Director, Fashion and Jewelry Channel
Jewelry Insider Proves Value of 3D Printing —
Bill Letwin was born into the jewelry business. His parents had three jewelry stores in Canada. Special orders and custom designs were a large part of the business.
Because he enjoyed science and math, Bill went on to the Gemological institute of America in Santa Monica, Calif., where he completed the Graduate Gemologist program, the most prestigious credential in the industry. He started his career with an appraisal lab that built one of the first computer-aided appraisal software products.
Seeing how great technology could advance the industry, he purchased the rights to distribute a jewelry design software program, Gemvision, for the Canadian market. Eventually, Bill became the vice president of sales and enjoyed incredible growth over the next 15 years. Eventually, the business evolved, developing 3-axis milling machines and full solution CAD/CAM for the jewelry industry.
“We started selling 3D prints from all of the major companies and EnvisionTEC was one of my personal favorites to sell because of the reliability and the print quality,” Letwin said.
In 2009, Bill joined EnvisionTEC, bringing the 3D printer technology to major manufacturers and large retailers, with a focus on large volume parts. Today, with the development of the Micro desktop printers, EnvisionTEC now covers a full range of the jewelry business — from small town retailers, to large luxury retailers, wholesalers, trade shops and large manufacturers.
“I have really enjoyed helping the jewelry industry innovate over the last 35 years with new technology,” Bill said. “EnvisionTEC’s latest launch of the cDLM printer — printing in minutes instead of hours — is going to be the next game changer.”
Bill still loves serving the jewelry industry because, despite its size, it’s an industry that relies on close relationships.
“Jewelers still make the products they sell, and it’s an industry that relies on close working relationships with its suppliers and equipment vendors,” Bill said. “We make products that have important deadlines that need to be met and with quality that we hope goes beyond clients’ expectations. EnvisionTEC products meet that high standard. I love when a customer tells me, ‘We couldn’t make this without your products.’ ”