New 3D Printable Gold Jewelry Could Transform Industry

Lionel Theodore Dean initially focused his design work on small cars and motorcycles, and later began his Future Factories digital manufacturing project for the mass individualization of products. Those projects have led to exhibitions in London and Milan, and he now says digital manufacturing is certain to "reshape the jewellery industry." Now Dean has created a collection of pieces 3D printed in 18K gold as part of a project called Precious. It's a collaboration between Delcam, precious metals supplier Cooksongold (using their Precious M 080 DMLS machine), and three other UK-based entities. You can read the whole story here: http://3dprint.com/94665/3d-printed-gold-collection/


Below is a photo of "HeartBeat" from Dean's collection coming off the 3D printer:
http://3dprint.com/wp-content/upload...n-finished.jpg

http://www.cooksongold.com/
look on the website

I looked, but didn't see any pricing information: http://www.cooksongold-emanufacturin...cious-m080.php I doubt it comes in much under $500,000, though. I was more curious about how much they charge for the gold printing service - any idea?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by benni_weee

I think that the price will be higher than ordinary jewelry, given that this is a new technology.

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If it can do things that ordinary jewelry techniques cannot, then it has a chance of finding a niche. Expense is not necessarily an overpowering negative factor in the world of fine jewelry; it's more like a feature.

It stands a better chance of establishing a niche if it can perform tasks that conventional jewelry-making methods cannot. In the world of exquisite jewellery, cost is more like a feature than an overwhelming drawback.