Gemvision’s CounterSketch Studio (CSS) software, distributed locally by Evolution Jewellers, has been given an upgrade for certain territories, including Australia and New Zealand.
Evolution Jewellers director Anthony Nowlan said although CSS had received a good deal of interest from the jewellery retail sector, many found it limiting because designs were manufactured in the US by American jewellery supplier Stuller, with whom Gemvision partnered in 2009.
“It would seem the logistics of not only dealing with a company based in the US but also dealing with freight, duty and a falling Australian dollar made the choice to purchase CSS a deal-breaker,” Nowlan explained.
In response to these concerns, CounterSketch International (CSI) was developed.
Nowlan said CSI operated largely in the same way as CSS but now allowed jewellers to export CAD files directly to their preferred manufacturing service bureau or rapid prototyping machine.
“Users can now enjoy the power of designing in front of a customer easily and efficiently and then export their file for local manufacturing,” he explained.
Nowlan added that CSI was modelled on the fifth version of CSS released in October, and that it incorporated a number of the latest edition’s features. These include a search function for Stuller’s stone inventory; a real-time, exact pricing tool feature; and measuring tools to help retailers calculate exact dimensions for precise manufacturing.
Stuller’s manufacturing services will still be accessible to CSI users, and Evolution Jewellers’ existing CSS users across Australia and New Zealand will be able to upgrade to the new software for a per-licence fee.
CSI will be available to local retailers in January 2016.
CSS is a jewellery retail-specific CAD software program that was released to the Australian and New Zealand market in March 2010.
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