ordering it from Shapeways
You have the free 3D file of your name. To get it in real metal, upload it to Shapeways*in millimetres, check the size, choose the metal and a polished finish, and order. They cast it, polish it and post it to you. Here's each step, and what to check along the way.
step by step
- Get the file. Type the name, pick a lettering and a metal, and ask for the file. The email has a download link for an STL named after the design, like
ava-classic-gold14.stl. The download page shows its size, for Ava 25.0 × 11.4 × 1.2 mm. - Upload it. Make a Shapeways account and upload the STL. If it asks for units, choose millimetres: that's what the file is in.
- Check the size. Shapeways shows the model's dimensions. They should match the download page. If Ava shows up 25 inches or 250 mm wide, the units were wrong: upload it again in millimetres.
- Choose the metal. Sterling silver, 14K yellow gold, 14K rose gold or 18K yellow gold. The file is the same for every metal (the metal in the file name is only a reminder), so you can still change your mind here.
- Choose the finish. Polished is the shiny jewelry look in our pictures. Shapeways also lists other finishes; which ones you can order online depends on the metal (for silver, natural and polished).
- Check the price. Shapeways sets it and shows it before you pay. For Ava, the quotes we got from them in September 2026 came to about $35 in silver and $450 in 14K gold, before shipping and tax. Gold prices move, so trust their number. Weights and rough prices for other names.
- Order. Add it to the cart, choose the production and shipping speed, and check out. Shapeways shows the time and the shipping cost before you pay.
- Add a chain. The pendant comes without one. The two jump rings have a 1.9 mm hole and fit chains up to 1.5 mm thick.
what arrives
A solid metal pendant, 1.2 mm thick, made to order by lost-wax casting: the file is printed in wax, the wax is replaced with metal, and the piece is polished. Shapeways says the metal shrinks about 1 to 1.5% as it cools and polishing takes off a little more, about 3% in all. On a name pendant that's a fraction of a millimetre:
| name | the file | about 3% smaller | 14K gold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ava | 25.0 mm wide | 24.3 mm wide | about 1.5 g |
| Olivia | 31.5 mm wide | 30.6 mm wide | about 2.1 g |
| Elizabeth | 43.8 mm wide | 42.5 mm wide | about 2.8 g |
Widths in classic script. Weights from the file's volume in 14K gold. How big every name comes out.
built to their limits
Shapeways publishes the thinnest walls and wires it can cast. Gold's limits are the strictest of the four metals, and every file is built to them before it's sent:
| Shapeways, gold | the file | |
|---|---|---|
| thinnest wall | 0.8 mm | no line thinner than 0.8 mm |
| wires and loops | 0.8 mm supported, 1 mm unsupported | jump ring band 0.85 mm, fused to a letter; bridges 1 mm |
| largest piece | 89 × 89 × 100 mm | at most 44 mm wide |
| smallest piece | 2.4 × 2.4 × 0.6 mm | 1.2 mm thick, letters 4.2 mm tall |
| parts | one piece per file (or two identical ones) | one closed solid, rings included |
From Shapeways' gold and silver material pages, October 2026. They can change them; more on the file.