The first one that caught my eye was profiled in the May 2012 issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine in an article featuring gift ideas “Just for Mom.”

Under the heading “Locket science” BH&G describes the $75 item: “Load up this 4GB memory drive pendant with the media you want Mom or Grandma to always have at hand.” The pendant is a USB heart from Swarovski.com. The Swarovski website confirms that the item “is both a necklace and a USB key! Hanging on a stainless steel chain, the red silicon heart holds a heart-shaped USB key embellished in 54 Indian Siam crystals.”

The second one that caught my eye was featured on the Yahoo home page on Monday this week, in an article from Yahoo’s technology blog under the headline “World’s most expensive flash drive is a $37,000 sparkly mushroom.”

Yahoo reports that Swiss jewelry maker La Maison Shawish “recently launched its luxury Magic Mushroom USB flash drives” that can store up to 32 GB of data. The photograph shows the version in gold studded with pink sapphires and white diamonds—retail price: $16,500—but the article notes that an emerald version is available for $36,900.

A search for “flash drive necklaces” on eBay turns up more than 1,200 results, including some versions as inexpensive as $1 from Hong Kong. Narrowing the search to U.S. sellers reveals crystal-studded and stainless steel–encased styles going up to about $68 in price. There are also medic-alert versions available, an exciting new concept in potentially life-saving jewelry.

The field appears to be wide open for other designers to come up with temptations for those who can’t quite afford a $16,500 mushroom but still might want a stylish and elegant jewel incorporating a flash drive to carry around valuable data and media. I look forward to seeing if other designers are inspired to produce new designs in coming months. 

JCK