand, random strangers from my travels around the world and a lot of people in general would compliment me on my ring and give it the same attention I did when the waiter was wearing it. I would constantly hear these questions – “Where did you get that ring? Can you give me their website or instagram? Do they have a store somewhere?” Compliment after compliment, question after question. – this was the inspiration to create The Family Jewels.  So fast forward again to today – The Family Jewels has just turned two years old, all our products are manufactured here in Bali by a small local family business, we export worldwide, AND WE LOVE WHAT WE DO. We design and make beautiful, conscious and timeless pieces that can be worn by anyone, for any occasion. When you purchase our treasures, you’re supporting a sustainable, fair trade business that supports talented Balinese workers and their families. Sustainability is our priority – even our packaging is eco-friendly.  Wear your Family Jewels with pride, knowing that all of our precious materials come from Mother Earth and will return to her one day without harming her.

Welcome to the Family.