3D printing has traditionally been used for prototyping in the manufacturing industry. It was only recently that people began to use 3D printers for more hobbyist creations like action figures, board games and other hobby goods. It’s still rather niche, but 3D printers just got backing from one of the biggest vanity items around – jewelry.

Cookson Precious Metals, a UK-based supplier of fabricated precious metals, is showing off its 3D printed jewelry parts later this month at the Jewelry & Gem Fair in Hong Kong. The parts are created in gold through a process called Precious M 080.

The main benefit of manufacturing jewelry through 3D printing is that companies can make custom jewelry for clients. Making a custom order would cost a lot more money and take a lot more time before the advent of 3D printing. The technology will also enable the mass production of jewelry.

Making jewelry with a 3D printer may not be as interesting as making organs or a gun, but it’s still important to the overall 3D printer ecosystem. The price of 3D printers will be driven down as more industries adopt the technology. Purely vanity items like jewelry may also drive up interest for 3D printing among the average consumer thus leading to even faster adoption.

[h/t: 3D Printing Industry]