Suggestions for Functional Jewelry? 211
szyzyg asks: "I'm getting married and my girlfriend and I have been looking around at rings and not really getting anywhere. I have all sorts of high concepts about what this should represent and I keep coming back to the thought 'nothing which is useless can be truly beautiful'. So I've been fighting with the idea of how to make a ring which has some use beyond simple symbolism... concepts like using magnetic minerals to turn it into a compass, or engraving some sort of measuring mechanism into it. So here's the challenge I'm putting to the Slashdot bright idea machine: How do I make a simple piece of jewelry useful? Someone out there must have better ideas."
Put a Q twist on it. (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Put a Q twist on it. (Score:2)
No Date! (Score:3, Funny)
Wedding Rings are usefull (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Wedding Rings are usefull (Score:4, Funny)
This is certainly true - but in another way a ring can say:
"Hey - We can have a bit of fun, and I don't want commitment: I already have somone to do housework/heavy lifting and already have 2.5 children"
Re:Wedding Rings are usefull (Score:3, Funny)
"Hey, I was a good catch, but you missed it. Nyaa nyaa."
Secret compartment? (Score:4, Funny)
This is cool in a James Bond kind of way AND you will have a quick way out of the marriage if the mother in law gets too much.
Re:Secret compartment? (Score:5, Funny)
FYI (Score:5, Interesting)
You should get her a heat-sensitive gold band (Score:5, Funny)
"I'm getting married" (Score:5, Insightful)
You dont want your future mother-in-law saying "Well that Billy is a nice boy - but geesh did you see that ring he bought her? I thought those computer people made good money?" know what I mean? :)
If you want to make her one - go for it - but get a expensive one to put on her finger in front of the preach...
Duke
Diamonds (Score:5, Informative)
I know there's sociatal pressures that say you need to have a diamond. And why? Because DeBeers invented it!
http://www.africanfront.com/diamondboycott.php [africanfront.com]
There's one link, I'm sure you can find more with a quick google.
Re:Diamonds (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Diamonds (Score:2, Troll)
Are you sure that the jury isn't still out on that? We are talking about Microsoft here.
Re:"I'm getting married" (Score:2, Insightful)
remember that you'll be wearing this for the rest of your lives if all goes well... as such whilst thoughts on a use are cool, there is a lot to be said for a simple gold band.
Re:"I'm getting married" (Score:5, Informative)
Real women don't want a diamind:
A real woman will know that a diamond is just an expensive way to dazzle the easily dazzled.
She will also know it's just carbon.
She will aslo know that it's a common stone, kept uncommon by a diamond cartel.
She will aslo know that many diamons are mined by children in conditions akin to slavery.
She would also rather have flying lessons, a trip on the Concorde to Paris, or a Harley.
I suguest, that any woman that has a social structure that makes getting a diamond more important than getting a hang-glider and lessons, is a woman to be dumped to the curb.
Re:"I'm getting married" (Score:4, Insightful)
Not all real women are smart, but we're safe to assume the converse that all smart women are real.
that's the whole point (Score:2)
Re:Real Women??? (Score:5, Insightful)
You see bud, it is not about the diamond. It is about knowing your girl. Some women want the diamond to show it off, others want a basic ring with a huge ass story behind it that every time someone asks her why she does not have a diamond she launches into her month long surf trip around the pacific.
I have that girl, and I am going to keep her. You can have the one that wants the diamond.
Re:Real Women??? (Score:2)
Re:Real Women??? (Score:5, Informative)
We didn't do the engagement ring thing, and we bought 2 beautiful silver rings for our wedding bands. Total cost with shipping was just shy of $100. We're both proud of the cheapness factor, as we know the price of precious metals/stones is such a sham. Though, you'd be amazed at how many women turned their noses up at the rings. She doesn't care (that's my girl!) and neither to I. The rings are beautiful and we both love them, and that's all that really matters.
I got this ring [metalsmiths.com], the knots symbolic of my science/math/mechanical nature. I'm the organized one in the pair; I bring order to the chaos. In turn, she has this ring [metalsmiths.com], the ivy symbolic of her being the more "wild" of the two of us. She gets me out into the sun and has a better sense of adventure. We're a perfect match, and over the years our personalities have melded a bit, which goes well with silver (a highly malleable metal). I'm thinking for our 10th anniversary, we might get a new set of rings, but with both having the ivy and knots intertwined (that is, if the owner of this site will custom make them). We may even try to get them in platinum or tungsten, much more sturdy metals.
We've been married 5.5 years and are closer than ever.
