How to render a jewelry product photo from a CAD file

Why render instead of photograph

A render comes from the same file the piece is cast from, so every metal colour and stone can be shown before anything is made. The comparison in 3D renders vs jewelry photo shoots goes through when each one makes sense.

Step 1: Load the CAD file

Open the model in a renderer built for jewelry. A Rhino 3DM file keeps its layers and units; a GLB, STL or OBJ works too. In the studio, metals and stones are found in the file and given real materials, so a diamond refracts light like a diamond instead of looking like grey plastic.

Step 2: Choose metal and stones

Pick the metal colour and the stones you want to show. Each choice changes the render at once, so one file can give a white gold, a yellow gold and a rose gold photo in a few clicks.

Step 3: Light it and pick the angle

Studio lighting and a soft contact shadow are on by default. Drag the piece to the angle you want; the exported image is exactly that view. For a set of angles at once, the studio's Showcase set captures a series in one go.

Step 4: Export the image

Export the view as an image for your product page. The export and share guide lists every format: PNG, JPEG and WebP stills, turntable video, and the 3D model itself for AR.

Try it free

The free 3D jewelry renderer runs the same engine as the studio in your browser: drop a file, pick a metal and a stone, and download the view. Free renders carry our mark across the image; the studio renders without it on a paid plan. To put the same model on your website in 3D instead of as a still, see the 3D viewer use case.