Thursday, May 14, 2015

Custom Jewelry - We can fabricate, cast or YOU can design jewelry online.

We completely understand that you want jewelry to reflect YOUR style. 

We want to do what ever we can to deliver jewelry that is customized just for you.

Chimera Design has three ways to accomplish that goal - they vary from the oldest method to a state of the art online design app that puts you in total control of all the elements of your jewelry.

1. Fabrication - this is the oldest form of jewelry creation. Fabrication involves the cutting, bending, and shaping of metal. Once the metal is in the shape we want it, then diamonds and gemstones can be added if they are desired.

Here is a short video about fabrication:


Julie does most of the fabrication in our store/shop. Examples of her work can be seen on our website at these pages: Chimera Design Silver and Chimera Design Mokume Gane.

2. Lost Wax Casting - carving a piece of jewelry in wax and then casting it in some form of precious metal - sterling, gold, or platinum is another way to create jewelry. Here is a quick video about this method of making jewelry:

Our friend Jere Keyes works with Cliff on creating most of the jewelry we make using the lost wax method. These days we usually start with a CAD/CAM design and then carve the wax based on the CAD images. 

You can find samples of the lost wax method here: Chimera Design CAD/CAM

3. You can now design jewelry online at our Chimera Design Showcase. The app allows you to design jewelry with THOUSANDS of choices from your phone, tablet, or desktop. You can choose the metal you want (sterling silver, white, yellow or rose gold, or even platinum) - in addition you can choose the size and shape of diamonds and/or gemstones you use. Every choice you make is reflected in the estimated price - so you will know instantly how much of a price difference there is between 10kt and 14kt gold. You can even choose different clarity and color grades for any diamonds.

TWO NOTES: First, this app does work on phones, but it is a big app with LOTS of choices so it will go faster on a laptop or desktop.

Secondly - designing jewelry on the Chimera Showcase does NOT mean you are buying anything. In fact, you CANNOT buy jewelry directly from the app. If you want, you can design all kinds of jewelry with no obligation what so ever. However, if you do end up with something you would like to purchase and the estimated price works for your budget, hit the "Add To Quote" button and Cliff will be in touch with you shortly to give you an accurate quote. The prices on the app are estimates and are usually very accurate - but Cliff will contact you with an exact quote.

Here is an example of 5 different ring variations created using the Chimera Showcase app. As you can see there are a variety of metals and gemstone shapes and sizes. Try it for yourself - you will have a great time and you just might create the PERFECT piece of jewelry for yourself.


At Chimera Design - we want you to have unique jewelry that reflects who you are - as you just learned, there are several ways to make that happen.

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