A cutting-edge firm that has developed methods of capturing multiple high-resolution photographic images to create seamless 4D images has brought its capabilities to the gem and jewellery space. Olga Gonzalez FGA DGA discusses how Sebring Revolution explained its technology to members of the trade. This article appeared in the Winter 2022 issue of Gem-A’s Gems & Jewellery Magazine.
Technology is usually developed and discussed within three dimensions: length, width, and depth, but there isn’t an understanding of the 4D transition the world is undergoing. Four-dimensional (4D) technology adds both space and time to the existing equation. When considering the visuals surrounding the gem and jewellery industry, images are taken on-camera, facing one direction. For three-dimensional space, the length, width, and depth of an image is taken from a camera lens. Videography is a series of still images put together to create the illusion of movement, but it is still viewed on one plane. New York-based Sebring Revolution is using 360-degree photography to capture immediate high-resolution photographic images from multiple angles. The company has worked across various performance spaces and events, including rock concerts, television shows and even the Met Gala. They have now brought this technology to the gem and jewellery trade.
The gaming industry was the first to break ground in four-dimensional space. Using computer-generated imagery (CGI), animated characters move through environments, with gamers interacting with each other across time and space to play within the same digital surroundings. CGI soon found applications in other industries. The Women’s Jewelry Association New York Metro Chapter partnered with the De Beers Code of Origin programme to educate the trade on the Sebring Revolution System (SRS), a revolutionary technology that is able to create photorealistic 4D diamond, coloured gemstone and jewellery assets with an array of applications. “Tiffany & Co., Christie’s and the Smithsonian Institution are a few of the partnerships we have cultivated over the years,” noted award-winning creative director Steven Sebring. Hosted by LUXUNY Atelier at their space in Bryant Part Studios in midtown Manhattan, Sebring presented the company’s cutting-edge products and services that will push the trade into the future.
Using the SRS, multiple images are captured at the same time to generate a 360-degree view of a single person or object, such as a gemstone or piece of jewellery. The more images are produced, the easier it is to capture slow motion (accounting for the time aspect of the fourth dimension). Like Marcel Duchamp’s Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2, Sebring’s studio can capture movement, like the ‘swoosh’ of a dancer moving in a circle. The SRS can hone in on the beauty of inclusions inside a gem, and render the inside of a stone visible into a larger, more visible space. Captures can be created in 2D, 3D and 4D, allowing for the development of media assets one could have only dreamed of years ago. The captures are immediate, making it easy for brands to attain unique content with a quick turnaround, with assets available in hours.
Another offering, Sebring House, is a user-navigable virtual experience populated with content captured using SRS that acts as the designer’s metaverse. On the platform, products such as jewellery can be displayed for a virtual shopping experience. Users can navigate each room and click on the products within to ‘try on’ each piece in augmented reality (AR). Additionally, users can click on the product and be directed to purchase it online. The platform allows for live streaming, educational conferences, virtual jewellery shows, and designer exhibitions. Within the latter, there is space within each platform for either a line of products or a full-body image, where each designer can speak, walk and even show off their individual mannerisms, making for a wholly personalized experience. Sebring House offers a new, immersive, and branded retail experience for those looking to step into the future with their sales.
“Our systems capture artifacts with immediacy and pure photographic reality, without having to re-create anything through different kinds of technologies/software. This is always the best way to authenticate the assets and their purest forms,” explained Steven Sebring. “When creating immersive content, catching these moments in real time can’t be matched in any other way.”
Sebring Revolution’s image captures may also be used as digital collectibles and align well with the growing non-fungible token (NFT) market. A blockchain-based digital asset, a jewel can be sold not only as a physical product but alongside its digital token. Additionally, the high-resolution 360-degree images are perfectly posed for 3D printing and can be printed as art. If someone who owns the digital asset decides to 3D print the piece as art, the printed piece can act as an additional mode of income for a given product.
During the event, Steven Sebring introduced the Holoprism, which allows an image capture to float and rotate as a hologram. For a retailer, the Holoprism – which is customizable – provides a unique display for showing customers gemstones and jewellery in the store or stock that is anticipated. For designers looking for on-the-go 4D technology, Sebring Revolution has a mini-version of the Holoprism that can be added to an iPad, for showing holograms at a trade show, at the studio, or from anywhere the user might choose to demonstrate the programme.
