The Journal.

Craft, technology and the details — how jewelry gets modeled, rendered and made, and how to run a modern jewelry business.

Featured · Craft

Engagement ring styles: a glossary in real pieces

Solitaire, halo, hidden halo, bezel, pavé — what each one actually is, who it suits, and what it costs in bench time. Illustrated with rings we make.

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White vs yellow vs rose gold: the same ring in all three

Craft

Sep 10, 2026 · 6 min

White vs yellow vs rose gold: the same ring in all three

The choice is usually made from three photographs of three different rings. Here are three rings each shown in all three golds, lit identically.

Which diamond shape looks biggest? One ring, thirteen ways

Craft

Sep 10, 2026 · 5 min

Which diamond shape looks biggest? One ring, thirteen ways

A carat is a weight, not a size. Two one-carat stones can differ by a fifth in face-up spread — here is the same solitaire in thirteen shapes to prove it.

Business

Sep 10, 2026 · 4 min

Priced from the model, not by eye

A finished CAD model already knows what the piece weighs. Quoting from that number instead of from experience changes what a jeweler can promise.

Why generative AI fails at jewelry — and what works instead

Technology

May 21, 2026 · 4 min

Why generative AI fails at jewelry — and what works instead

A model that paints a pretty ring can’t guarantee a castable one. The interesting work isn’t generating images — it’s turning intent into a spec a bench can actually make.

Sell it before you make it: the quiet economics of renders

Business

May 8, 2026 · 3 min

Sell it before you make it: the quiet economics of renders

A photoreal render costs a fraction of a sample and closes the sale earlier. For a jeweler, that changes cash flow, returns and how many pieces you can show.

From sketch to castable CAD: what really happens

Craft

Apr 19, 2026 · 4 min

From sketch to castable CAD: what really happens

A model isn’t “done” when it looks right — it’s done when it can be cast. Here’s the quiet checklist between a drawing and a file a house will accept.

Craft

Mar 15, 2026 · 2 min

One gate, whoever made it

A piece is not finished when the casting house says so. Here is the inspection every order clears before it ships — and what happens when it does not.

Putting it into practice?

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