Paul Klecka shares Gemvision Matrix CAD procedures featuring three designs and three solutions
Featuring Paul Klecka, Paul Klecka Inc.: San Diego, Ca

Paul Klecka, at work in his studio salon, without-a-doubt has joined the digital jewelry design revolution. He took quickly to Gemvision’s Matrix software. The program changed his business model and enabled him to expand the possibilities in his designs. Just two years ago, each step of the design process for his signature pieces was done by hand. Now, he uses Matrix exclusively for concept, design and rendering. Klecka has reinvented his operation to achieve greater success in today’s market.

Just before the noon rush on Columbus Day, we arrive in Chicago’s bustling downtown district. Heading for the studio of designer Paul Klecka, we take in the lakefront and the city. The trees lining Millennium Park on Michigan Avenue have been coaxed into their fall colors creating a striking foreground to the 24.5 acres of art, architecture, music and entertainment that lay in the heart of the Windy City. The midday crowd, including students from nearby DePaul University, breezes by. Down the street, the Beaux Arts building of the Art Institute of Chicago looms above passersby adorned by banners announcing the Toulouse-Lautrec exhibit currently on display. We will soon discover that all of these familiar hometown sights may be appreciated from the window of Paul Klecka’s 22nd floor salon. We’re anxious to meet the man – among a handful of jewelry designers who have reached star status – and discover how he came to embrace Gemvision Matrix and CAD/CAM technology in his business. An award-winning designer, Klecka has garnered accolades in prestigious competitions for diamonds, colored gemstones, platinum, and innovative marketing. This recognition early in his career enabled him to broaden his focus from a single retail operation in the 1980s to wholesale manufacturing, which allowed the finest retailers in the country to carry his distinctive trademarked pieces. Using a strategy of developing jewelry collections based on his award-winning concepts, he has gained international popularity. The Reinvention of a Designer Klecka beams as he welcomes us to his retail salon, which surprisingly centers on a monitor and keyboard stationed at a comfortably appointed consultation niche. His lithe form and youthful enthusiasm belie his 30-plus years in the industry – from his first classes in jewelry design and technique as a college junior, to production manager at a custom jeweler armed with an MFA in jewelry from Northern Illinois University and finally as a jewelry designer and manufacturer, when he struck out on his own in 1982. As founder and president of Paul Klecka Inc., he has found success providing custom design and manufacturing services to a select clientele of consumers and local retailers. Recently, however, something happened to revolutionize his approach to marketing and design. Klecka’s introduction to Gemvision’s Matrix software was an epiphany, and he immersed himself in the technology. He is animated as he conveys the story of his year-long journey from “physical” to “virtual” inventory; from manufacturer to facilitator; from handwork to CAD/CAM. He shares three examples of how the digital revolution has helped him to expand his business and explore new creative possibilities.

For this Matrix rendering of the Pyramid necklace, Klecka designed one of the largest pyramid-shaped units of the necklace (the motif repeats throughout) and was able to reduce the size proportionately in the program to create the medium and small modules. The applications within the software make quick work of tedious and time-consuming steps. The models were shipped to a factory in Chiang Mai, Thailand, along with rendering files for assembly, where they were cast, then finished and assembled. The completed necklace was precise in every detail.

1. THE PYRAMID NECKLACE
Klecka is a member of the American Jewelry Design Council, and was formerly the director and public relations committee chairman. Each year, members create pieces which reflect a chosen theme for exhibition at the Gemological Institute of America and major trade shows. Klecka’s Pyramid Necklace was a milestone in that the creation process itself was the model for his newest business direction. The piece was entirely conceptualized, designed and rendered in the Matrix program, expressing the AJDC pyramid theme as an Egyptian Pharohanic collar. The resulting file was e-mailed to a rapid-prototyping service provider to prepare the models. Finally, the models were shipped to a factory in Chiang Mai, Thailand, along with rendering files to be used as guides for assembly, where they were cast, then finished and assembled by jewelry technicians whose construction approach is exacting. The completed necklace was shipped back to the U.S., precise in every detail. With the industry relationships he has cultivated over the years, Klecka can now design his jewelry, and then outsource the manufacturing processes through the finished product, confident that each phase will be executed according to his vision. Klecka states, “Matrix allows complete control over the production process so that virtually any bench jeweler can easily produce the design.”

