• Allison Miles •
• Originally published January 10, 2009 at 4:31 p.m., updated January 10, 2009 at 4:31 p.m.

Armed with diamonds, a smile and her 10-year-old son, Trent, in tow, Diana Perry stepped inside Torin Bales Fine Jewelry on Wednesday, ready for an upgrade.

The Shiner resident received a gift card at Christmas from her husband of 13 years, Travis Perry, to spruce up her wedding ring.

She spent a few minutes going over what she wanted: a three-stone design using her original diamond - which comes in just under a -carat - and maybe other smaller ones from from her mother and great aunt. And she'll return in a matter of days for a 3-D glimpse of her in-the-works ring.

Emerging technology often means change, and the jewelry design and repair industries are no exception.

Traditionally, jewelers sketch out designs for their customers on paper during the consultation, said Mike Mathews, bench jeweler at Torin Bales. Even with that picture, however, customers can find it difficult to visualize the final product.

Torin Bales' computer program - an approximately $15,000 investment including the computer - gives them an idea how a ring will look on a finger or an earring on an ear and even incorporates specific stones. So, if you go in with Grandma Pat's opal, that exact opal will be in the rendition.

It also ensures that the design will be perfectly symmetrical, something Mathews said not even the best sculptor can do.

Of course, technology also has its drawbacks.

Mathews, who has about 31 years in the jewelry industry, admits he hit a learning curve with the CAD software and that he's spent many a night pouring over the computer.

Also, with jewelry design available on some Web sites, customers come in with unreasonable expectations, such as settings that wouldn't safely hold the stone.

Technology isn't limited to design. Repair has taken on its own Star Trek-esque qualities.

A laser welder sits in the back room at Eichhorn, Gonzales & Miller Fine Jewelers.

With openings in both sides for the jeweler to stick his hands through and crosshairs to make sure the laser is where it should be, the machine melts and fuses metals on contact, said Duane Gonzales, a designer and bench jeweler at the shop.

Jewelers often receive critical pieces of jewelry they must weld next to items that can't take high heats, Gonzales explained. The laser allows them to concentrate that heat on one distinct point.

"It goes from the ambient temperature to the melting point and almost back to room temperature right away," he said, as he demonstrated.

With several pushes of a pedal, which brought brief flashes of light, Gonzales fused the flat ends of two 2-inch screws together. When he pulled them from the machine, they were cool to the touch.

The jewelry store has owned the welder for about six years and, although the approximately $35,000 machine was a hefty investment, Gonzales said it was worth it.

But the shop doesn't rely solely on the latest advances.

Most creations are done in a traditional method, where they carve the piece from wax, place the carving in a special plaster, allow it to dry and then cast it, he said.

And, although they're considering some new machinery to aid in design, that doesn't necessarily mean it will improve their work.

"Ultimately, you can't buy innovations in skill," he said.

Things may be changing, but both jewelers said that, especially when it comes to custom jewelry, they have very interesting jobs.

Mathews can show customers a piece he made that incorporated a Mexican coin, while Gonzales can show off a pipe wrench-shaped tie pin or chupacabra charm.

And while those designs might not appeal to everybody, the important thing is, they appeal to the people who will wear them.

"It may not amount to a hill of beans to anybody else but to you it's something very special," Gonzales said, smiling.

• A LONG TIME COMING

  Diana Perry's new ring is a longtime coming, but she could never part with the stone her husband, Travis, gave her when he proposed. He was 17, she was 18. He mowed lawns for an ...

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A LONG TIME COMING

Diana Perry's new ring is a longtime coming, but she could never part with the stone her husband, Travis, gave her when he proposed. He was 17, she was 18. He mowed lawns for an entire year, keeping his savings in his closet to be able to purchase that ring.

"He wanted to mark me for college," she said with a laugh.

For a while, he'd show her the ever-growing wad of bills, she said, but quit after a while because he didn't want her to know how close he was.

On their last date before they left for college, the couple went to Olde Victoria Restaurant for dinner and Travis told her he'd forgotten his wallet. He left the room and, when he returned, gave her a tri-fold card.

It wasn't out of the ordinary, she said, because they often gave one another cards. But when she opened this one, she found a diamond ring perched inside.

"I cried when he gave it to me," she said, smiling.

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