Virtual try-on for necklaces and bracelets: how it works and what to trust

A virtual try-on shows a necklace or bracelet on a person before you buy it. There are four kinds: a live camera overlay, an AI photo edit, a builder with an on-model view, and a visit in person. Ilene Joy's builder shows the chain and charms you chose on a model, with the price updating as you choose.

The four kinds of virtual try-on

None of the four is a replacement for the others. They answer different questions. A shorter answer on the same topic is in can I see a custom necklace on before I buy.

Which one Ilene Joy offers

Our builder is the third kind. It is not a camera overlay, and it does not use your photo. You build the piece in Design your own, and the preview has two views:

• Flatlay. The chain and every charm laid out, so you can check spacing and detail.
• On model. The same chain and charms shown on a model's neck or wrist, so you can judge length, balance and how the piece hangs.

One tap adds a charm. You drag it along the chain to where you want it. The total updates with every change, and it works for both necklaces and bracelets.

Our pages say plainly what the preview is: "a creative visualization, not an exact representation." It shows proportion and placement. It does not show weight.

What a try-on can tell you

• Length. Does the chain fall where you would wear it?
• Proportion. Does a Small, Medium or Large charm look right beside the chain?
• Spacing. Do two charms crowd each other or sit apart?
• Gold color. Do yellow, rose and white look right against what you wear?
• Price. What does each choice add?

What it cannot tell you

• Weight and feel. A picture cannot show how a Petite chain feels against your neck.
• Color in your own light. Skin, light and a screen all change how gold reads.
• Movement. How a charm swings when you walk.

This is why we confirm every detail with you after you order. It also matters because custom pieces are final sale, and a custom order may be canceled within 24 hours of being placed. Read how made to order works before you commit.

Seeing it on, compared

The sensible plan is to use more than one. Build it, look at it on a model, and if you want to feel the weight, hold a finished piece or talk to the atelier.

A five-point check for any try-on

1. Does it show your combination, or only the maker's picture?
2. Does the price move as you choose?
3. Does it work for both necklaces and bracelets?
4. Does it say plainly what it is not?
5. Can you save it and send it to someone?

For Ilene Joy the answers are yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes. Save design and Share are on every builder page. The link reopens your exact configuration on any device. Designs are not saved to an account, so keep the link.

Try it in two minutes

1. Open Design your own and choose Design a necklace or Design a bracelet.
2. Pick Petite, Standard or Jumbo, 14K or 18K gold, yellow, rose or white, and a length or wrist size.
3. Tap a charm to add it.
4. Drag it along the chain.
5. Compare Flatlay and On model, then change one thing and look again.

If you want help choosing the chain, read which chain is best for charms. For how many charms to use, read how many charms on a necklace or bracelet. The full walk-through is in how to design your own charm necklace, and the bracelet version is build your own charm bracelet online.

About Ilene Joy

Ilene Joy has designed jewelry since 1996. Ilene designed jewelry for the last three seasons of Sex and the City, as WWD reported in February 2019. She relaunched the label that year with her daughter, Rae Scheer, and Vogue covered the launch. Zoë Kravitz, Gigi and Bella Hadid, Jennifer Lawrence, Sienna Miller, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Taylor Swift, Emily Blunt, Emily Ratajkowski and Candice Swanepoel have worn Ilene Joy: see who wears Ilene Joy. Every design you build is made to order at our Los Angeles bench in 2 to 4 weeks. More on who Ilene Joy is and the press coverage.