2. THE TANZANITE PIECE
In a designer chat group one day, a retailer asked if anyone had a tanzanite piece for a particular customer. Klecka did and promptly shipped it out. It was returned with the explanation that the customer thought it was beautiful and well-crafted, but it was far too elegant and did not fit his wife’s casual style. Eager to know more about this prospective
client, Klecka found out that the couple had traveled extensively in Africa, that the wife had an active, athletic lifestyle and the husband was looking for a piece of jewelry that would reflect and accommodate these interests. Klecka set to work, pulling the ideas together in Matrix. The result was a pendant created from raw materials which symbolically have their origin in Africa (tanzanite, platinum, diamonds), simply yet stunningly structured to enhance the form and protect the fragile beauty of the intensely colored gem. It was displayed on an elephant hair cord and ultimately wearable. Klecka e-mailed the Matrix rendering to the retailer and the customer within hours of their first communication. The man was amazed by the rendering and sold on this design which embodied the beauty, symbolism and practicality he sought. He approved and made arrangements to purchase it immediately.

Two sides of the reversible lily pendant in rendering. Working against time, Klecka e-mailed his Matrix-generated files for the models of the open and closed lilies to a service bureau. He received the finished jewelry in 48 hours. CAD/CAM Design Precision One of Klecka’s new collections features sapphires that are precisely and uniformly cut. The gemstone specifications do not vary, allowing for a myriad of design and manufacturing possibilities. In this example, a precise Lattisset™ layout became easy to produce using the array tool within Gemvision’s Matrix software. The software generated a file for production of the model and the model featured all holes drilled, prongs that are prenotched for setting, and uniformly sized and shaped. The combination of the precise Matrix-generated CAM models and the precision cutting and tolerances of the designated gems enable even a novice craftsman to be an effective production gem setter.

3. THE LILY PENDANT
Klecka was approached by the Brain Injury Association to design a piece of jewelry to symbolize its cause, create awareness and represent the work the association did on the behalf of those afflicted. The group chose the symbol of the closed lily to symbolize a contained, isolated state of injury and the open lily to represent the functional, receptive state of health. One catch – BIA needed six pieces of finished jewelry in less than a week for an important symposium event.

Working with Gemvision Matrix, Klecka came up with a brilliant design solution in 90 minutes based on a rendering provided by the association. The piece he designed was a reversible pendant – on one side, the open lily, on the other side, the closed lily. He e-mailed the CAD image, and upon approval of BIA, forwarded the files to a rapid-prototype service bureau to have the models made. Meanwhile, he ordered the chains and presentation packaging. He arranged to have the models cast, finished and sent to him. He inspected the work, put the pendants on the chains, packaged and had them ready for delivery one day before the event. The pendants were a resounding success, providing a clever fundraising vehicle for the BIA. Klecka also helped the association with pricing and marketing volume quantities of the jewelry, using Gemvision Matrix CAD images in the promotions.

Clearly, designing is his first love (his concepts are based on the topic of his master’s thesis, “Perceptive and Illusory Aspects of Jewelry”), but he possesses a keen business sense which has served him well in defining his market and maintaining the integrity of his product throughout his career.

More significantly, this acumen has enabled him to reinvent his business model for the future. Klecka summarizes, “Most consumers today are seeking luxury experiences that have personal meaning at all price levels. They are searching for
beautiful products that resonate with their individuality, coupled with highly personalized service. It matters less to them where they source these experiences and products as long as they find meaningful solutions. Working digitally, a brick-and-mortar location is no longer a key component of my business model, and my reach is simultaneously local and global.”

Klecka says that with digital capabilities like e-mail and CAD imaging he has the ability to work anywhere. He recently decided to leave his home base in Illinois and now resides in San Diego, CA. “I’m just a California guy who grew up in Chicago,” he proclaims with a smile.

Today, Klecka markets his work via the Internet, presents his design via e-mail, utilizes production options virtually anywhere on the planet. He also is involved with QVC distribution of his designs, where he can share his concepts as the on-air personality. He’s currently working on new jewelry products, concepts and private label development.

For information about Paul Klecka Inc., visit www.klecka.com or paul@klecka.com.