New Functional Experiences for Italian Jewelry

On 21 September 2016, the “Crafting the Future: Stories of Craftsmanship and Innovation” show debuted at Milan’s Mudec Museum of Culture. And it was curated by the unforgettable Franca Sozzani, the editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia. The exhibition was an attempt to create a dialogue between technological innovation and craftsmanship, for the purpose of producing a base for modernized Italian excellence, making it even more captivating. In this context, Wearable Italia made its debut. The result of a partnership between an IT Technician, Andrea Tomassini, and a fine-jewelry designer, Roberto Ferlito, this start-up was one of the first to offer such an ambitious project. We are talking about smart jewelry, or rather, jewelry that, in addition to having refined shapes and materials, holds technological characteristics. Andrea and Roberto met in 2016 and decided to transform a purely Italian product into something innovative. How? By giving it a functional soul. This all started with the “wearable device” market. Devices that are worn and that perform different functions meant to simplify everyday life, such as smart watches and fitness bracelets. «When we started out, we didn’t want to compete with classic wearable devices, but wanted to o er an artisanal and luxurious product that was at the same time, innovative. Even if we are becoming increasingly technological and social, the pleasure of wearing something beautiful is still there,» explains Tomassini, the CEO of Wearable Italia. An enticing idea, but not one easily realized. «Many companies have understood the potential of smart jewelry, but many others have abandoned the idea because of the di culties, even economic ones,» says Andrea. It took two years for Wearable Italia to present itself on the market with the right product, or rather collection, called ProdigIO, completely made in Italy and comprising three gold, silver or ruthenium bracelets featuring di erent functions. They count calories or steps, monitor sports activities and are equipped with a filter to personalize the notifications for calls, messages, emails and social media networks. And that’s not all. They can help women: they are equipped with a security button to use in case of peril. The device will send an emergency message to every single contact uploaded to the app. In short, it’s a true jewel that, enriched with our image, helps people live better. And as there are many demands in everyday life, the future of smart jewelry seems to o er infinite possibilities, especially to more creative people. That is the case with designer Marco Dal Maso, who in 2015 launched Totwoo along with Chinese businessman Jie Ming (Mats) Wang. «When my friend and genius Mats Wang confied in me about his idea, I immediately saw its potential. The opportunity to create something that didn’t exist was priceless.» Totwoo, which means the union between two people, is one of the first brands to o er high-jewelry creations that propose exciting interactive experiences. «An object that becomes a way of not just elevating our style, but also a way of expressing our emotions.» The jewels, which can vibrate and light up with different colors in response to the physical state of the user, has various functions: “Love-Code,” for example, allows two people to virtually share emotions in real time, though vibrations and light; “Memory” o ers users the opportunity to make videos, audio recordings and take photos. According to Dal Maso, «The smart jewel is destined to becoming as popular as smart watches. Jewelry arts go back thousands of years and they will continue to exist, but thanks to smart jewelry, more and more people will consider jewelry to be a part of everyday life and not just an investment.»