CAD: How Technology Changed The Jewellery Industry

Computer aided design (CAD) has revolutionised the jewellery industry, reducing the amount of time it takes to create bespoke designs and opening up the possibility for intricate designs. When combined with the skills of a professional jewellery maker, CAD is used to create truly unique pieces, allowing customers more input than ever when creating their perfect piece of jewellery.

CAD has transformed the idea of traditional jewellery making and we’re going to look at how the software has changed the landscape, and how we use it to help bring your jewellery ideas to life.

Where did CAD come from?

CAD technology was first used by engineers in the American military as a way to create perfect geometric designs. Yes, the same technology now used to create bespoke pieces of jewellery was used to help build the Space Shuttle! CAD is now used across multiple industries, from helping design iPhones to creating fine art sculptures and even fashion lines. In the jewellery industry, CAD is used to create precise designs that you can see before the finished product is created. At each stage of the design process, jewellery makers and customers can ensure that their vision will work when brought to life, one of the key benefits for those working with the technology. Once the design has been agreed, the metals and gemstones can be ordered for the piece and the CAD becomes a reality.

CAD at Miltons Diamonds

At Miltons Diamonds we use CAD to create bespoke jewellery designs for our customers. Whether it’s a design from your own imagination, or you want to recreate a treasured family heirloom, our team of skilled craftsmen can use CAD technology to bring your ideas to life. The 18.08ct Sapphire & Diamond 18ct White Gold Pendant & Chain is a perfect example of the work carried out here at Miltons Diamonds.

Let’s take a look at a real life customer journey and how we used CAD to create something very special….

Bringing a treasured piece back to life at Miltons

One of the best things about working with CAD technology is the ability to recreate a sentimental piece for our customers. A recent customer came into our Liverpool store with an 18ct yellow gold diamond cluster ring, a piece that held great sentimental value to his wife. Over time, general wear and tear had left its mark on the ring. The customer wore white metal jewellery and the yellow gold just seemed out of place, an attempt to whiten the ring with rhodium had proved unsuccessful. Thanks to CAD, we were able to offer this customer a solution! One of our expert jewellers inspected the ring and advised that we could create a replica ring in either white gold or platinum, using the diamonds from the original piece on a new mount.

The customer settled on a platinum ring and we got to work!

Bringing CAD to life

The first step for our jeweller is to determine the dimensions of the original ring, this includes the size of the diamonds and the size of the band. We took photographs of the original ring for reference and recorded all of the key details.

Once we had the exact measurements our CAD team set to work. After a few weeks we the raw mount was ready – an almost identical replica of the original.

After polishing the mount we got to work setting the 23 individual diamonds to the replica ring, recreating the original design.

In just a few weeks our team was able to create and supply the new platinum diamond cluster ring to our customer, just in time for his wife’s birthday. We received excellent feedback for our work and it was a privilege for us to help recreate a piece that holds such sentimental value to our customers.

Interested in creating (or recreating) bespoke jewellery?

If you have a treasured piece that you would like recreating, or would like to sit down with our jeweller and design something unique, then please get in touch to see how we can work together to create something wonderful as a gift or a treat for yourself.