An Expert in 3D Jewelry at Taipei

From communication and marketing agencies to the jewellery universe, here are some advices from an active and strong Taiwanese Business woman

1) Tell me a bit more about you and your background please. (studies, professional experience…)

Rachel Chen :

I worked 7 years in a prestigious advertisement agency with the biggest consumer brands, to then obtain a Brand Manager assistant position for a cosmetic company.
The brand’s decision to enter Taiwan’s jewellery market was a great opportunity for me to conduct many market analysis and hence know every detail the industry had. I seized the opportunity to become a jeweller: learning first to draw, conceive and then make lost-wax castings. Step by step, I mastered the jewel conception process.
By mixing these new skills with my communication and marketing experience, I was able to comprehend the jewellery market on the business and technical scale. This expertise allows me today to develop my agency « 3DESIGN Concept Studio » : a studio combining Artistic gallery and training room.

2) What kind of trainings do you provide jewelers with: Only CAD or any other skills as well? (maybe more manual)

Rachel Chen :
Nowadays, I focus mostly on 3DESIGN trainings, but during my courses, I also include prototyping and the applications of 3D in marketing.
In order to help my students imporve, I organised visits to foundries and production workshops during the training, to help them increase their project and production experience.

3) Do you work with any Taiwanese schools or associations?

Rachel Chen :
The answer is «YES» ! I have a close relationship with associations and training centers from Taiwan’s jewellery industry.
I also created 6 new 3DESIGN training centers:
– Taipei Jewelers’ Association;
– Northern Training Center, Bureau of Employment and Vocational Training;
– Junous Jewelry Education Center;
– New Taipei City Jewelers Commercial Association;
– Taipei Jewelry workshop union;
– Chinese Gem Identification Education Cente.
Meanwhile, I hope I will be able to find the way to cooperate with universities who are more and more interested in 3D Jewellery Design.

I wish to create an alliance between Universities and Industries to help future jewel designers enter the market, ready to work and create the future of the jewellery industry.

I have also been editor in chief of the jewellery information magazine in 2014. But now, and so on, I keep an editor-consultant role to treat about 3D CAD/CAM relative information.

 

 

 

 

4) Could you please tell me more about your 3D CAD artwork book project? Are the pictures below part of the students’ artworks?
Rachel Chen – 3Design tool books

Rachel Chen :
I wrote and published in 2011 «Create your 3D jewelry fantasy world» and «3DESIGN V7 software for beginner’s: 9 lessons self-study guide» in traditionnal chinese.
Originally, most of softwares for 3D jewellery design had interfaces in English. Chinese versions, lacked precision, clear terms, while no technical book existed. Making the 3D jewellery design learning process very hard.
This is how these books were born.

After teaching 3DESIGN for 5 years, so on average 20 to 30 sessions, I trained more than 200 students !

For next year, after discussing with old students, we decided to cooperate in order to gather and publish a book collection about designing jewels in 3D.

I will make a selection of 20 designers to realise these artistic collections. Some of these designers joined us during the Teacher/student exposition held by th e Ministry of Huashan Culture. Ideally, I would like other foreign 3DESIGN designers to join the project.

 

 

5) You have been certificated as an Advanced level user by our 3DESIGN expert team, congratulations! How many years of experience do you have in 3DESIGN?

Rachel Chen :
I recieved the Advanced Level Instructor Certification in 2014 during the Asian technical seminar in Shenzhen.
I know about the 3DESIGN software since 2006 and have been using it for more than 7 years now.
To chose the right software, I conducted many researches on various 3D CAD softwares such as 3DS Max, Rhino, Jewelry CAD, ZBrush and Matrix. During the research, I baught many user guides and tried to learn by my self how to use them.

The reasons behind my choice of 3DESIGN CAD as my final jewellery software is because it was my favorite one to use…

1. Compared to other 3D softwares, 3DESIGN is really dedicated to jewellery. This includes drawing, jewel production, rendering functions… and more jewellery tools.
2. The designing and modelling functions are based on true jeweller processes and concepts, which allows to any real jeweller to start and begin in the 3D jewellery universe.
3. The interface is pleasant, fresh, and feels human. It leaves to the user the choice to adapt and ajust it to it’s working environment. The icons are really visual and representational, which makes the software easily understood.
4. From drawings in 2D to 3D renderings, or even with 3SHAPER for organic modelling, everything helps you to design freely. Compared to other «plug-in» type softwares, it is really an «all-in-one» software.
5. A rich library of stones and materials, with stone report functionnalities, pave creation, and other specific stone functions allowing designers to focus on their creative work rather than learning the abstract 3D language.
6. The parametric construction tree allows the designer to instantly modify and review his creation to meet the client’s needs. With this, the designer can create in a freer and more effective way.
7. The number of rendering models ease up the creation of presentation models. The high level of rendering helps to convince clients and can be used with communication and marketing.

6) According to you, how would you describe Taiwan jewelry market? And the profile of Taiwanese jewelers?

Rachel Chen :
Compared to other industries, Taiwan’s jewellery market is very traditionnal and conservative, even close minded.
20 years ago, this market reached its peak.
Since 2008, the Taiwanese market had to face the turmoil the local market braught, while the occidental market was attracted by China, making the Taiwanese jewellery market nearly invisible.

This never seen crisis forced companies to reorganise themselves to stay strong and maintain a position on the market.

Because jewellery isn’t basic necessity, thousands of Taiwanese detail stores along with traditionnal companies faced the pressure from the international recession, the stock market fall, inflation and buying power decrease.

7) What do Taiwanese jewelers mostly think about CAD, about 3DESIGN?

Rachel Chen :
I held my first 3DESIGN course in 2010. At that time, most jewellers and designers didn’t believe in and didn’t use CAD. High jewellery clients also have many misgivings that need to be removed. Jewellery was, back then, «I believe only what I see», and if you didn’t show the stones, or a authenticity certificate, we couldn’t gain the client’s trust.

Thanks to the evolution of 3D printing, it became very popular to hear about it in discussion topics in Taiwan, and benefitted from a huge newsworthy exposition in 2014.

This allowed a global increase for the CAD market.

3DESIGN will become the n°1 choice and the only possible option in the user’s mind.

When people will talk about 3D jewellery designing softwares, they will collectively talk about 3DESIGN as being the best possible investment.