Written by Yelena Rymbayeva, MPhil Communication & Media Studies, BTech Quality Control
Marketing & Product Leader, Technology Commercialization
Published August 10, 2026
Qannati, a Bahrain-based handcrafted luxury watch maker, needed a premium watch box for a limited-quantity series where mass-production tooling made no sense. We designed a box for low-volume production — 3D printing or CNC machining — that protects the watch, reads as luxury, and stays at or below the client's unit cost target.
Project at a glance
- Client
- Qannati, a Bahrain-based handcrafted luxury watch manufacturer
- Industry
- Luxury packaging
- Starting point
- Limited-run watches that could not justify mass-produced packaging tooling
- What we delivered
- Two design directions, prototypes in aluminum, wood and plastic, then optimized resin DLP prints
- Final build
- Large-volume DLP resin body, CNC-machined aluminum lock, sewn leather cushion, off-the-shelf hinge
- Outcome
- A luxury box producible in low volume at the customer's target cost
The client
The challenge
Our solution
The result
Luxury packaging design at a glance
| Scope | Structural design, materials, CAD, appearance prototype |
|---|---|
| Construction | Rigid box with formed insert, magnetic closure, premium finishes |
| Deliverables | CAD, dielines, material specifications, physical prototype |
| Typical timeline | 4-10 weeks |
The unboxing is part of the product
For a high-end watch, the box carries as much of the brand promise as the dial. A lid that opens too fast, an insert that lets the piece shift, a hinge that creaks — each one quietly downgrades a premium purchase. Structural design here is engineering with a feel requirement attached.
How we developed the Qannati presentation box
We modeled the box and insert in CAD around the watch geometry, tuned the closure so the lid slows before it seats, and specified materials and finishes that photograph well and survive shipping. A physical prototype let the client hold the sequence before committing to tooling and print runs.
Frequently asked questions
Do you produce dielines for our printer?
Yes — dielines, material callouts and finish specifications ready to quote.
Can you prototype before production?
Always. Appearance prototypes catch fit and feel problems that flat artwork cannot reveal.
Do you design the graphics too?
Yes, structural and graphic packaging design are handled together so print and construction match.
Capabilities used on this project
Rapid prototyping services
3D printing, CNC machining, urethane casting and functional prototype builds with published materials, tolerances and lead times.
Low-volume manufacturing
Bridge tooling, short-run production and supplier management for first commercial batches.
How a luxury watch box gets designed for low-volume production
Design for limited quantity, not mass production
Qannati's watches are produced in limited runs, so investing in mass-production packaging tooling was pointless. The brief: a box manufacturable with rapid prototyping or low-volume methods like 3D printing and CNC machining.
Protection, simplicity, and a cost ceiling
Technically the box had to protect the watch while keeping the design as simple as possible — and stay manufacturable at or below the cost the customer specified. Every design decision was checked against that ceiling.
Brand-driven form iterations
The first concept drew directly from the Qannati logo — the letter Q — with sharp edges and flat top and bottom surfaces. The second iteration evolved the box-like form into an egg-like shape while keeping the sharp lines and edges that anchor the brand.
| Factor | Mass-produced box | Low-volume prototype box (Qannati) |
|---|---|---|
| Tooling | Molds and dies, high upfront cost | None — 3D print or CNC |
| Unit economics | Cheap at 10,000+ units | Viable at limited-edition quantities |
| Design freedom | Constrained by tooling | Sharp edges, complex forms free |
| Finish | Standardized | Hand-finished, brand-matched |
Questions about this project
Straight answers from the engineers who ran the build. Have a different question? Ask us directly.
Talk to an engineerHow do you package a limited-edition luxury product?
Skip mass-production tooling entirely. For Qannati we designed the watch box for 3D printing or CNC machining, so limited quantities stay economical without sacrificing the premium feel.
Can a prototype box meet a luxury brand's standards?
Yes — with the right design. The Qannati box protects the watch, uses simple robust construction, and carries the brand's visual language, from the Q-inspired first concept to the sharp-edged egg form.
How do you control cost on low-volume packaging?
Design to a cost ceiling from the start. The Qannati brief required manufacturability at or below a specified unit cost, which shaped material, geometry, and process choices throughout.
What does a packaging prototype engagement include?
Concept design iterations, 3D CAD, and a manufacturable prototype suited to the production method — here, low-volume processes matched to a limited watch series.
Industries this project belongs to
See how we approach development in each of these categories, and the other products we have taken from sketch to production there.
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