Rings and their plastic replicas
An online jewelry shop called Brilliance uses 3D printers to custom fit their products.
Since online jewelry shops don’t have the opportunity to show their products to their customers, custom fitting can be a problem. And since international shipping is extremely expensive due to custom fees, trying on a product, then returning it in order to try a different size is not an option. This is where 3D printing comes in.
Brillance.com gives customers the opportunity to download files that can be used in order to 3D print exact replicas of the rings they have for sale. Customers can then use the 3D printer they have in their home or go to 3D printing shops to print the rings they would like to try on. Alternatively, Brilliance is also capable of shipping the plastic replicas of their rings in envelopes for customers to try on at home.
A diamond ring from Brilliance.com
In an interview with Smart Planet Magazine, Shai Barel, Brilliance’s director of strategic partnership, explained: “Most customers think, if they have enough money, ‘Why not get two carats or 1.5 carats?’ But every person’s finger is different, according to Barel, and sometimes a two-carat would look funny on someone with slender fingers.”
This is seems like an excellent way to avoid the astronomical fees charged by various governments in order to ship items across borders. It’s also a great way to allow customers try on luxury items before they buy them. Since 3D printers are still rather expensive and since desktop 3D printers have not yet been designed for the less tech-savvy people, cheaper consumer products are less likely to be 3D printed for fitting. However, it’s foreseeable that sunglass producers who do a lot of business online, like Warby Parker, will offer files to 3D print model frames.
The 3D ring webpage on Brilliance.com
Brilliance.com offers 3D printed services for customers who would like to find their ring size, try different diamond shapes – round, princess, asscher, radiant, cushion, emerald, marquise, oval, pear, heart – and compare carat sizes. Brillance offers a very wide range of different jewelry models including rings, earrings, pendants, bracelets, different wedding rings and wholesale.
Will 3D printing change the way we shop? Only time will tell, however as long as people get more and more tech-savvy and learn how to operate an ever expanding number of technological tools, there is a strong possibility that online and offline marketplaces will need to adapt.
Do you think that such a shopping experience would attract you to one company over another? Let us know in the 3D printed ring forum thread at 3DPB.com