Major jewellery CAD programs currently used in the jewellery industry
(Updated frequently. Jewellery CAD Software Overviews last updated June 2022).
Within each of the links below, I’ve provided a general jewellery CAD software overview for each major jewellery CAD program currently being used on the market. I’ve aimed to provide a neutral perspective on each, advocating them based on their relative strengths and the tasks for which they are most useful to jewellery professionals.
To that end, on each page you’ll find information on that program’s origins, where and how it is most commonly used in jewellery design or manufacturing, its particular advantages and weaknesses, and options for learning.
Besides my own training options for each, I have also provided a carefully curated selection of CAD video tutorials to demonstrate and teach some essential basics of that software. These are included to provide a clear picture as to how these programs behave in practice.
If you would like to know more about which jewellery CAD Software is best suited for specific tasks, I have written a FAQ page comparing the strengths of all the various jewellery CAD software packages, as well as a list of CAD software combinations which work well together for various specialist tasks in 2D and 3D jewellery CAD modelling.
If there is a CAD program you’d like to ask me about that is not included here, feel free to contact me directly.
Jewellery CAD Software Overviews
3Design CAD
A flexible and powerful solid jewellery CAD modeller with unmatched fully parametric features.
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MatrixGold
Stuller/Gemvision combined Matrix and RhinoGold together and made a powerful parametric surface modeller and upgrade to Rhino.
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Rhino 3D
A low-cost flexible general product design CAD tool which has been adapted for jewellery manufacturing.
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CarveCo
The successor to ArtCAM as the best 2.5D relief CAD modelling tool for jewellery and medals.
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Zbrush
A powerful and low-cost visual effects sculpture tool which has grown to become the jewellery sculptor’s secondary CAD tool of choice.
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Adobe Illustrator
One of the oldest and most popular graphic design tools also turns out to be the 2D designer’s best option, and possibly the fastest CAD program of them all.
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Matrix9
While now discontinued, its continued persistence shows just how dominant and well-loved this jewellery CAD tool has always been.
Learn MoreA Note On Quality Assurance and My Disclaimer
All of the information on the jewellery CAD software in each of these links has been verified as correct as of the writing of this post.
Note that before any of these CAD video tutorials are added to these pages, all of the videos are tested and confirmed to work correctly in the latest released version of that software. However, it has happened before that the owner of the videos may remove them or set them as private after I have posted them.
If there are any differences between the version of the software being demonstrated and the latest version, I’ve confirmed that the changes with the new version won’t affect how this tutorial works. Also, where possible I try to choose the easiest to follow tutorials with clear verbal instructions and without any distracting background music playing while they’re working. If there is a problem with any of these links or tutorials, please let me know and I will make an update.
Would you like to know more?
If you’re not sure which course to take, or would like to know more about a particular article here on the site, simply contact me and ask. I’m always happy to answer questions or provide advisory about the courses I deliver or jewellery CAD in general.
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