Yeah, it's all symbolic, and has no utility value. But my going on about this is simply to illustrate that one can ditch the status quo and have much more meaningful symbolism than "Look! he spent 2 month's salary on this boring ring of gold with a fleck of clear rock on it!"
I encourage everyone to browse the site linked above: metalsmiths.com [metalsmiths.com]. The guy has rings made of meteorite that I'd like to get -- too cool! His work is truly unique.
My only suggestion for a practical ring would be either a sun dial type of ring (calibrated for your latitude, of course) or a very simple, solid and heavy ring of platinum which you could hawk if you ever got into a real jam. About the latter suggestion... I've ready to many "urban survival" threads in misc.survival. ;-)
Re:Real Women??? (Score:2)
BTW, we bought u
Re:"I'm getting married" (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:"I'm getting married" (Score:3, Funny)
why is it that homophobetards always pick the darndest time to call something gay? Oh, this dude is going to marry a women- how gay!
Re:"I'm getting married" (Score:2)
I actually was able to get in agreement with my wife that a diamond ring is just a waste of money. We ended up getting a pair of plain silver rings (> $20cdn each) and a Playstation 2. Atleast we got more fun out of the money.
Check with your family (Score:2)
If you are not interested in getting a diamond from DeBeers or some terrorist organization, start asking family members.
Especially grandparents who got screwed by banks during the depression, or who "ran a business" during the prohibition.
I know several different couples who each got engaged, got the engagement ring, had lunch with the family, grandparents, godparents, etc. and came back with several old pieces of jewlery and som
Checking the /. archives (Score:2)
There were a lot of interesting suggestions. Jewelry-wise, if you want functionality, a diamond is the way to go (If you don't like DeBeers, go synthetic.) Hardest substance on earth, could come in handy... I can't think of much that's as durable and lasting as a diamond and small enough to be jewelry.
Others suggested goin
Re:"I'm getting married" (Score:2)
How does the song go? Something like
"Daddie never gave mommey a diamond ring,
but mommie never had to worrk about anything
Cause what he gave her came from the heart
In a prommise that was never torn apart"
Alan Jackson if I remember right. I'm not nessicarly sure you would like the song, but it contains some useful advice: there is something more important than the ring, the promise. Some people demand the ring, and I don't have a problem with it (so long as you get one of the few diamonds that DeBe
Ugly but functional (Score:2, Interesting)
It's cheap too
Wedding ring (Score:5, Interesting)
Eventually after lots of pain she came to appreciate her original ring more than the regular engagement ring, but it took many months and quite a few girlfriends to say "wow that is a nice stone".
Now about the use of the ring, it sends a message to her: I love you so much that I'm happy to waste a few grand on you.
Lastly, sometimes the most beautiful objects are those with no use at all. The caves of Lascaux painted 15,000 years ago are one of the most beautiful sights you could ever see.
** Try to argue that M$ is other than absolute evil or that Linux could be improved here, and you'll see what I mean
The caves .... (Score:3, Insightful)
Arts in any era fullfill many very important social functions.
Diamonds do, but the horrifying background of how that trade works should put off all but the most indecent people.
Re:Wedding ring (Score:2, Funny)
True, however, all male geeks need to be aware that this is one of those sentences for which no interpretation exists that allows for the continued attachment of their testicles to their body.
Re: The caves at Lascaux (Score:2)
I agree are amazing, but the chances that you'll ever get to see them are pretty slim. (Unless you're an academic.)
The caves are closed to the public to prevent humidity and bacteria from destroying the fragile paintings. However, Lascaux II, a milimetre-accurate replica, is open nearby. And it's every bit as awesome.
While the main theme is animal (and the Bulls' Chamber is incredible), there's also an astronomy element which might appeal more to geeks. This link [bbc.co.uk] is a BBC site explaining how maps of var
sextant... (Score:2)
Granted, I do not know too much about sextants.
Plus, y
Twist Tie (Score:3, Funny)
Diamonds (Score:2, Funny)
Give her a diamond. They are very beautiful and you can make pick-up needles from them.
Computer chip in your ring (Score:4, Interesting)
It allows you to store cryptographic keys, and more.
Design a ring that uses that as the facet, and you're all set. Very functional, very useful.
A word to the wise.... (Score:5, Insightful)
I really do wish you luck, but did you run this past her?
Are you **ABSOLUTELY** **CERTAIN** she's OK with the idea of jewelry that "does stuff"?
