If you ask someone to define “fine jewelry” you’ll usually hear something about gold, platinum, diamonds, and other traditionally “precious” materials. But go to any high-end jewelry trade show today, and you’ll find that the term “fine jewelry” rarely matches this limiting definition. Designers no longer hesitate to mix non-traditional materials. The lines between “fine” jewelry and “fashion” jewelry are now blurred. The new generation of buyers doesn’t want to conform to traditional boundaries anymore. For them, “precious” and “non-precious” don’t matter as much as one thing: MAKING A PERSONAL STATEMENT.
Many young consumers opt for non-standard jewelry materials for their pieces because they are cool. Their grandparents had gold bands, but they want to have something new and high-tech. Consumers are looking to express themselves individually and this desire is leading them into a fashionable area. Designers, in turn, need to create pieces that are unique and modern. The uniqueness comes from non-traditional, non-precious materials. It’s time to push people’s perceptions of what is precious. (1)
While the integration of 3D printing technologies into the world of jewelry design is becoming increasingly common, in most cases it is replacing traditional techniques only as a primary method of fabrication or as a tool for prototyping. We want to take this idea one step further by taking a deeper look into the endless possibilities that this amazing technology offers to us. What will happen if we see it as a design tool rather than as a fabrication method? 3D printing technology widens the material library for jewelry designers more than ever, bringing the possibility of thinking about unconventional materials and treasuring the beauty of diversity in design. Welcome to the world of PRECIOUS PLASTICS!
