For women, smart jewelry has become the antidote to the bulky, smart watches designed predominately for the male, tech-obsessed market. At least, that appears to be the wearable tech trend for 2014. If historically jewelry was used as a signifier of fertility, wealth and social hierarchy, high tech adornments are aiming to be social identifiers for the powerful, “connected” busy women. Women whose inboxes and voicemails are so full they need their jewelry to bling and buzz to selectively filter “important” calls and emails.
Apparently I’m not important enough to be one of those women.
The use cases for high-tech jewelry unfortunately fall short considering the affordances they currently provide. Most are feeble alert mechanisms for our mobile device attempting to solve the age old problem of people being immersed in glowing screens. Some are marketed as jewelry that keeps you connected while others tout the pleasure of allowing you to “disconnect.”
Regardless of the utility, one thing is certain: If these high-tech baubles are to subsist after one season, design has to reign. These young companies need to understand the fashion accessories market and the trend-driven competitive landscape — and design and manufacture accordingly — to be considered more than a novelty and a one-season wonder.
A few should be applauded for bringing a unique voice to their smart jewelry collection because it is indeed new territory — both for jewelry designers and engineers alike.
Kovert
“With a strong focus on aesthetics, kovert designs create ‘smart’ designer wearable technology products, by embedding electronic sensors and wireless connections into fashion accessories. kovert empowers you to disconnect. this is about letting your technology take care of itself, so that you can get on with the things that really matter.”
BlueJewelz
“BlueJewelz discretely vibrates when you receive a text message, email or call from one of your VIP contacts. The BlueJewelz Notif disc easily fits into any BlueJewlz-compatible jewelry—available from BlueJewlz and coming soon to participating retailers.”
Ringly
Ringly creates beautiful smart jewelry and accessories that keep you effortlessly connected to the things that matter most. Our core belief is that technology can be more discreetly integrated into our lives. Ringly places style and simplicity above all else and our first product line is a collection of rings.
Netamo June
JUNE suggests the most appropriate SPF cream for your skin, taking into account the current UV levels. It reminds you when to put your hat and sunglasses on, and when to move into the shade…
You will know exactly when and how to protect yourself to prevent sunburn and premature aging of your skin.
Cuff
The Cuff is a wearable security device that can be attached to jewelry. This technology can be use to locate the user and is equipped with a distress button that will alert other people who are in the user’s Cuff network. The alerts are relayed by a vibrator which is installed inside the Cuff. It will vibrate when other Cuff users press the distress button or another user try to locate the Cuff using their smart phones.
