Step through process of generating custom jewelry

Abstract

A server is configurable to (i) receive a first user selection of a first available selection comprising a material for a piece of custom jewelry, the material comprising a type of material with visual characteristics that vary for different instances of the material; (ii) access a first cached product photo based on the first user selection and that depicts a representation of the piece of custom jewelry formed from the material; (iii) send display instructions to cause display of the first cached product photo based on the first user selection; (iv) in response to a refresh command based on user input, access an alternative cached product photo that depicts the piece of custom jewelry with an updated representation of the material depicting natural variations in the material; and (v) send display instructions to display the alternative cached product photo in place of the first cached product photo.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A server in a network comprising one or more remote client computer systems, the server configured for generating custom jewelry through a step-by-step customization process, the server comprising:
 one or more processors; and   one or more computer-readable media having stored thereon executable instructions that when executed by the one or more processors configure the server to perform at least the following:
 receive, from a remote computer system, a first user selection of a first available selection of a first plurality of available selections for a first customization option, the first available selection comprising a material for a piece of custom jewelry, the material comprising a type of material with visual characteristics that vary for different instances of the material; 
 access a first cached product photo based on the first user selection, the first cached product photo depicting a representation of the piece of custom jewelry formed from the material; 
 send display instructions over a network to the remote computer system to cause display of the first cached product photo based on the first user selection; 
 receive a refresh command based on user input provided at the remote computer system; 
 in response to the refresh command, access an alternative cached product photo that depicts the piece of custom jewelry with an updated representation of the material depicting natural variations in the material; and 
 send display instructions over the network to the remote computer system to display the alternative cached product photo in place of the first cached product photo. 
   
     
     
         2 . The server of  claim 1 , wherein the piece of custom jewelry comprises a ring. 
     
     
         3 . The server of  claim 1 , wherein the server is further configured to:
 receive, from the remote computer system, a second user selection of a second available selection of a plurality of available selections for a second customization option.   
     
     
         4 . The server of  claim 3 , wherein the first cached product photo is modified based upon the second available selection for the second customization option, or the alternative cached product photo is modified based upon the second available selection for the second customization option. 
     
     
         5 . The server of  claim 3 , wherein the second customization option comprises a finish customization option or an outside feature customization option. 
     
     
         6 . The server of  claim 3 , wherein the server is further configured to:
 generate a price estimate based on the first user selection at the remote computer system of the first available selection for the first customization option; and   update the price estimate based on the second user selection at the remote computer system of the second available selection for the second customization option.   
     
     
         7 . The server of  claim 6 , wherein the price estimate is calculated based on real-time prices of materials. 
     
     
         8 . The server of  claim 3 , wherein server is further configured to:
 generate a SKU based on the first user selection at the remote computer system of the first available selection for the first customization option; and   update the SKU based on the second user selection at the remote computer system of the second available selection for the second customization option.   
     
     
         9 . A method for generating custom jewelry through a step-by-step customization process, the method comprising:
 receiving, from a remote computer system, a first user selection of a first available selection of a first plurality of available selections for a first customization option, the first available selection comprising a material for a piece of custom jewelry, the material comprising a type of material with visual characteristics that vary for different instances of the material;   accessing a first cached product photo based on the first user selection, the first cached product photo depicting a representation of the piece of custom jewelry formed from the material;   sending display instructions over a network to the remote computer system to cause display of the first cached product photo based on the first user selection;   receiving a refresh command based on user input provided at the remote computer system;   in response to the refresh command, accessing an alternative cached product photo that depicts the piece of custom jewelry with an updated representation of the material depicting natural variations in the material; and   send display instructions over the network to the remote computer system to display the alternative cached product photo in place of the first cached product photo.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the piece of custom jewelry comprises a ring. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 receiving, from the remote computer system, a second user selection of a second available selection of a plurality of available selections for a second customization option.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the first cached product photo is modified based upon the second available selection for the second customization option, or the alternative cached product photo is modified based upon the second available selection for the second customization option. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the second customization option comprises a finish customization option or an outside feature customization option. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 generating a price estimate based on the first user selection at the remote computer system of the first available selection for the first customization option; and   updating the price estimate based on the second user selection at the remote computer system of the second available selection for the second customization option.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the price estimate is calculated based on real-time prices of materials. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 generating a SKU based on the first user selection at the remote computer system of the first available selection for the first customization option; and   updating the SKU based on the second user selection at the remote computer system of the second available selection for the second customization option.   
     
     
         17 . A system in communication with a server, the system configured for facilitating generation of custom jewelry through a step-by-step customization process, the system comprising:
 one or more processors; and   one or more computer-readable media having stored thereon executable instructions that when executed by the one or more processors configure the system to perform at least the following:
 generate a first request based on first user input indicating a first user selection of a first available selection of a first plurality of available selections for a first customization option, the first available selection comprising a material for a piece of custom jewelry, the material comprising a type of material with visual characteristics that vary for different instances of the material; 
 send, to the server, the first request for a first cached product photo based on the first user selection, the first cached product photo depicting a representation of the piece of custom jewelry formed from the material; 
 receive, from the server, the first cached product photo and display the first cached product photo to a user; 
 generate a second request indicating a refresh command based on second user input; 
 send, to the server, the second request comprising the refresh command for an alternative cached product photo to be accessed that depicts the piece of custom jewelry with an updated representation of the material depicting natural variations in the material; and 
 receive, from the server, the alternative cached product photo and display the alternative cached product photo in place of the first cached product photo. 
   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the piece of custom jewelry comprises a ring. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the system is further configured to:
 send, to the server, a third request based on a second user selection of a second available selection of a plurality of available selections for a second customization option.   
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein the first cached product photo is modified based upon the second available selection for the second customization option, or the alternative cached product photo is modified based upon the second available selection for the second customization option.