Jewelry shopping has pretty much stayed the same since many of us can remember. Either you go to a shop and pick out what you like or you have it custom made. Many times the latter is better because of the personal touch the jewelry has. Typically, these custom-made jewelry are also more expensive. A startup called Trove (not to be confused with the news aggregation site) is changing all that.
The company harnesses the power of 3D printing to make custom-made, user-created jewelry. Sure, there are other companies which offer the same thing from the outside. Shapeways comes to mind. But Trove offers something special, Popsci reported.
First log into the website. Then, select the base model of the jewelry of choice, like a ring or a necklace. After which, use sliders to shape your jewelry. Trove lets you customize your jewelry at every step.
“Every single thing is made to order,” Andrew Hong, co-founder of Trove said. He added, “Every one of these [pieces] is individual.”
Once a customer places an order, a 3D model of the piece is made in plastic and shipped to the customer. It can be tried on to make sure it is exactly what is desired. If everything is ready, the exact same 3D model is used to make a wax mold. This mold is then filled with the metal of choice in a similar fashion to traditional jewelry.
Trove uses a variety of metals. Bronze is the cheapest but silver and varying karats of gold are also available. The fact that the same mold for the dummy jewelry and the actual one is used pretty much guarantees a perfect fit for the customer.
The automated way of making Trove jewelry dramatically cuts costs for the customer. The cheapest bronze ring can be made under $40. Prices can bloat up to $1,200 depending on what and how much metal will be used.
Jewelry is just the beginning for Trove. Hong shared that he and his company envision a world where everything inside your home can be custom-made for you with you as lead designer. “The technology is all there,” he says. “We just need to find a way to tailor it to something users can use.”
