Source:
https://scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/article/3205435/3d-printing-next-big-thing-high-jewellery-tiffany-co-lvmh-owned-bulgari-boucheron-and-boghossian
Style/ Luxury

Is 3D printing the next big thing in high jewellery? Tiffany & Co., LVMH-owned Bulgari, Boucheron and Boghossian have all embraced the new technology in a world where handcraftsmanship is key

  • The luxury jewellery industry is prized for its time-honoured craftsmanship, but more brands are turning to new technologies – like De Beers’ AR that allows clients to virtually ‘try on’ pieces
  • Boucheron’s latest Contemplation collection features a stunning diamond necklace designed by an algorithm and Bulgari even launched three high jewellery NFTs in 2022
The thrill of hi-tech tools: luxury jewellery designers like Boucheron, Boghossian and Tiffany & Co. flirt with 3D technology. Photo: Bulgari

The luxury jewellery industry may most often celebrate the continued use of time-honoured craftsmanship, but 3D design and printing technologies are becoming commonplace too.

Boucheron’s forward-thinking Contemplation collection, for example, included an extraordinary necklace that used a mathematical algorithm to suspend diamonds in a cloudlike structure. Contemplation was followed by the maison’s rainbow-inspired Holographique line, influenced by Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson and Mexican architect Luis Barragan. A hologram technology pioneered by French aeronautics company Saint-Gobain was used to spray slices of rock crystal with a creative material that makes jewels appear to be changing colour.