Courtesy Galatea

The Momento diamond ring 

Two companies have launched technology-infused engagement rings, one to promote sentimentality and one to discourage infidelity.

Galatea, the company that developed the method to implant a small computer chip inside of pearls, has created a line of diamond rings it is calling the “first interactive engagement ring.” Meanwhile, British jeweler Gemporia has designed a concept ring meant to keep spouses faithful.

Steve Bennett, CEO of Gemporia, has created a prototype of the “fidelity engagement ring” using Bluetooth technology as a tracking device. The chip, which fits behind a square-cut diamond, was initially installed as a ring tracker in case of loss or theft, but its appeal as a spousal tracking device soon became clear. “The implications are limitless,” Bennett told the Daily Mail. “This could be the end to baseless jealousy and unfair accusations; this ring could safeguard the institution of marriage.”

Meanwhile, both Galatea’s Momento pearl, which debuted in December 2014, and Momento diamond use near-field communication (NFC) technology to store images, audio, and video that are meant to celebrate the institution of marriage. The technology was chosen because it doesn’t need a battery like Bluetooth chips. The files can be accessed and uploaded via a smartphone app. “Anyone who can use a smartphone can use it,” company founder and designer Chi Huynh tells JCK. “I think you can give it to grandma.”

“I do believe the future is going to be interactive jewelry,” Huynh says. “And I want to make beautiful jewelry, it doesn’t have to look high-tech, it can look like fine jewelry, but it’s going to communicate to you.”

“I see the value of this thing beyond what it is today,” he says. “Think of 50 years from now, and it has your proposal and your wedding vows and your baby being born and your baby saying, ‘I love you.’ It will be so valuable in 50 years, when you actually hand it over, and you can say, ‘Everything is in here.’ It’s like a locket but interactive.”

The Momento diamond will be available in retail stores this fall. There is no word yet on a release date for the fidelity ring. 

 

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