A kiss on the hand may be quite continental; but diamonds are a girl’s best friend! 
While not everyone will agree with quite that level of reverence for jewelry, most people are still pretty fond of jewelry. I know I am, especially the pieces that mean something to me. I wear my custom-set engagement ring 24/7, certainly, but also have some other rings that are truly special: my fiancé’s grandma’s ring from Pompeii, my grandma’s engraved wedding band, my mom’s old wedding band, the Fibonacci Sequence ring my fiancé got me early on in our dating lives… and those are just the ones I wear often!
There’s something extra-personal about rings, compared to other jewelry, and they can symbolize so much. So why not really make them more personal with completely custom designs? 3D printing is here to make that process significantly easier for every step of the process, of course!
Polychemy — a combination of the words ‘polygon’ and ‘alchemy,’ a company based on “turning polygons into gold” — is a Singapore-based company founded in 2012 by a group of 3D print artists and programmers. Polychemy focuses their line on unique, one-of-a-kind pieces with customization a top priority. According to their website, Polychemy “pioneered the world’s first customizable 3D printed diamond and gem rings.”
Their platform isn’t just based on unique designs, though — they want to make you your design. Users can go to Polychemy Jewelry’s website and create their own pieces. Pieces can be interacted with via Web 3D technology (WebGL), where they look realistic and can be manipulated to the heart’s content. Names can be integrated into ring and necklace designs that will ultimately be made from a choice of metals — rhodium-plated sterling silver; 18-karat white, yellow, and rose gold; palladium; and platinum are all available. Going even further, a choice of gems (ranging from diamonds to fire opals) can be added to a design.
Gold? Gems? All custom? Sounds expensive, right? Not this time! Thanks to 3D printing, Polychemy drastically reduces their prices from those of more traditionally crafted customized jewelry pieces. Their proprietary platform combined with 3D printing manufacturing processes allows them to keep costs low from start to finish.
Polychemy Jewelry functions in five major steps:
- Customize Your Design
- Your Design is ‘Printed’ Layer by Layer
- Polished by Hand
- Shipped Internationally
- Share with the World
Pretty straightforward! If your browser supports WebGL, you can install that and begin designing immediately!
Select your size, your metal, and many other aspects using the WebGL platform to see all the updates to your design in a realistic, 3D rendering. Once you’ve placed your order (there’s even a coupon for recommending their site to your friends via Google or Facebook, to cut down the price even more!), they 3D print your design. Their “factories of the future” print the jewelry either in wax or in metal powder, depending on the material you choose (with the wax being used to make molds to cast the final ring). The 3D printing ensures that the piece will exactly match the design submitted. All pieces are individually polished and gems set, all by hand. The designing, printing, and polishing steps all take about a week together, 
Step five, though, encourages sharing your design with the world, so we can’t forget that! Using the #Polychemy hashtag on Instagram can get your design featured on their “Wall of Style” on the Polychemy website. You designed it — now show it off!
What do you think of Polychemy’s designs? Have you used their customized jewelry site to make your own ring or necklace? We’d love to see it! Tell us how it came out and your experience working with this innovative company over at the Polychemy 3D Printed Custom Jewelry forum at 3DPB.com!