5 Trends Driving 3D Printed Jewelry Today
3D printing is a perfect fit for anyone pursuing making jewelry. Combine the creativity of a designer with a cheaper, faster way to produce one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry and the possibilities become limitless. 3D printing really shines in its capacity to customize the product to the user’s wants; resulting in better jewelry designed faster. Whether you want to create or shop, these are the 5 trends driving 3D printing today.
1. The Golden Age of 3D Printing
Designers are no longer bound to printing only in plastic. 3D printing with precious metals cuts down on labor costs for designers and makes 3D printed jewelry affordable to the casual consumer. Some examples of 3D printed jewelry from precious metals are below.
Rod of Asclepius Pendant Mini by Marcus Ritland, Yellow Gold
From left to right: gloss, high gloss, sandblasted, satin
2. Customization Becomes the Norm
3D printing shifts control to the individual. You can now design a product to your exact specification and have it delivered to your door without leaving the house. Services like Jweel make it easy and fun to create custom rings to which you can add text, letters, shapes and words. Once you’ve chosen your design it can be printed in gold, brass, steel, silver or titanium. To learn more about using Jweel check out our blog here.
Just type letters you want on your ring
Another service, Morpheus specializes in combining 3D printing technology with traditional stone setting techniques to create fine jewelry. All you have to do is uploadyour ring photos and they’ll take care of the rest.
rings 3D printed through Morpheus and i.materialise
3. 3D Printed Fashion Accessories
3D printing reduces the time from concept development to finished product which makes it perfect for the fast moving world of fashion. 3D printing accessories in fashion have ranged from eye patches, bracelets, necklaces, belt buckles and actual dress pieces. See pictures below for examples.
Award-winning Neck Piece “Extravaganza” by Dario Scapitta. This piece is printed with a new rubber-like material used to produce high fashion clothes.
Award-winning Extravaganza Neck Piece by Dario Scapitta
3D printed accessories inspired by birds at Asia’s first 3D Print Fashion Show.
©The Photoz – Zung – www.photoz.com
4. Geometrically Inspired Designs
3D printing is the marriage of art and technology, so it’s only fair that geometrically inspired designs look so cool. We didn’t have to look far to find great examples of exquisite jewelry inspired by geometry and natural structures. Markéta Richterová and designer Zbynek Krulich, founders of Blueberries, incorporate natural structures, both organic and inorganic into their art. They won the Czech Grand Design Award in 2012. Learn more about them on our blog.
Rings by Blueberries
Delaunay Star (wide) by Blueberries
5. Jewelry From a Photo
Bring your photo to life through a one-of-a-kind pendant or charm. Autodesk 123d’s Charmr app personalizes jewelry directly from your photo. It’s a great gift whether you want to keep a pendant of someone close to you or that of your pet. Learn more about Charmr here.
choose your favorite shape
crop a picture
charmr converts the picture into a 3D printable model
