Lately a lot of my inquiries arrive with a picture attached. Not a Pinterest pin or a photo of a friend's ring, but an AI image. Someone has typed their dream ring into AI and out came something glowing, gorgeous and impossible to make.
So, can I make it? Often, yes. Sometimes partly. Occasionally, not, at least not without a small miracle.
An AI image is a brilliant place to start and I do find it really helpful to see an idea of what the customer wants. Because what I think a customer wants, based on a conversation (oftentimes over email) and what a customer has pictured in their head are two different things. Here's what I look for, what I'll ask you and how we get from a pretty picture to a ring, necklace or whatever you're looking for, that you can actually wear.
Why Some AI Jewelry Can't Be Made
AI is very good at making jewelry look beautiful. It has no idea how jewelry is built. It has never held a file, set a stone or watched a prong snap, or a stone for that matter, which I wrote about in I Am a Proper Jeweler.
These are the things I see most often.
- Floating stones. Gems hovering in mid air, held by nothing at all. Lovely in a picture. In real life a stone needs metal around it, under it or gripping it.
- Hair thin prongs and bands. AI loves a delicate claw. Mine are never thinner than 0.8 mm and ring shanks are never thinner than 1.8 mm, because anything finer bends, wears through or loses your stone.
- Impossible twists. Metal that loops through itself in ways no mold could ever release.
- Metal that looks like glass. Liquid, see through, glowing from the inside. Silver and gold don't do that, however nicely you ask.
One inquiry I had was for a crescent moon pendant with mountains, tiny trees, a compass star, onyx accents and a raw black crystal wrapped in a metal vine. It was a beautiful idea. But it didn't quite hit the mark for production.
Metal can't be cast around a stone, so the crystal has to be found first and the vine designed to fit that exact crystal. Those tiny trees looked perfect on screen, but at that size they would have polished away to nothing. They needed to be cut deeper than they looked to survive.
None of that meant no. It meant the design needed a jeweler, not just a prompt. (Alas, the customer did not want to hear this and ghosted me!)
AI example image
Every AI Render Shows Something Different
Here's the bit that catches people out. Ask the AI for a side view, a close up or the back of it and you get a slightly different piece of jewelry every time.
With the moon pendant, the front view, the side view, close ups and back of it each showed a different crystal, different shape, different size, different way of being held. So which one was the real design?
That's not a trick question. You genuinely need to choose. My suggestion is simple.
Pick one image. Then circle the two or three things you love most about it.
Maybe it's the shape of the moon. Maybe it's the vine. Maybe it's the mood of the whole thing, dark and a bit witchy. Those few things are what I'll design around. The rest is AI decoration we can let go. Speaking of AI decoration, AI definitely has a "more is more" attitude, whereas actually, in design, most of the time, "less is more." "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication," as the saying goes.
What to Send Me Instead of Ten AI Images
If you'd like to save this list, screenshot it. It makes our first conversation so much easier.
- One AI image, the one you love most.
- What you love about it, in two or three words or circles on the picture.
- Your metal, sterling silver, gold or platinum, or "not sure" if you'd like help choosing.
- Your stone, if there is one, and whether you already own it.
- Your finger size, for a ring.
- Your budget, a real number, even a rough one.
- When you need it by, if it's for a proposal, wedding or birthday.
On copying: if your AI image looks a lot like another jeweler's piece, I'll design something inspired by what you love about it, not a copy.
What Happens After You Send It
Once I know what you love, the AI image has done its job. Now the real design starts.
I build your piece properly, with the right thickness, a stone setting that will actually hold and proportions that work on you. Then I make a model so you can try it on and check the size and scale before anything is cast in metal. After that it's casting, setting, polishing and all the hand finishing that makes it yours.
If you'd like to see each step in detail, I walk through the whole thing in Designing Your Own Ring.
Why It Costs What It Costs
This is the bit where an AI image can set up a surprise. The picture took ten seconds. The piece of jewelry takes a little bit longer.
To give you a feel for it, sterling silver pendants start from about $300 and most of my custom rings are $3,000 to $5,000. What moves the price is the metal, the stones, how complex the design is and how much hand work goes into it. The time it takes me to design your piece properly is built into the price too.
Another inquiry I had was for a sculptural flower signet ring. Honestly, a very makeable design. I loved it. But the budget was $300 for everything, which had to cover the design, casting, metal, finishing, shipping and tax. A piece like that simply costs more to make well. With a budget like that, you'll often have more luck finding a ready-made piece on Etsy that's close to what you're dreaming of.
You might be thinking, "But you sell a ring about that size for $150." I do, and here's why. I designed that piece once, made a mold and now I make lots of them, so the cost of designing it is shared across every one. A custom piece is made just for you, so all of that work goes into one ring. It's a bit like buying a dress off the rack versus having one made to measure.
I'd always rather tell you that at the start than have you fall in love with a design that doesn't fit your budget. If the number is tight, we can often find another way, a simpler version, a different metal or a pendant instead of a ring.
AI example image
Where AI Genuinely Helps
I'm not anti AI. I use it too. It's a fantastic way to work out what you like before you ever speak to a jeweler.
Think of it as a mood board, not a blueprint. It's brilliant for showing me a feeling, a shape or a style you can't quite put into words. It's not so good at telling you how thick a band should be or how a stone will stay put for the next fifty years.
That's my job. And that's the part I enjoy.
Ready to Make Your AI Ring Real?
If you've got an AI image you can't stop looking at, send it over with your answers to the checklist above. Tell me what you love about it and I'll tell you, honestly, what's possible. Start your custom design here.
FAQ
Can a jeweler make a ring from an AI image?
Often, yes. A jeweler uses the AI image as inspiration, then designs a version that can actually be cast, set and worn. Some details, like floating stones or very thin prongs, will need to change.
Will my ring look exactly like the AI picture?
Not exactly. The finished ring keeps the things you love most but is built to be strong enough to wear every day. AI images also change from one view to the next, so there isn't one exact design to match.
Can you copy a ring another jeweler designed?
No. If your AI image looks a lot like another jeweler's piece, I'll design something inspired by what you love about it, not a copy.
How much does a custom piece from an AI image cost?
Sterling silver pendants start from about $300 and most custom rings are $3,000 to $5,000. The price depends on the metal, stones, complexity and hand work.
Do I need an AI image to work with you?
Not at all. A sketch, a photo, a few words or just a feeling is plenty to start with.
About the Author
Joanne Simmons is a jeweler and designer at Silver Sculptor in Jersey City, New Jersey. She has made jewelry since 2009, is a GIA Applied Jewelry Professional and holds the Jewellers Academy Diploma in Fine Jewelry. Her work is sold at the Store at the Museum of Arts and Design in Manhattan and has won two Instore Design Awards.