PEGAFFI · Education Guides · Design Your Ring
What Is a CAD Preview? See Your Ring Before We Make It
2026-10-13 · 6 min read
CAD stands for computer-aided design — a precise 3D model of your ring, built by a designer on a screen before anyone touches gold. At PEGAFFI, every custom order includes a free photorealistic CAD preview within 48 hours, and we don't start production until you've approved it. It's the closest thing to trying on a ring that doesn't exist yet.
Why CAD changed custom jewelry
Before CAD, custom meant describing your ring to a jeweler and hoping the result matched the picture in your head. Misunderstandings were discovered after casting, when fixing them meant starting over. CAD moved the approval step in front of production: the ring is "made" digitally first, and the digital version is what you approve. What you sign off on is what arrives — to the fraction of a millimeter.
What your preview shows you
- Multiple angles: top, both sides, three-quarter views and a bottom view of the setting.
- True proportions: stone size relative to band width — the thing photos of other rings never tell you.
- Setting details: prong shape and placement, gallery design, how high the stone sits off the finger.
- Exact dimensions: band width in millimeters, stone measurements, total metal weight.
How to review your CAD like a jeweler
When your preview arrives, resist the urge to just check that it looks pretty. Four things deserve a deliberate look:
- Proportion first: does the stone overpower the band, or get lost? On screen you can ask us to render a half-millimeter thinner band and compare.
- Prong style: rounded claw, flat tab, or pointed — small choice, big personality difference.
- Height: a high-set stone catches more light and more doorframes. If you're hard on your hands, ask about a lower profile.
- Everyday fit: if you'll wear a wedding band flush against it, say so now — the CAD should account for it.
Revisions are the point, not an inconvenience
About half our clients approve the first render. The other half ask for one to three changes — thinner band, different prongs, a hidden halo added — and that back-and-forth is exactly what the process is for. Revisions cost nothing and each round takes about a day. The only wrong way to review a CAD is to approve one you're unsure about.
Get your own preview: describe your ring at pegaffi.com/custom — free CAD render in 48 hours, revise until it's right, pay only when you approve.