Updated 7/30/2025. Pictured above is a wireframe and a custom trophy project.
More than a decade ago, we wrote about the promise of 3D printing in the world of luxury recognition. At the time, it felt like a technology on the edge of revolution. Today, we live with its reality, and the truth is more nuanced than the hype ever allowed. Let’s reassess where we are and perhaps we’ll update this blog in another 10 years, or sooner!
At Society Awards, we don’t chase trends. We evaluate them, test them, refine them, and only then do we apply them when and where they elevate the result. 3D printing is no exception.
The 3D rendering ready to be crafted
From Concept to Production: The 3D Design Standard
The biggest shift over the past decade is this: 3D design is now the native language of luxury award manufacturing.
It’s faster than traditional design in total. Every custom trophy or corporate recognition piece we create now begins in a 3D file that integrates directly with CNC machines, mold engraving tools, and other production technologies. That seamless integration shortens timelines, increases precision, and allows for an astonishing level of creative freedom.
This isn’t “3D printing”— this is 3D design, and it has become essential.
The Arrival of 3D Printed Steel
Now, for the technology that is 3D printing: we can finally print in steel! Not resin, not prototype-grade plastic — real, hard, durable steel.
This changes things.
It doesn’t replace casting or machining (yet), but it creates a new lane. For projects that are:
- Low in volume
- High in complexity
- Under time pressure
3D printed steel can be the most efficient path to a luxury result.
We’ve used it for high-profile custom projects where traditional techniques wouldn’t have delivered on time or at the level required. It’s still expensive and each unit still requires hand polishing, so ironically, even this most advanced method remains deeply artisanal.
Limitations of 3D Printing Awards
Here’s the truth: anything that can be machined is still more practical to machine. And casting, when volume allows, is unmatched in terms of per-unit efficiency.
But 3D printed steel fills a gap between what can be imagined and what can be manufactured quickly without compromise.
It’s not a shortcut, it’s a tool. And in our hands, it’s a way to create luxury awards that were previously impossible.
What Hasn’t Changed
What hasn’t changed is our standard. Technology is only valuable when it supports excellence, craftsmanship, and awe; three principles that define Society Awards.
Whether we are CNC machining a brushed aluminum award, casting a gold-plated sculpture, or 3D printing a geometrically complex steel form, our focus remains the same: to create the most prestigious, iconic, and unforgettable custom awards in the world.
The State of 3D Printing in 2025
3D printing didn’t replace traditional manufacturing—it expanded it. It gave us one more way to push creative boundaries. It offered an additional option for making what has never been made before.
And in the world of high-end recognition, that’s exactly what we’re here to do.
Gold rendering and final product
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