Out of sight, but never out of mind
As with any emerging technology, the first inclination is to examine how and what the new tool replaces. For the jewellery industry, CAD/CAM was seen as the evolution to crafting models by hand. For these artists, their canvas was a block of wax or wires of metal, their tools of the trade anything from a surgical knife and wax pen to a gas torch. These artists could create anything and everything, from one-of-a-kind statement pieces to the master model used for large-scale manufacturing. To get a full sense of the scope and breadth of how skilful these artists were, just take a quick look back to the years prior to the 1980s. Consider anything from the crown jewels to pieces from exclusive iconic houses, such as Cartier, Tiffany, and Bulgari to large-scale jewellery manufacturers that supplied the vast majority of traditional brick-and-mortar stores.
Fast forward to 2015 and it could easily be said the vast majority of jewellery manufactured today is built on a computer screen and with the aid of 3-D printers. The benefits are obvious for this new way of manufacturing: the speed at which models or even entire jewellery lines are manufactured can lead to dramatic cost savings. In addition, a wider range of design options can be built with the help of CAD, featuring elements that may not be feasible through traditional hand fabrication. But this rule is by far not universal. There are many instances where hand fabrication makes more sense because the finish is better or it is the less expensive option. This is where the ability to straddle the technologies of the old and new becomes very important, as is identifying which tool to use to take the final result from simply average to exceptional.
Engraved jewellery and creating a fitted wedding band for a pre-existing engagement ring are two tasks we look to skilled artists to complete. For fitted bands, we may consider a few points to decide whether CAD or hand fabrication is best suited for the job. First, did you design the initial engagement ring? Is the inside edge where the engagement ring and the wedding band meet a straight line? Will the piece incorporate stones? How are they set and does their layout on the engagement ring and wedding band need to match? Do the left and right sides of the ring mirror one another? What is the time frame for the job? Even though we may have to balance considerations when choosing one method of construction over the other, we can certainly derive a very good idea of what will give us the best result.
Another element some may argue that has not yet been successfully duplicated by CAD/CAM technology is the sharpness of hand engraving. The true limitations of 3-D technology may be apparent once the model has been printed and cast. For example, our experience has been that extremely fine detail may not survive the printing process. In those cases where it does, the fine detail may be lost during casting, cleaning, and polishing. On the flip side, engraving applied by hand onto metal leaves a clean, sharp edge.
