The Beading Gem

 I use my earphones all the time - at my computer and on my mobile devices.  But aren't they a tad dull?  You can jazz them up for sure and personalize them the way you like it!  One popular way is to use fusible Perler beads to add considerable color. But Greek crafter and blogger, Christina (Imagine Hearts) has another idea.

I knew sooner or later, someone would come up with a smartphone necklace!  The Japan Trend Shop has the nifty Smaneck, a hands free necklace style smartphone holder for just $24 (plus shipping). It is really a tiltable grip for smartphones that can be worn around the neck.

Heart themed jewelry abound as Valentine's Day approaches. But the kind Crafted By My Heart (link no longer works) make are generated from real heartbeats!  Romantics can have their heartbeats 3D printed in gold, silver or black silver and gift them to their loved ones.

Remember the shock and horror when the latest iPhone 7 launched without any earphone jacks? Users will have to use airpods or wireless ear buds.  The next worry is what happens if the airpods fall out?  Nothing more distressing than to see it floating in the toilet!

California based Melody of the House of Blings enjoys making things pretty.  Especially smartphone cases!  She has been adding her own touch to these for years in one of 2 ways. She uses pressed flowers in all sorts of clear smartphone cases - Apple, Samsung and Sony. These are colorful and unique in their compositions.

I've been wanting to get an activity tracker for ages ever since I got a chance to try out 5 different types on the market. I need more exercise and I knew a tracker will give me the incentive,  I held out for Apple watch but when it launched I found it was too pricey and disappointing in style.  Most smartwatches just don't cut it for people with smaller wrists.  So I did ask for the Fitbit Charge as a birthday gift.

One of the most elegant illuminated necklace designs I have come across has to be this one by Mikaela Holmes on Instructables. She is a costume and experimental fashion designer and artist. This necklace uses el (electroluminescent) wire which is lit up using just a 9V battery. El wire is used by wearable tech designers.

It`s been 4 years since I wrote about one of the first 3D printed jewelry designers to use the new technology. More and more designers are now gravitating to the field as costs are dropping and the equipment becomes more widespread.  This is one of the reasons why Etsy had to change their policies not so long ago as `handmade` had to be redefined to include them. These designers are still using their heads, hearts and hands but their hands are now on computer keyboards.

Quark Pendant from Mixee Lab

There are all kinds of beaded DNA jewelry designs but nothing like the personalized DNA bracelet cuffs that will be offered by DNAME after a recently successful Kickstarter campaign.  These are truly unique as no two people will have the same designs.

Apologies to Tolkien but the Ring by Logbar is a ring to "shortcut everything" in our modern lives.  It is a wearable input device which in essence is the "wand" which will indeed turn the light on without having to chant the "Lumos" spell like Hermione Granger.

We are at the beginning of a huge influx of high tech jewelry.  While many wearable tech gadgets are useful, most fall short in looks.  That's what  Deepa Sood, who made her own jewelry, thought. So she developed, sought funding and launched CUFF, a GPS enabled line of personal security jewelry.  Cuff is all about "personal security without sacrificing style."

Misfit Shine on wristband

Blogging and jewelry making are rather sedentary occupations. While I make an effort to exercise regularly, I often wonder if I am doing enough.  So when I heard about a local university study on the use of wearable activity trackers by older people I was intrigued enough to volunteer.  Wearable tech is of great interest to me because there are increasing numbers of different lifestyle products on the market. Some are now attractive enough to also masquerade as jewelry.

UV sensitive jewelry is not a new idea but it is a great one.  These help remind wearers to either get out of the sun or slap on some sun screen with the increased exposure.  Sun damage increases the risk of skin cancer . It also accelerates skin aging.  Who wants to look wrinkled before your time?

I don't know about you but I have been waiting for a long time for some sort of biometric device to help with passwords.  According to the latest rumors, the new iPhone 5S coming out on September 10 might well have a fingerprint scanner.  That's just for the smartphone.  What about everything else? 

There have been some novel high tech jewelry in recent years - mainly wearable USB drives and blue tooth jewelry like the Novero line.  Pretty but didn't really make it with the mainstream crowd. Is the tide turning for wearable tech now that Google Glass is out?  Do people really want to wear their devices like jewelry? Or put it another way, do we want our jewelry to be tech smart?

Many people wear medical alert bracelets to indicate their individual health condition to medical staff should they be rendered unconscious. Well, this useful type of jewelry has been updated to suit our technological world.

I'm willing to bet that if you have a USB drive on you, it's likely to be in your purse.  I for one would not want to be seen wearing one unless it is disguised as jewelry. I don't see any need to let everyone know  I'm a bit of a geek! I've featured some awesome USB and other high tech jewelry designs before (see below) but here is one that you can actually make yourself!

Have you noticed QR (Quick Response) scan codes lately?  These are now increasingly visible as more people  have smartphones which can scan these codes.  This is part of  the coming augmented reality wave where you use your mobile device to access incredible amounts of information wherever you are. Bar codes are so yesterday!