Rhino 3D vs Matrix for jewellery design: which should you use?
People often ask whether Rhino 3D or Matrix is better for jewellery design. The honest answer is that it is not a straight either-or, because Matrix is built on top of Rhino. Matrix adds jewellery-specific tools to Rhino's modelling engine. Most professional jewellery CAD designers who use Matrix are therefore using both.
What Rhino 3D does
Rhino 3D is a general-purpose 3D modelling program, known for precise freeform surface modelling. It was not built only for jewellery, which is its strength and its limit:
- It is very flexible, so organic, sculptural and unusual shapes are possible.
- It has a large range of add-ons, including jewellery plug-ins.
- On its own, it has no built-in jewellery workflow. Stone settings, prongs and pavé are built by hand.
What Matrix adds
Matrix is a jewellery design plug-in that runs inside Rhino. It speeds up the work that jewellers do over and over:
- placing gemstones and cutting seats for them
- building prongs, bezels and pavé settings
- building rings, shanks and common jewellery parts from ready-made tools
- keeping a history of the model, so a change can update the whole design
Comparison
| Rhino 3D alone | Matrix (inside Rhino) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | General 3D modelling | Jewellery tools added to Rhino |
| Best for | Freeform, sculptural or unusual designs | Rings, pendants, earrings and standard settings, built faster |
| Stones and settings | Modelled manually | Built with dedicated tools |
| Changing a design | Edit the surfaces directly | Often by changing the parameters of the model |
| Output | .3dm, .stl and more | The same, because it runs in Rhino |
Which should you use?
For most commercial jewellery, such as engagement rings, pendants, earrings and bracelets, working in Matrix saves time and keeps stone settings consistent. For a very unusual shape, a designer may switch to Rhino's own tools within the same file. Using both together is normal, and the file you receive is a standard Rhino file.
We model in Rhino 3D and Matrix, and render in KeyShot. If you need a model, you do not have to choose the software. Send us the design, and we deliver files your caster can use. See our pricing or read the basics of jewellery CAD.
Frequently asked questions
Is Matrix a separate program from Rhino?
Matrix is a plug-in that runs inside Rhino, so Rhino is needed to use it.
Which is easier to learn for jewellery?
For standard jewellery, Matrix is usually quicker to pick up because its tools are made for jewellery. Rhino alone needs more manual work for settings.
Do I need to buy software to order a model?
No. You only need to send your design. We deliver files your caster can open.
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