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When the dust settles from this economic mess, the jewelers left standing will no doubt have employed technology to survive. One of my recent technology explorations for CAD/CAM has been to research new methods to scan the complex geometries we use in fine jewelry. While laser scanning has become more accessible in both price and ease of use, laser technology often falls short when designs get too complex.
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To achieve scans of these complex designs, a new form of CT scanning has emerged with ultra-high resolution being termed Micro-CT.  For my 2008 presentation at the Santa Fe Symposium, I presented a white paper describing how MicroCT works and the quality we can expect to achieve. The paper was so well received by the scanning community, that it was later featured in the December issue of 3D Scanning Technology magazine which I can share with you now

For those curious about the ultimate 3D scanning capability, feel free to link to the article below.

http://www.3dscanningtechnologies.com/pdfs/CTfor%20CAD_CAM.pdf

JCK