Michael’s Jewelers professionals enhanced their design capabilities with upgraded customization software this summer.
The Yardley-based jewelers have been using computer-assisted design (CAD) programs for more than a decade, but their latest upgrade puts them at the cutting edge of the technology.
“Before, the rings on the design looked big and boxy,” says Michael’s Jewelers owner Michael Kanoff. “Our designers are now stepping it up, and we’re using more of a three-dimensional CAD. We're using truly state-of-the-art software at this point, which makes it almost impossible to get jewelry designs wrong.”
“When customers come in for us to design a ring with them, we talk about it in-person and see some different examples,” Michael continues. “Then when they leave, I have a computer-assisted design generated by our software and sent to their email, so they're able to see it at all angles, zoom in and out, and change the colors from yellow to white to rose gold.”
Customers can make any desired changes at this stage in the process, and the ring then goes through three more stages. First, Michael and his team create a wax mold of the ring and once again allow for any necessary changes to the design. They then cast the piece in the metal of the customer’s choosing before adding the diamond or other stone to complete the look. All custom-made jewelry at Michael’s Jewelers has a lifetime guarantee.
The customization software is used primarily for engagement rings, Michael confirms, but can be applied to any type of jewelry.
On the company's website, prospective customers can use the FANA Custom Ring Designer to try out different combinations of metal color, center stone shape and size, mounting style and engraving options. There’s also a “try it on” feature to see how the ring looks on a hand, as well as rotation and zoom capabilities.
Michael, a graduate of Pennsbury High School and the Gemological Institute of America, is the second-generation owner of the stores after his parents began the family business in 1976 — they’ll celebrate their 50th anniversary this November. They moved to Langhorne from their original Fairless Hills location in March and have had a Yardley location, now in Antique Alley, since 1997.
Michael’s grandfather and great-grandfather both worked in the watch repair business after the latter emigrated from Russia in the early 20th century. Throughout his family’s five decades of store ownership, Michael has the way trends tend to change and re-emerge.
Right now, he says, “Yellow-gold is king.”
“There’s nothing new in fashion,” Michael explains. “Things just cycle. For the last twenty years or so, it was all silver, white-gold and platinum, with hardly any yellow-gold. Now, it’s the opposite. Because white and silver were so popular, people needed a change; there’s only so much you can wear in white.”
Changing trends also can be “refreshing” for people who buy jewelry year after year, according to Michael. “You’ve bought your wife enough white pieces,” he says. “Let’s start buying gold again.”
Michael says he's also seeing an uptick in requests for bigger, bolder pieces. “Things were so skinny and tailored for so long, and again, now it’s the opposite,” he says.
There also has been a rush on what the industry calls “fancy shapes:" diamonds that are not the round, brilliant cut. Ovals are still the most popular fancy shape, with an increase in elongated cuts like radiance (square or rectangular with trimmed edges), marquise (long and football-shaped), and cushion (pillow-shaped with soft, rounded corners) stones. Also up in popularity are bezel set rings, which feature a ring of the chosen metal wrapping around the stone.
According to Michael, trends also are influenced by celebrity engagement rings.
“Recently, Taylor Swift got that old-mine, elongated cushion cut, which is why elongated cushion cuts have been so popular,” he says. “As engagement rings go, celebrities dictate what’s trending, and it’s always been that way.”
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"We're using truly state-of-the-art software that makes it almost impossible to get customers' preferred designs wrong." ~Michael Kanoff, owner, Michael’s Jewelers
"When customers leave, I would have a computer-assisted design generated by our software and sent to your email, so you’re able to see it at all angles, zoom in and out, and change the colors from yellow to white to rose gold.”