The newest in wearable technology: jewelry embedded with fossilized DNA and sealed with a diamond
A group of Swiss scientists is raising funds on Kickstarter for Identity Inside, a line of jewelry with embedded with fossilized DNA.
The technology, which was developed by Robert Grass, involves purifying DNA from a mouth swab and fossilizing it to form a white powder. The white powder is inserted into a cavity in the jewelry and then sealed with a small diamond. The fossilized DNA is preserved for thousands of years and can be recovered from the jewel for “future use or analysis,” according to the company.
Grass developed the technology to fossilize and preserve DNA as a means for information storage; the jewelry component came when he was deciding what to give his wife to celebrate the birth of their first child. He wanted to do something truly personal and decided to embed his own DNA in a ring.
Friends and colleagues began requesting their own DNA-embedded pieces, and he partnered with some of them to start Identity Inside.
Identity Inside currently offers four pieces: The Identity Inside ring, a sterling silver ring with a .02 ct. diamond sealing the fossilized DNA on the inside of the band; the Double Diamond ring, a sterling silver ring with a .02 ct. diamond sealing the fossilized DNA on the inside of the band and an additional .02 ct. diamond on the outside of the ring; the Lagenthal watch, a custom-made watch with the DNA fossil embedded in the crown, sealed by a .02 ct. diamond; and a rose gold pendant with a .02 ct. diamond.
The Kickstarter prices range from approximately $350 for the Identity Inside ring to $980 for the Lagenthal watch.
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