Watch/Jewelry lighting equipment

Not sure if LED lights would at all come close to the light output of your AB800. Might need one more strobe light and then work on technique. Sure you could probably find a book on lighting for that subject matter.

I'd get one more AB800 (so that you can predictably adjust the ratios between them, and rely on their modeling lights to show you what's really going on). Then it's all about the look you're after. Are we talking about the ol' high-key "floating on white" look, or are these supposed to be more atmospheric shots? Whether and how to light a backdrop, and how many grip widgets you'll need to hold fingers, flags, and gobos to take control of reflections (negative and positive) will depens a lot on the results you have in mind.

And, no, those LED lights aren't going to be a good mix. Product shots of small shiny things is hard, tedious, delicate, precise, but (for some people) very gratifying work. But it's all about manipulating that light. And it's very grip-gear intensive. But you can get a lot done with bits and pieces of black and white foam core, hanger wire and duct tape - even with just a single light source. You'll have much better luck with more than one, of course. If you provide links to a few shots that show the sort of look you're after, you'll get much better advice.

I probably don't need to say it, but read (twice!), Light: Science and Magic so that you can train yourself to look at what's reflected in those shiny surfaces, and anticipate what you'll have to rig up to create the reflections you want, and what focal lengths and working distances will help you.

Matt-
I would assume the second strobe would need a soft box as well, please confirm.
Regarding the look I'm after, I like the sculpted look rather than the basic floating on white look. However, I will probably need to do a little bit of both.

The second light (and even the first, for that matter) may not need a softbox at all. You might want a honeycomb insert to allow it to create a small puddle of light ... you might want barn doors so that you can create some crisp but controlled rim lighting while your other strobe shoots through a large scrim to provide uninterrupted white highlights. You get the idea. The modifiers depend entirely on the look you're after. Softboxes wrap light around a subject when used from up close, but when used from farther away, they become a smaller light source, and produce different shadows.

Try to find some specifc images to link to, because every last jewelry product shot is going to have been the result of a very different combination of lights and modifiers.

(link)

That is the sculpted look I am after.
Then there is the basic web marketing photo-

(link)

The first watch shot requires substantial attention to lighting and reflection. The second one is lit very flat and doesn't produce any "drama" the second one is easy, the first one not so much.

Like Matt and I have said before get a copy of "Light - Science & Magic" and learn how to light reflective objects.

<Chas>

Tzvi: I happened to have a couple of strobes set up to light a small object (not a fancy watch, but you'll get the idea). Here's a shot of the set, though I'm not done rigging things up. What you'll notice is:

1) No softboxes, in this particular case. Just honeycombs stuck into the reflectors to constrain the light.

2) Various little things to reflect a small patch of light, or block a small patch of light.

3) All sorts of stands, booms, and gripping widgets to get the lights and modifiers where I want them.

And then a quick and dirty shot using only the strobes for light. Just like with that watch shot you linked to, used a quick bit of post production work to darken the blacks around the object.