Virtual try on jewellery: 7 brands doing it right now
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For jewellery retailers, investing in virtual try on jewellery augmented reality (AR) technology to improve the online buying experience may no longer be optional. Although customers still prefer to shop for jewellery in-store, online jewellery sales are rising. Particularly for fine jewellery, online sales are predicted to go from making up just 13% of the total global market in 2021 to anywhere between 18 and 21% by 2025.
While this is great news for online jewellery retailers, the challenge of convincing customers that the jewellery piece they’re eyeing on the internet will suit them in real-life is still there.
In-store, customers can try on jewellery pieces. Online, they have to trust product images. Or at least, that’s the way it used to be. As AR tracking technology improves, a growing number of jewellery brands are taking advantage of AR try on experiences to increase buyer confidence.
On the other hand, as online jewellers innovate, mainstream retailers must ensure they don’t get left behind. AR try ons can be an easy way for them to up their game.
Research shows that more than 6 in 10 customers prefer stores that offer AR experiences. What’s more, 4 in 10 shoppers would actually be willing to pay more for an item if they could first see it in AR.
Here are some jewellery brands that are already offering virtual try on jewellery experiences.
Berganza: virtual try on rings
The vintage and antique jewellery shop Berganza recently partnered with us to create a virtual try on rings experience.
The AR experience allows customers to see how specific antique rings will look on them before purchase without visiting the store in person. Shoppers can choose from 2,000 pieces of jewellery.
The try on experience can be accessed directly from Berganza’s website by clicking on the “View on Hand” button that is embedded on most product pages. Customers can either upload a picture of their hand or take a photo of it then and there to position their chosen 2D ring on top.
The best thing about WebAR experiences like this is that customers do not have to download a brand’s app to visualise a piece of jewellery on themselves—they can do it directly on the website. This creates a more frictionless shopping experience.
On the other hand, one of the reasons jewellery brands may want to go with 2D rather than 3D jewellery pieces is to save time and money. For companies with extensive product catalogues, turning every single jewellery piece into a 3D model may be too costly.
H. Samuel: virtual try on bracelets
The jewellery chain H. Samuel offers 2D bracelet visualisation as part of the e-commerce journey on their website.
Customers browsing the online shop who are curious about how a bracelet will look in real life can click the “How will it look?” button on a product page.
They will then be presented with two options: seeing the 2D bracelet on a model’s arm or viewing it on their wrist. If they’re interested in the latter option and are shopping on their laptop, they will need to scan a QR code with their smartphone.
After a customer takes a picture of their arm, the bracelet is superimposed on their wrist.
H. Samuel: virtual try on necklaces
H. Samuel also offers 2D necklace visualisation experiences. Like 2D bracelet try ons, virtual try on necklaces can be launched from the web, meaning that they don’t require any external app downloads.
Just like with bracelets, customers can take a picture of their face and neck to see how a necklace will look on them.
De Beers: virtual try on earrings
De Beers lets shoppers virtually try on diamond jewellery from its Forevermark collection, including earrings.
To start the virtual try on earrings experience, customers need to click the “Virtual Try On” button on a product page. The experience works on phones, laptops, and other devices with a webcam.
Customers can then choose the earrings they want to “wear”. Crucially, the technology not only shows shoppers how the earrings will look on them but also moves with them in real-time.
Users can take photos of themselves trying on various earrings for future reference.
Baume & Mercier: virtual try on watches
Individuals shopping the iconic Riviera watches collection on the Swiss luxury watchmaker Baume & Mercier website can now give the watches a virtual test drive. This is thanks to the brand’s AR try on experience.
The AR experience is available from the company’s website on any smartphone. Shoppers can click on the “Augmented Reality” button on any Riviera collection watch product page to open their camera.
They can then take a picture of their wrist and see a 3D version of the watch appear in front of them. Notably, shoppers can also inspect the watch on their wrist from every angle.
Although the experience is only available for the Riviera collection right now, the brand hopes to expand it to other collections in the future.
Pandora: charms try on
Prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2020, the Danish jewellery manufacturer and retailer Pandora put in place several digital initiatives on its site, including virtual try on.
Customers can now virtually try on earrings, pendants, bracelets, rings, and charms directly from Pandora’s site when shopping on their mobile phones.
For example, when browsing charms, shoppers can tap the “Try On” button on a product page to see what the charm they’re interested in will look like on their wrist, with scaled accuracy.
Alternatively, if customers don’t want to take a picture of their own wrist, they can see how it looks on a model.
According to Pandora’s 2020 Annual report, digital initiatives like the virtual try on solution allowed the company to retain financial stability in the face of a crisis.
The try on experience gave customers the option of shopping safely from their homes and kept them engaged with the brand. Unsurprisingly, in 2021, Pandora expanded this AR try on capability to cover most of its product categories.
Sotheby’s: tiara try on Instagram filter
Jewellery brands that sell or specialise in headgear like tiaras should look no further for inspiration than Sotheby’s.
In 2021, we collaborated with the famous auction house to give individuals the chance to digitally try on a diamond and pearl tiara worth £1 million. The tiara once belonged to a royal family of Italy.
The virtual try on experience was available through an Instagram filter. Rather than just the tiara, the filter also included a 360-degree background of an Italian palace.
Users could take a picture of themselves wearing the tiara on Instagram and share it with their friends and family.
Getting started with virtual try on jewellery
As body and wrist tracking improves, we will undoubtedly see more jewellery companies experiment with virtual try on jewellery experiences. As a result, any brand that wants to stand out in the market should think about implementing AR into their business right now.
Getting started with virtual try on jewellery isn’t difficult — as long as you have the right partner. Here at Poplar Studio, we have years of experience helping jewellery brands create outstanding AR experiences.
Ready to build a virtual try on jewellery tool? Get in touch with us today.
