When jewelry design/retailer Philip Voetsch reaches for his Blackberries, he’s not retrieving a cellphone or a piece of fruit. In his store, the retailer is showing or handing a customer a portion of his Blackberries Collection, a line of jewelry that actually protects the wearer from harmful radio and microwave radiation emitted from cellphones, wireless networks, and satellite transmissions.

Voetsch, the owner of Jewelry by Design in Prairie Village, Kan., developed the idea two yeas ago while eating—you guessed it—blackberries. Possessing that rare combination of creative and analytical thinking, Voetsch recalled the best way to absorb radio and microwave radiation via a metal with not only specific absorption qualities but also mass and surface area.  

“If you look at a blackberry, it’s essentially a cluster of spheres, the geometric shape that has the most surface area to it,” says Voetsch.

Voetsch likens his Blackberries Collection to “sunscreen for radio and microwave radiation.”

Voetsch has created a number of Blackberries earring, pendant, and necklace chain designs. Although he has not had the radio and microwave radiation absorption qualities of his jewelry collection verified by an independent auditor or agency, his logical mind arrives at the conclusion that it works by sheer design.

“If you make this into jewelry—namely earrings—the precious metal featuring sphere shapes has very good radio and microwave radiation absorption qualities to it, based on the materials used, the shape’s mass, and its surface area,” says Voetsch. 

Even without the radio and microwave radiation absorption qualities, many women like Voetsch’s Blackberries for their aesthetic qualities.

“Since introducing the collection around Christmas 2009, sales for the Blackberries Collection started strong that holiday season and continue to do well,” says Voetsch. “I often add new items to the collection to keep the line interesting and fresh.”

Earrings, not surprisingly, are the collection’s top sellers, with pendants a close second and chain necklaces a distant third.

And no, Voetsch does not own a BlackBerry. He’s partial to the iPhone.

For more information, send an email to TamaraVoetsch@philipdesigns.com

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