Jewel Print

JewelPrint is a startup company specialising in selective laser melting for bespoke jewellery manufacture, as an alternative to investment casting. It is a company spun-out from Diamond Centre of Wales (DCW), a precious metal bespoke Jewellery Manufacture company.Primary addressable markets: Jewellery manufacturing instore clientele, and mass customisation for ecommerce using precious metals, & support manufacturers. Online market for jewellery is growing & expected to value at about 60 billion dollars worldwide by 2027\. Annual expenditure on Jewellery and watches in the UK is 10,719M GBP. Jewellery is defined as wearable decorative items (rings, necklaces, bracelets) & is deeply rooted in traditions, the market increases with economic growth. Jewellery sector is a significant component of UK GDP.

Currently, bespoke jewellery manufacturing involves a challenging, lengthy, multi-stage, complex process. This includes: hand design or CAD and computer aided manufacture; casting process; creating a prototype and/or creating a mould, which in-turn is used to make a wax reproduction of the jewellery; the casting process then takes place in containers filled with investment powders; post production such as manual filing and buffing is then carried-out to remove imperfections and smooth surfaces; this is followed by polishing & finishing. Significant footprints of water and energy use, generation of waste casting materials and loss of precious metals. Setting of precious and semi-precious stones, and assay office hallmarking to guarantee fineness, is applied to the final product. Most of these steps have barely changed in decades.

JewelPrint will employ Industry 4.0 techniques for mass customisation, flexible production, utilising direct metal additive manufacture of precious metal alloys through Selective Laser Melting. Industry 4.0 technologies will allow us to explore new material alloys, reduce reliance on stock, automate repetitive & harmful procedures, such as the preparation & polishing phase.