Design your own ring---full scale??

[Mara]

In the hunt for the perfect setting, I've made lots of sketches, printed lots of pictures, circled many features and then tried to imagine it all put together. Where is the 'design your own' program that goes a little further than just plunking a center stone and 2 side stones down on your monitor and calling it 'the' ring? I want a program that will let me choose prong/head size, height; width in mm of the band; pave down half or all of the bands, or eternity round stones on an e-ring; add in the dimensions of my actual center stone, and then show me a picture of what it will look like. Then let me add in potential wedding rings to see which would look best as the pair. Sure you can do this in a store, but what if what you want doesn't exist? Design your own with the local jeweler is what we are doing, but I have to rely on a synopsis of 'we get the picture' and my scribbled drawings to convey the message I am trying to get across.

Does anyone else feel the frustration?? I tried adiamondisforever.com, bluenile.com, diamond.com, a few other random ones I found, one that was recommended (and took 4hours to produce a mockup which still looked wrong). Would it be so hard for these companies to add a few variables into the mix, e.g. letting one choose the width of the band is pretty important, or size of the prongs. What about a pave eternity engagement ring? These are hard to find online, so what if I wanted one made?

I have been up and down and around the web and not yet found this oasis of setting creation. Anyone have hints on where to find this...or who wants to volunteer to create the dream?!

 

[mike04456]

Mara, if you're really serious about this, and you're computer literate enough, what you want is either Matrix 3D (http://www.gemvision.com/) or JewelCAD (http://www.jcadcam.com/). Both are professional design programs used widely in the industry. Good luck.

 

[Mara]

Hmm seems as though those programs might be a little pricey for little old consumer me. Ideally am looking for something in a browser, no downloads, with selections for about 10 key items..thats it. The programs you mentioned, Law, are very complicated (but nice!).

I dont think what I want exists! Simple but thorough? I would even pay a small fee to use it for a short period of time..hmm.

 

[tonysgeko]

Mara, I don't know if this site will help you but it doesn't hurt to check it out. http://www.DigitalJeweler.NET

 

[wade_44]

I, too, have struggled to find a program to help me design my ring. The CAD programs are somewhat of an overkill, but poerful. I have also tried the digital jeweler. You can change the band width and size, but there is a very limited number of designs available on the site.

Let me know if you find anything!

 

[Griffin]

The software you speak of is available, but the powerful features you require also come with a couple of barriers to entry - a price well into five figures, and a learning curve that makes the effective use of the software a career choice in and of itself...
As one who has made that career choice and owns the software, I can tell you that the most cost effective way to achieve what you seek is to hire someone to render images from your sketches. You will then be able to view their interpretations of your instructions in 3-D and get changes made, making sure that you have exactly what you want before anything is actually made. In having it machined straight from the 3-D data, you insure exact dimensional correctness as well, as opposed to having it hand carved from a picture. I own a rapid prototyping machine as well and usually generate a life-size plastic model I ship to the customer to actually put on before finalizing a design.

Though people who do what I do have a high hourly rate ($100 - $150/hr), a design can usually be generated with very little billable time, sometimes less than an hour, usually no more than two. Secondly, you usually save more than that in the end, as whomever renders the design can usually machine and cast the piece as well for a small additional charge - delivering a finished product for about what a generic mounting sells for at a retail outlet.

If you cannot find a local firm that offers this service contact me and I will be happy to offer a competitive bid for you.