Thailand’s jewelry industry

Is technology destroying or enhancing Thailand’s jewelry industry

Nothing says "I've been there" like a traditional piece of hand-crafted jewelry. But as Thailand's jewelry industry becomes more and more popular -- Thailand exported gems and jewelry worth US$9.4 billion in 2009 according to the Thai Gem Jewelry Exchange Commission -- the designers are having to rethink their manufacturing practices. Many are now using state of the art computer software programs for designs they would previously have done by hand.

Thai jewelryBella Redl, 36, prefers to design by hand while using tiny crystals from Austria at her factory in Thailand.

The problem, for those who prefer to know their jewelry has had the human touch, and more so for those designers who want to stick to traditional methods, is that these computer-assisted designs can be produced faster and are flooding the market. Those who refuse to 'technologize' their designs risk being left behind.

Vanna Weinberg, 60, is a Thai jewelry designer who works with her American husband, David Weinberg, at Multi Colour Gems on Silom Soi 20. "I like to do it with my hands," she says. "For most of my design, I put my art into it. I do it with wax."

But she admits that for certain aspects of her work a Computer Aided Design (CAD) program can be very useful. "My husband said for some designs we need it. Like sometimes, we like to put a diamond with a stone, and if we use the CAD program, maybe it will produce a more standard size."

And while others are quick to point out the flaws in a computer-designed piece of jewelry, they are also quick to admit they would use it in certain circumstances.

Thai jewelryThai designer Nikul Boonyen refuses to consider using a computer to create his rings, which use zirconia, black enamel and other material.Bella Redl, 36, creates avant garde and fetish designs under her company Body Steel and Silver Company from a factory in Thailand. Her pieces are much sought after in Paris as well as in other high fashion markets. She also designs mostly on paper. "The CAD system, the Matrix system; I'm not very fond of both of them because they do tend to be a little too structured and too impersonal," she says. "They become very geometrical. So the jewelry basically becomes simpler and simpler. Whereas everything you design on paper, there is more fantasy to it."

But she does use Matrix software for ear and body piercings and other things which "need a little more speed and more control, regarding the sizes and settings." Matrix is good for that, "because proportion is always there. 'Hand' can be wrong, here and there. Whereas Matrix gives you that perfection. Left and right, it's always the same," Redl says.

And Duncan Diaper, a British jewelry designer whose High Five Design company in Bangkok churns out lower-range fashion products for the tourist industry in silver and pewter, also says he is looking to invest in a CAD software package even though most of his work is easier to do by hand.

"You can design, or draft, one piece of jewelry, Thai jewelryVanna Weinberg, a Thai jewelry designer, displays one of her hand made pieces. one design, and, like in Photoshop, you can expand it or contract it to different sizes without having to re-do it all again. And you can have three or four different sizes from one image very quickly." This is particularly useful for stone-set jewelry and other more precise jewelry, he says.