One of the areas in which 3D printing has really excelled as of late is within the jewelry industry. Although we are only in the early stages of this technological revolution, already many large jewelry companies are turning to 3D printing in order to create designs which would never have been made possible with traditional means of production. We have seen numerous pieces of jewelry printed directly with plastics, and even some with metals, but a more popular method of utilizing this technology is in the creation of molds, which are then used to cast a piece out of precious metals like gold, platinum or silver.
Today we caught wind of a Polish-based 3D printing company called Jelwek, who has taken an entirely new approach to creating interesting, unique 3D printed watches.
If you are a watch enthusiast, then you likely are aware of a recent trend within the industry, where many designers are creating watches made from wood. A company called We-Wood, in particular, has garnered the attention of many this holiday season with their timepieces which they manufacture almost completely from wood. They are quite interesting to look at, relatively light, and sure to get a lot of attention. But what if there was a product like We-Wood’s watches that were manufactured via 3D printing?
This is where Jelwek comes in with their 3D printed watches, fabricated from a wood/PLA compositive material. If you are at all interested in the material side of the 3D printing market you have likely seen filaments which mix PLA with various other materials such as bronze, copper, and wood. In fact colorFabb sells a product called woodFill, which is produced with 70% PLA, and 30% wood fiber. Any objects printed with this filament both look and feel very similar to wood.
Jelwek has recently launched an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign in order to raise $4,500 so that they can begin to mass produce these intriguing 3D printed watches. The Jelwek timepieces are being offered as a reward to those backing their campaign. There are two different colors available; a lighter and darker shade of wood, and each watch weighs only 44 grams. According to the company these eco-friendly watches each take approximately five hours to produce, which includes three hours to print, and another two hours of assembly time.
For those interested in this unique 3D printed product, the watches can be pre-ordered for just $120 on Indiegogo. For $150, the company will provide the watch and a two year warranty, and for those who can’t decide which color they prefer, a two watch package is being offered for just $220. The Indiegogo campaign will run until January 20, and the first watches are scheduled to be shipped to backers sometime in May of next year.
Let us now your thoughts on Jelwek’s watches in the 3D Printed Wood Watch forum thread on 3DPB.com. Check out the video below, provided by Jelwek, showing one of these intriguing products being printed:
