Today, Shapeways got a whole lot shinier! We’re excited to launch a new suite of materials for our precious metals family.
Introducing:
Jewelry is extremely popular on Shapeways – it’s always been one of our top selling categories. Talented jewelers are using 3D modeling software to create amazing designs that wouldn’t be possible to produce without 3D printing. With Shapeways, jewelers can give their customers access to unique products, created or customized personally by a designer, now in a wide variety of high quality materials.
Benefits for Jewelers of 3D Printing with Shapeways
High Quality, Great Value: 3D print in stunning precious metals for less than you’d expect.
No Need for Inventory: Make pieces when you need them, or sell directly through Shapeways
Endless Possibilities: Easily create intricate details and designs you can’t make by hand
Here at Shapeways, we’re proud to support jewelers. We’re one of the only 3D printing companies to widely offer these new precious metals to everyone, and, with our other jeweler-friendly materials such as 14k Gold, Sterling Silver, and Castable Wax, we now have the most options available for 3D printing jewelry!
More about the new metals
Platinum: This bright silver-white material is extensively hand-polished to a smooth sheen. A rare metal, Platinum is recognized as being the most precious of all precious metals. Jewelers often select this material for its durability while consumers love it for its luster.
18k Gold: Brighter and more vibrant than 14k Gold, it contains a higher percentage of gold.
14k Rose Gold: Its pinkish tint adds a touch of warmth and romance to any design.
14k White Gold: For a more subtle look, it resembles silver with just a hint of gold.
Like our 14k Gold, all of these metals are 3D printed in wax then cast. Therefore, they all share the same design rules, so it’s easy for jewelers to enable current designs in these new finishes.
Give them a try and let us know what you think!
This is amazing!! My eyes are lighting up with the joy of being able to offer my customers more options! 😀
When Shapeways first offered silver years ago I took a look and walked away since the resolution wasn’t good enough for my art. Then, as time went by Shapeways kept improving on their production methods until there came a point where the resolution wasn’t an issue so much. That’s when I first started thinking seriously about doing jewelry art. Nowadays though, around three years later, Shapeways’ resolution is astounding and the precious metal options are robust and even the lead times have decreased to within reason. I’m so very happy with what you guys have done! 🙂
I can envision a day when Shapeways becomes the leading manufacturer and retailer in the jewelry industry! Keep moving forward! 😀
Gorgeous! Great additions, thanks 🙂
Hi Shappy team,
That’s amazing… such great news. The only challenge left now for shop owners is to have customers buy products they don’t have in hand and for which they can’t get the real feel. And of course the fact that most shop owners won’t have the cash needed to print all their products in the new precious materials for photo shoot only. But for a isolated point of view it is completely awesome that you can now print in Platinium, 18k Gold, 14k White gold and 14k Rose Gold 🙂 🙂 Looking forward to offering the new precious materials in my shop.
Michael C. Poulsen / Inspired By Architecture (http://www.shapeways.com/shops/iba)
SO great to hear Michael!
Best to have an option than none!
Thank you Shapeways for the effort!
Cool! Quick question.
Do shapeway printing service providers also do enamel painting, polishing, etc of certain parts of art work as described in model requirement? I like my jewelry prototype to be of production quality so that I can use as demo piece or do product video based on it to sell to other. Kindly clarify.
are you planning to use sterling silver?
We already do! 🙂