Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend, but they’re certainly not her only bauble buddy. While we all love our finer friend, there are days when we just want to be with that pal who chills out at quiet cafes, discovers cool vintage shops, drags us to avant-garde performance art shows and encourages us to date the out-of-work poet and take a tap dancing class.

Think of hand-crafted jewelry as the bauble equivalent of that eclectic, artsy friend. And think of it now if you’re looking for a Valentine’s Day gift that shows you recognize how rare your own find is. Since it’s too cold to hunt around arts and crafts fairs, we’ve found three local jewelry makers whose high quality work is cupid-worthy. A veteran of Eastern Market, Jennifer Eubank is getting some prime counter real estate at As Kindred Spirits in Pentagon Row. Eubank operates J. Dell Designs (www.jdelldesign.com) out of her Arlington home. Check out the single and multi-stranded necklaces with a variety of richly colored pearls, semiprecious gemstones, and vintage glass beads, made with sterling silver wire.

Looking for something to take a shine to? Head out to Art & Soul, 225 Pennsylvania Ave. SE or Wake Up Little Susie, 3409 Connecticut Ave. NW for handcrafted silver jewelry from Baltimore’s Theresa Carson (www.theresacarson.com) The lines are sleek, the look modern, but not Star Trek pendant modern. Perfect for the fashionista who considers the new black to be black.

“Very Feminine” and easy to wear is how Emma Villedrouin describes her brooches, necklaces and earrings. From her D.C. studio (www.emmaville.com) comes custom work that’s high glam, but low fuss. She does juried shows and works with lots of regular clients who request custom work with their own jewels. The price range is between $100 and $2700, with most of the brooches in the higher end