The Challenge
The company sold custom engagement rings and personalized jewelry online, offering choices of metal type (yellow gold, white gold, rose gold, platinum), gemstone, setting style, and engraving. Their product images were high-quality photographs of pre-made examples, but customers were buying configurations they had never seen rendered together. Their return rate on custom jewelry was 22% — primarily driven by customers finding the metal color or stone appearance didn't match expectations. Each return cost £180 in reverse logistics and reprocessing. The return problem was also damaging brand reputation through negative reviews citing 'looked different than expected.'
The Solution
ConfiguraThor built a custom jewelry configurator with physically-based rendering for metal and gemstone materials. Customers select their metal type, gemstone, setting, and engraving, and see the piece rendered in accurate 3D — with the correct metal reflectance, stone faceting, and color for each combination. An engraving preview shows the text on the 3D model. The price updates in real time as options are selected. On mobile, customers can view the piece in WebAR to see its actual size.
"Our returns were telling us that customers couldn't see what they were buying. The configurator fixed that — and then some."
Frequently Asked Questions
How accurate is the 3D rendering for metal and gemstone materials?
ConfiguraThor uses physically-based rendering for jewelry materials. Metal types render with accurate reflectance and color temperature — the difference between yellow gold and rose gold is clearly visible. Gemstones render with accurate faceting and color saturation. The goal was to make what customers see in the configurator match what arrives in the box.
Why did average order value increase with the configurator?
Before the configurator, customers choosing between standard gold and premium platinum were making that decision based on text descriptions and price difference alone. With the configurator, they could see the difference in finish and quality in 3D. Customers who could see the premium finish were significantly more willing to pay for it.
How long did the jewelry configurator take to implement?
The initial implementation covering 3 ring styles with full metal and gemstone options was completed in 8 weeks. This included 3D model creation for each ring design, material library setup with 6 metal types and 12 stone options, and Shopify integration with live pricing.