Making diamond shopping tactile: adventures in 3D printing

[klrrrr]

One of the tragedies of shopping for jewelry online is losing out on the age-old, tactile experience of in-person shopping. Combine that with the fact that we're viewing tiny things on large screens, and you have a recipe for unrealistic expectations.

I was trying to visualize the size of a stone I have on hold (stone details here). Despite using the online ring-size simulators, Stone Algo, etc, I didn't have a good sense of what it would feel like on my finger. I have never owned a deep old miner, and was concerned about the depth not suiting my lifestyle. Without the opportunity to view in person, I needed to find a solution.



I'm fortunate to live in a city with an expansive library system that includes 3D printers. Last night, I taught myself how to do basic CAD work in TinkerCAD, building a few different options for evaluating the diamond. Someone with better CAD skills could have done something more elegant, but this was fine for my needs:


I was fortunate to secure a printing window this afternoon:


Less than 24 hours after lightning struck, I have a crude mockup of the stone that I can balance precariously on my finger


Pavillion view (had to gorilla glue two pieces together):


Now it wasn't entirely successful. The rings on settings failed miserably because they were accidentally printed without supports. Back to TPL tomorrow for round two!



I know those working with wonderful jewellers often have the opportunity to view their WIP items as a 3D object, and this experience made me feel that more people should have the opportunity to feel before they buy. Maybe there's a business opportunity nested in here somewhere.

 

[Mreader]

That is so cool! Like making your own wax!

 

[OdetteOdile]

Now this is my kind of 3D printing!

 

[Sprinkles&Stones]

Absolutely brilliant!

 

[lovedogs]

This is brilliant

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

Ayuh, now that's clever. Good thinking!

 

[klrrrr]

It was so much fun to do, and really makes you appreciate how slight tweaks can make a big difference. Case in point - I printed a bunch of bands with slightly different width/depth specs and found some to be wildly more comfortable than others!

I love this idea of taking a more iterative approach to making jewelry so that you build/buy what you really want.

 

[MiniMinerva]

This is so impressive! Excited to see your “round 2” and hear more about your iterative process!

 

[MissGotRocks]

Impressive indeed! I am sure PSers could keep you busy in a side business!

 

[Tartansparkles]

I like your thinking! And with a bit more innovation we could maybe get to the point where the jeweler prepares the CADs and emails them to the client who then takes them to their own local library to print. (If the CADs are of a special type, and beyond the skills of the jeweler, I'm sure a specialist could set themselves up to provide the CADs to a range of jewelers). Out of curiosity, could you share the cost of the printing? As someone who has bought internationally and sight unseen, I would definitely have paid extra to have been able to 'try before I buy'.

 

[klrrrr]

I like your thinking! And with a bit more innovation we could maybe get to the point where the jeweler prepares the CADs and emails them to the client who then takes them to their own local library to print. (If the CADs are of a special type, and beyond the skills of the jeweler, I'm sure a specialist could set themselves up to provide the CADs to a range of jewelers). Out of curiosity, could you share the cost of the printing? As someone who has bought internationally and sight unseen, I would definitely have paid extra to have been able to 'try before I buy'.

@Tartansparkles - exactly! So much potential to decentralize the E2E journey. I think there's something exciting here - even if it was just set up as a service, rather than as a profit-generating operation.

Printing is $.10 a gram + tax - extremely cheap! I think my second round of printing is going to cost around a dollar. Of course, that's priced for non-commercial purposes only sine it's through the library.

 

[klrrrr]

Ok gang, here's round 2. I tightened up the sizing and they now only fit my pinky (oops), but here are the "set" versions. I managed to perfect the wedding band this time around in terms of shape, scale, and size, which is a win.



It may be my imagination, but the stone feels much more elongated this time around, which I prefer. I didn't round the corner on 2/3, but it's noticeable across the board on all samples.



I tried out three different donut styles for fun. Far left is a simulation of what a large basket might feel like. I'm interested in setting it very low so that it's not such a ring pop.



I know DSS will eventually set in, but dang this stone is big on my hand!

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

This is so fun!

 

[Tartansparkles]

+1, that's exactly what I was thinking!

 

[klrrrr]

Folks, I bring you the final instalment of this season of 3D printing. I'm not buying the stone after all, but this was a good exercise in helping me figure out specs for "the one". I now know I wouldn't go any bigger than this - 8.27x7.46x5.61.

In this print edition, I imagined what it would be like to set the stone in a bezel, plus a donut at the bottom. Serious ring pop vibes! I also think any larger face-up would look comical on my baby hands.








Thanks for sticking around

 

[klrrrr]

Total cost of the project: $0.30 CAD thanks, Toronto Public Library!

 

[La2020]

The prices of 3D printers have fallen quite a lot these years..and I nearly got one myself. That is one excellent use case for using 3D printers!

 

[kenny]

Cool!
Would these qualify as lab-created diamonds?

I can't say much for the clarity.

 

[angeline]

So imaginative of you! what an awesome project.

 

[klrrrr]

If anyone is looking to DIY this project, feel free to use my template as a starting point: https://www.tinkercad.com/embed/6smHe2tSyzM?editbtn=1
I'm sure you'll land somewhere more sophisticated!

Prepare to have to do some work rounding off the edges manually if your stone requires it.

 

[klrrrr]

I said I was done, but the world is full of surprises! I am going to see the old miner after all, and wanted to find a way to prop it up on my finger (like those temporary mounts that jewellers use, but with more realistic light-return constraints.

So, I trundled back to the library and reprinted one of my original mounts with a hole for the stone to sit in:


Fingers crossed she's a beauty!

 

[klrrrr]

I bought the stone!!