Feature

Real or Rendered?

Kristin A. Aldridge

April 1, 2014

It’s a beautiful tanzanite pendant necklace.

Or is it?

Half of the images in the gallery below are photographs of actual jewelry pieces.

The others are computer renderings created by GIA students.

Jewelry Design & Technology (JDT) students create dozens of jewelry designs by using computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aid manufacturing (CAM) programs. The technology lets them create a 3-D rendering (image) of their design that is often remarkably realistic.

Each slide in the gallery contains two images – one is a photograph, the other a computer rendering.

These stunning designs all beg the question: Which is real and which is rendered?

Real or Rendered?

Kristin A. Aldridge, a writer at GIA, is a graduate of GIA’s Pearls and Accredited Jewelry Professional programs.