Screen Gems

But the back corner of the store holds what owner Barry Nicholls considers the future of jewelry making-Gem Vision software.. Customers probably don't notice the understated silver, flat-screen monitor and computer, alongside what looks like a large overhead projector. With these gizmos, Nicholls can show clients custom designs-virtually-in minutes.

Using the overhead and computer, Nicholls creates two-dimensional custom pieces with a template of stones in different cuts, carat weights and colors. In a demonstration, he uses the mouse to drag a pear-shaped emerald and place it onto a leaf-shaped pendant. Then Nicholls pulls over two smaller-carat diamonds and drops them on either side of a stem that will hold the chain. It all appears on a screen, and the whole process takes less than five minutes.

If such a piece were to the customer's liking, it could then be molded in wax and cast in precious metal. Or changes could be made until the piece exactly fit the customer's specifications. Nicholls can also take an existing ornament, capture its image in a computer file, and rearrange it, giving a new look to old jewelry. "What's nice is it allows us to visualize it much better as a finished product," says Nicholls.

Before this technology, which has only been available for about three years, customers who wanted custom designs had to communicate their ideas to jewelers who 'counter sketched' the jewelry. The process took weeks, or even months, with no guarantee the results would be exactly what customers envisioned.

"There's a little trepidation," says Nicholls of people who buy custom-designed jewelry. "They'll put a lot of money in it, and what if it's not what they wanted?" With the software, however, "it's very much like looking at the real thing. It gives customers piece of mind."

Nicholls, who has spent $11,000 for the software, hopes to upgrade soon so he can provide three-dimensional images. So far, only a few of his customers have used the computer-aided system when designing their jewelry pieces.

The cost is similar to getting custom pieces made the old-fashioned way. But with time and advertising, Nicholls hopes these computer-generated designs will make up a major portion of his business-anywhere from 20 to 30 percent.

"We're moving into the next evolution of what technology can do for business," adds Nicholls. "I'm trying to stay ahead of the curve."