What Happens During a CAD Design Consultation
TL;DR: A CAD design consultation walks through a photorealistic 3D render of your proposed ring — exact proportions, setting detail, and stone placement — so you can request changes before anything physical is made. It typically follows the initial brief consultation and precedes production entirely.
Where CAD Fits in the Process
After your initial free consultation establishes budget, style, and stone preferences, we develop a design and produce a CAD (computer-aided design) render — a photorealistic 3D model of the proposed piece. This happens before any metal is cut or any stone is set, giving you a genuine opportunity to see and adjust the design.
What the Render Actually Shows
A good CAD render shows exact proportions — band width, setting height, how the stone sits relative to the band — from multiple angles, often including a simulated view of how the piece would look worn. This level of detail is considerably more informative than a sketch or verbal description, since small proportional details are exactly what's hardest to judge without seeing them rendered accurately.
What You Can Request Changes To
Setting height, band width and profile, prong style and count, and overall proportions can all be adjusted at this stage without any cost or delay penalty — this is precisely the point of the CAD stage, to catch and correct anything before production rather than after.
What Happens After Approval
Once you've reviewed the render and confirmed you're happy in writing, the design is locked and production begins. Changes requested after this point are more involved, since materials have typically already been committed.
How Many Rounds of Revision Are Normal
Most commissions settle on a final design within one to three rounds of revision. Complex or highly personalised designs sometimes take longer, but there's no fixed limit — the goal is a design you're genuinely happy with before production begins.
CAD Consultations at À Vie Diamonds
Every commission includes a full CAD design and approval stage before any production begins. Get in touch to start a consultation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a CAD render in jewellery design? A photorealistic 3D computer model of a proposed piece, showing exact proportions and detail before anything physical is made.
How many CAD revisions are typical? Most commissions settle within one to three rounds, though there's no fixed limit — revisions continue until you're genuinely happy with the design.
Can I request changes after approving the CAD design? Once approved and production has started, changes become more involved since materials are typically already committed — which is why the CAD stage exists to catch adjustments beforehand.
Last reviewed: July 2026 · À Vie Diamonds