A talisman in the older Western magical tradition, as set out in grimoires such as the Picatrix, was not a mass produced object at all, it was engraved on metal, stone or parchment for one specific person and one specific purpose, and the timing of its making mattered as much as its material.
Timing and craftsmanship
A planetary talisman was traditionally engraved during a specific planetary hour calculated for the working, a genuinely technical astrological requirement that meant the maker needed real skill in both metalwork or engraving and in astrological calculation, a combination that made such objects the product of a trained specialist rather than an amateur. Written talismans in Islamic and Jewish folk practice, inscribed with specific verses or divine names on parchment or paper, follow a parallel logic of purpose built, individually made objects rather than interchangeable charms.
What happens once the purpose is served
This bespoke tradition contrasts with the mass produced jewelry sold today as talismans, which typically carries none of that individualized timing or intent. In the older tradition, a talisman that had served its purpose or was believed to have lost its potency was sometimes deliberately destroyed, burned, buried or given to water, rather than kept indefinitely or thrown out as ordinary rubbish once its working was considered complete.