We have nagged Cees, founder and CEO of the company, in order to get him to share a bit more about the secret technique of Jewel Concepts that allows them to deliver jewellery that contains your fingerprint, with such a high degree of realism. Insisting helps, as he does reveal some interesting aspects. Read the summary of our talk with him here.
Take your fingerprints at home
“Let me start at the beginning of the process. Most orders come in through our website, ie in a digital manner. So the very first thing we do every morning is go over the new orders one by one and check if they are all complete. Once we have made sure of this, we send out a confirmation to each individual customer, in order to let them know their order was received well and we are starting on their piece of jewellery.”
The next step is somewhat proprietary, but Cees has let us peek at it. We can only reveal here what he has allowed us to.
Proprietary techniques
What they do at Jewel Concepts is they enhance the digital fingerprint you have sent them. But they do this while maintaining all it’s detailes. Cees and his team have worked over 7 years to develop and perfection this step in their craftsmanship. It is therefore logical that they can’t share this method with the entire world.
I am allowed to tell you though, that your individual and exclusive fingerprint jewel is not the result of just some engraving process. Before visiting the workshop I was convinced that the great ‘fingerprint effect’ in all of the items is obtained through some form of diamond- or laser-engraving method. But this is not the case, it’s way more sophisticated than this.
“Each and every jewel we craft for our clients comprises a real physical fingerprint, with all of it’s curves.”, Cees tells me. “As proof of this, with your jewel we send you a certificate that shows you exactly which part of the fingerprint you had sent, is a part of your jewel. You are 100% sure that it’s authentically your fingerprint that forms the central part of your jewel.”
Cees reveals some more on the secret technique of Jewel Concepts
OK, we now know that it’s a sophisticated process that Cees has developed through intense work and research over the past 7 years or so. But there has to be more he is willing to share with us.
“Before I started working on improving the quality of the fingerprint we insert into the jewels, most workshops used a method called the ‘lost wax method’. They would seize the fingerprint into soft wax, then capture it in plaster, to then fill the impression with gold or silver in order to get the fingerprint into the bullion. This method, that is still used in a number of cheap workshops, results in a fingerprint with a depth of about 0,01 millimeter. It will disappear quite fast, through friction. Currently, with our sophisticated techniques, we’ve already had quite a few customers tell us that the fingerprint in their ring remains exactly as is, for a period of up to 15 years.”
Once a jewel is ready, contains the fingerprint, it goes to the phase of finishing. The jewel is polished, soldered, the clasp or hanger is attached to it etc…
Individual jewels
We hope you understand that your piece of jewellery is not an item that ‘rolls out of a machine’, but fully the result of individual attention to your desires. Every item is made to measure and according to your wishes. This also explains why there’s a delivery time of between 4 and 5 weeks. You can’t rush exclusive and individual craftsmanship.
A last point about the certificate you receive with your order. It also shows the name and signature of the goldsmith who has crafted your jewel.
Because Jewel Concepts wants you to appreciate the jewel for itself of course, but also wants you to find pleasure in the fact that your jewel was especially and specifically made for you.