Computer HardWear for Your Custom Jewelry

If steampunk chic takes re-imagined 19^th century technology and turns it inside out (and is not just, well, stuff with gears glued on), what do we call a style that re-imagines and repurposes 20^th/21^st century technology and turns it inside out in custom jewelry?

"Hi Tec Aztec Necklace" by 2 Roses at CustomMade.com

In our blog post, “Tech Transformed – Custom Jewelry that Re-Imagines Technology”, we featured the beautiful and thought-provoking “Hi Tec Aztec Necklace” by 2 Roses, which suggests some outlines for this emerging design genre.

Imagining our modern lives without the benefit of computers and electronics would be next to impossible.  Nevertheless, despite their omnipresence, the bare-bone elements of our high-tech world are usually kept hidden from view.  When metalsmiths Corliss Rose and John Lemieux Rose of 2 Roses repurposed actual circuit boards into their ‘Hi Tec Aztec Necklace,’ the result was something simultaneously strange and familiar.  The patterns and shapes of the circuit boards evoke ancient Mesoamerican glyphs, yet they are still recognizable as pieces of modern technology.  As ‘futurists and jewelers,’ the artisans ‘wanted to acknowledge the high design aesthetic lavished on these normally invisible objects. Literally turning things inside out, Hi Tec Aztec celebrates the textures, colors, patterns, materials, and mystery embodied within the objects that surround us all.’

Contact Corliss and John to create your own customized necklace or discuss a new design.

Diametrically opposed to the “virtually invisible” aesthetic of the also-emerging field of computer clothing in “the post-PC era,” these wearable items by CustomMade artisans make the virtual visible.

Your “tech love” will show if you sport a pair of these limited edition circuit board cuff links by emiko-o reware, made from reclaimed circuit boards, gold, and sterling silver.  Artisan emiko oye “strives to subtly transform the identity of everyday mundane objects to create dialogues about our relationship with the environment” through custom made jewelry fashioned from some remarkably playful repurposed objects, such as LEGO pieces.   Check out emiko’s blog post on her circuit board jewelry for photos of additional designs and read about, “Encrypted,” a set of brooches as a re-imagined 17^th-century coffer, which she created with reclaimed circuit boards for the “Re-make/Re-model” exhibition at the National Ornamental Metal Museum.  If you have a vision for a custom jewelry design that features recycled bits of high-tech, contact emiko and share your ideas with her.

Circuit Board Cuff Links by emiko-o reware at CustomMade.com

The look of a video processing unit (VPU) from a dead graphics card compelled Alison Demzon of Demzon Creations to create something that would showcase it.  The result: the “Reality Enhancer.” The recycled chip on this hat pin can be illuminated with the flick of a battery switch.   If you have a disused graphics card and would like something similar made for you, whether in the form of a pendant, pin, or other piece, contact the artisan.

"Reality Enhancer" by Demzon Creations at CustomMade.com

Here is another striking example of Alison’s jewelry that features a graphics card encased in acrylic resin as the centerpiece: the PCB necklace.

PCB Necklace by Demzon Creations at CustomMade.com

For a new, one-of-a-kind jewelry design that showcases repurposed computer parts, contact Demzon Creations.

Commission your own custom jewelry design that revels in the physicality – “the textures, colors, patterns, materials, and mystery”- of the myriad tiny bits and pieces behind the sleek, modern high tech curtain.  Post your ideas on our “Get it Made” job board, and CustomMade artisans interested in your project will soon contact you.