Brenda Warburton and her husband Craig have made CAD/CAM technology
a huge part of their successful retail venture.
Featuring Brenda and Craig Warburton, Austin & Warburton, Inc.,: Ann Arbor, MI

Brenda Warburton started her career at the bench by attending Gem City College in Quincy, Ill. After graduating in 1978 she got her first bench job from Dobie Jewelers, a retailer in Royal Oaks, Mich. The retailer moved her to a window location in a mall, which generated interest from passersby. The unexpected turn was that her skills were recognized by personnel from several other jewelry stores who approached her to take in their work. When she reported this to her employer, he thought it would be a great opportunity for her to start her own business and encouraged her to begin by offering her all of his trade work as well.

So, in 1979, she became a self-employed contract jeweler providing repair, reconstruction and custom order services to the trade. She operated this business for 8 years, then in 1985, Brenda along with her husband Craig purchased the Austin Diamond Company, a retail jewelry and diamond destination. Soon after purchasing this company, they combined Brenda’s trade business with the retail store. The retail side grew so quickly that they discontinued providing trade work. In 1997 the store was renamed Austin & Warburton and moved to its present location.

“Retail is about managing change”, says Craig. With this in mind, the Warburton’s have never backed away from technology. Craig has set up their store with 7 computers all networked and supported with a server so file storage, file sharing and back-up is easily accomplished. He has even introduced a computerized robotic vacuuming system that does the floor cleaning in the store after hours.

Brenda won third place in the bridal wear division in the 2006 Spectrum Award with this fanciful yet classic 18-karat white gold necklace featuring a 2.43 ct. pink Sapphire, a 1.16 ct. Alexandrite, a 0.91 ct. yellow Sapphire and Diamonds with a total weight of 2.94 ct. (Image 1) This recognition is 1 of 12 prestigious design awards Brenda has won since she began entering contests in 1993. Photo courtesy of AGTA.

Along with their many technological installations, Brenda has converted her jewelry design and model making to CAD/CAM. They purchased Gemvision’s Matrix Software and the Revo Mill for model making in 2000.

Brenda gets design inspiration mostly from the gemstones she’s working with, but she executes those designs on a computer. Using Matrix Software, she created the opposite mirror-image links on her Spectrum Award–winning design. The links are joined using a flexible hinge system that was created in the software. The diamonds are graduated and will be set in channels. After the piece was designed, Brenda used the gemstone list from the software to purchase the diamonds for the links. “There were no changes required during the diamond setting procedure, as all of the stones fit the channels perfectly,” Brenda says. “Because of Matrix, my design elements easily combined with the technical details of the assembly, and the components worked well together. This project took only part of my time for three weeks from my design concept to the finished piece.” Her design elements easily combined with the technical details of the assembly, and the components worked well together, she says. “Having CAD/CAM has enabled me to produce my original work, regular sellers for inventory and the store’s custom orders on demand at a faster rate than prior to using the technology,” says Brenda. “Our sales volume was up 50 percent last holiday season, and I was able to produce custom orders and replace inventory from our cases as it sold—in December!”

Brenda adds that being able to produce a versatile product selection based upon her original designs and regular sellers has given them the ability to offer a unique product choice for customers and build a brand around their specific products. It would have been difficult without the Revo mill tool, she says.

When asked about the greatest virtue of CAD/CAM, Brenda replies, “Nothing is impossible. Previously I was limited by what could be carved in wax by hand. Now I can achieve more intricate detail, obtain perfect symmetry, and do stone layouts that I would have previously done in the metal. CAD/CAM has provided me with the ability to model the details and hand it off to my bench jeweler, who skillfully finishes and sets the piece according to my every expectation.”



Brenda Warburton describes how Gemvision Matrix 3D Jewelry Design Software and the Gemvision Revo540 Milling System helped her create the pieces shown here...

Earrings – Brenda used the library of gemstone shapes and sizes within the Matrix Software when laying out the pattern for this design. She says “I don’t need to build gemstones whenever I need specific shapes or sizes for my use during the design process. All of the gemstones in these earrings fit the actual models after milling and casting and they matched perfectly.”

White gold lacey vine wedding band – According to Brenda “Laying out the intricate vine design element inside the band and incorporating the diamond motifs took moments. After the model was milled and cast, finishing and setting went quickly.”

Yellow and white gold ruby ring – Brenda designed this 2-tone ring to fit together after the milling and casting/pre-finishing procedures. “The fit was exact between the contrasting alloys. The partial bezel for the ruby had a ledge that pre-determined where I cut my bearing, making the setting faster and more precise.”

3-stone ring with bead and bright cut setting elements for rounds side stones – “I built the three princess cut settings and the bead and bright cut design elements into the design. After milling the model, I was able to check the fit for all diamonds prior to casting. After casting, my bench jeweler was easily able to professionally set all diamonds in a fraction of the time compared to creating settings from scratch.”

Yellow gold wedding band – Brenda marvels, “I had a specific repeating pattern for this design and using the features of the software, I was able to evenly space the element around the ring and proportionately between the 2 side rails. This feature saved so much time over creating the same model from wax or raw materials. After casting, the bezels for the diamonds and the design elements required less time to finish and set as compared to conventional methods”.

For information about Austin and Warburton Jewelers, visit www.austinandwarburton.com. To see a video that encapsulates what this powerful team of people is all about, click on “Meet Austin & Warburton”.