Jewellery Between Product and Experience: Luxury …
11
sectors, skills and processes, in which science, ethics and aesthetics are integrated to
create something new.
Today experiments on alternative non-polluting materials are increasingly frequent. Taking into consideration diamonds, one of several issues that the industry is
buzzing about is lab-grown ones. Consumers are asking for them even if there are
not on the market yet. The appeal of lab-grown diamonds goes beyond their being
priced 20–30% cheaper at retail than mined diamonds. Consumers are drawn to them
because they do not contribute to the destruction of the environment and no one is
harmed in their creation, two big considerations that tie into the ‘responsible sourcing’ movement that is gaining traction among consumers, particularly Millennials.
Therefore, manufacturers should surely begin thinking about incorporating them into
their lines.
These options have a number of benefits as they require less human labour, have
a reduced carbon footprint, are indistinguishable from their natural counterparts and
come with a significantly lower tag price. But at the same time, designers warn against
using artificial stones exclusively, since could deprive entire mining communities of
their livelihood.
The case studies shown above are just some emblematic examples of a global
vision that aims to combine aesthetics and technique with an ethic that is attentive
to the choice of materials, to the respect for the environment, to the recovery of the
collective heritage, to the know-how linked to the territory.
The new work system provides for the sharing and optimization of resources in a
relationship open to change. About Fucina Orafa, for example, is an Italian reality,
a place where it is possible to create and learn, with a view to sharing knowledge,
saving resources and spaces. It is an independent laboratory for goldsmiths, students
and artists linked to the world of art and jewellery, a network of professionals who
collaborate with each other, keeping alive the goldsmith traditions combined with
contemporary techniques in order to achieve high-quality jewellery pieces.
3 The Digital Shift: The Impact of Digital Technologies
on Jewellery
The shift from a handcraftsmanship-based methodology to new models of productive
processes was marked by the first industrial revolution: the handcraft know-how had
been gradually flanked and, for some sectors, entirely replaced by the use of machine
tools, with significant benefits in terms of quantity, speed and efficiency. It is during
the industrial revolution, the transition from the artisanal manufacture to the mass
production, that for the first time the contrast between manus (hand) and machina
(machine) comes to light, two opposing elements which have characterized every
productive and artistic sphere for the centuries ahead [1].
Also, the jewellery sector, thus, has been affected by the dichotomy generated
from the manufacturing revolution.
11
sectors, skills and processes, in which science, ethics and aesthetics are integrated to
create something new.
Today experiments on alternative non-polluting materials are increasingly frequent. Taking into consideration diamonds, one of several issues that the industry is
buzzing about is lab-grown ones. Consumers are asking for them even if there are
not on the market yet. The appeal of lab-grown diamonds goes beyond their being
priced 20–30% cheaper at retail than mined diamonds. Consumers are drawn to them
because they do not contribute to the destruction of the environment and no one is
harmed in their creation, two big considerations that tie into the ‘responsible sourcing’ movement that is gaining traction among consumers, particularly Millennials.
Therefore, manufacturers should surely begin thinking about incorporating them into
their lines.
These options have a number of benefits as they require less human labour, have
a reduced carbon footprint, are indistinguishable from their natural counterparts and
come with a significantly lower tag price. But at the same time, designers warn against
using artificial stones exclusively, since could deprive entire mining communities of
their livelihood.
The case studies shown above are just some emblematic examples of a global
vision that aims to combine aesthetics and technique with an ethic that is attentive
to the choice of materials, to the respect for the environment, to the recovery of the
collective heritage, to the know-how linked to the territory.
The new work system provides for the sharing and optimization of resources in a
relationship open to change. About Fucina Orafa, for example, is an Italian reality,
a place where it is possible to create and learn, with a view to sharing knowledge,
saving resources and spaces. It is an independent laboratory for goldsmiths, students
and artists linked to the world of art and jewellery, a network of professionals who
collaborate with each other, keeping alive the goldsmith traditions combined with
contemporary techniques in order to achieve high-quality jewellery pieces.
3 The Digital Shift: The Impact of Digital Technologies
on Jewellery
The shift from a handcraftsmanship-based methodology to new models of productive
processes was marked by the first industrial revolution: the handcraft know-how had
been gradually flanked and, for some sectors, entirely replaced by the use of machine
tools, with significant benefits in terms of quantity, speed and efficiency. It is during
the industrial revolution, the transition from the artisanal manufacture to the mass
production, that for the first time the contrast between manus (hand) and machina
(machine) comes to light, two opposing elements which have characterized every
productive and artistic sphere for the centuries ahead [1].
Also, the jewellery sector, thus, has been affected by the dichotomy generated
from the manufacturing revolution.