Don't get me wrong - I'd love the idea of having a ring that could double as a compass or has a laser or maybe has a web server in it. But I'm not a chick for a reason. My wife would have killed me if I got her a ring that did anything except sit there and depreciate - that's why I let her pick it out. If nothing else, tell her that its super-power is that it also cuts glass.
Seriously, man -- stop the bleeding before it starts. THIS COULD BE A TEST! Chicks *love* doing kind of thing to us.
Re:A word to the wise.... (Score:2)
Re:A word to the wise.... (Score:2)
C'mon, this is a guy who believe utility is more important than beauty. Surely this 500 pound beast of a wife of his is desperate enough regardless of what ring he gets.
Trust me, man. *NO* woman is desperate enough to think that a secret decoder wedding ring is OK. She might be desperate enough to lie about it, but SHE WILL NOT THINK THIS IS COOL.
On engraving... (Score:5, Interesting)
I had thought about actually using it for something, like an encryption key -- for example if I started at a certain place on the ring, went a certain direction and counted up 7 or 8 bit ascii words, I could get a passphrase after a while, a pretty strong one. At this point all I would need to memorize for a theoretically very long passphrase would be the starting location, direction, and number of letters.
Even if the men in black kidnapped me and found my ring, they would still have a hard time figuring it out
Re:On engraving... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:On engraving... (Score:3, Informative)
They're not practical for any purpose other than being a wedding ring, and do you honestly need any more purpose? If I ever have need of one, I'm definitely going with the sine wave [rennlist.com] style.
Dan Statman (of the site you linked) is a member of the TurboCNC community, CNC software that runs on an old 486 with step rates up to 20,000Hz. TurboCNC is being actively developed by Dave Kowalczyk [dakeng.com]. It's 100% free to use, $20 for the Pascal source. This is for something that can cost hundreds or thous
Re:On engraving... (Score:2)
Dude - you turned your wife into a bar code! My fiancee would kill me if I ever tried that!
must... refrain from making jokes... mark of the beast...
(sorry. I was almost successful)
Titanium Rings (Score:2)
I know that this is so because it worked in the Abyss
or have it contain many many loops of copper wire, with 2 exposed "terminals"; just hook it up to a power source, and you have an electromagnet!
On a serious note, this discussion has
Re:Titanium Rings (Score:2)
Re:Titanium Rings (Score:2)
How would you discard the PGP key in your ring? toss it in the garbage? It'd be pretty hard to actually destroy if it were made out of Ti with the kind of resources you have at your place.
Re:Titanium Rings (Score:2)
How to discard it?
Well, I would just throw it away, after erasing my key.
How would I erase my key, you ask?
Microwave it.
Give it 120 VAC.
I envision the ring as having a band with a "U"-like cross section, with the key stored in memory, like SDRAM, FLASH, or an EEPROM type of arrangement; the guts of which would live in the channel of the "U"
Then you could easily insulate the contacts you would need to ta
Re:On engraving... (Score:2)
And it's just plain awful only if you know what you are looking for. If someone DOES steal my ring somehow, how would they know that the pretty inlaid dots are my secret passphrase?
Just make sure it does it's primary jobs (Score:5, Insightful)
Whatever else you might try to make it do, first ensure that your choice accomplishes the basics. It must:
Oh, and one more suggestion, something I learned the hard way: make sure that it doesn't have any sharp points sticking up. My wife's first ring (the diamond fell out at the beach one day, so she got a new one) had these fairly sharp points on the tips of the prongs around the solitaire. Every time she'd roll over to cuddle up in bed, I'd end up bleeding.
4) Make sure it complies with hobby requirements (Score:2)
Go custom, based around some personal story of hers, preferably about a ring she never got. I got my wife a horseshoe nail ring denied to her by her Mom when she was 12.
If it works for her, it'll be just fine for you . Total cost, including small diamond ~= $400, IIRC.
A secret decoder ring (Java powered!) (Score:2)
However, you can still buy a Java iButton and embed it into your own ring.
See here for details:
http://www.ibutton.com/ibuttons/java.html
Anyone remember the Java rings that were at JavaOne a few years back? Those were the DalSemi units...
-psy
Utilitarianism (Score:3, Interesting)
I assume you gravitate towards a utilitarian theme, as you are trying to avoid another vice of the capitalist middle class -- a flagrant display of wealth through the donning of ever-growing mass-produced gold rings with diamonds [fguide.org].
In an attempt to avoid both, my wife and I purchased our nontraditional rings at a modern-art museum. Thus finding something that didn't require the context of society to be of worth for its utilitarian appeal or it's perceived monetary value.
Good luck.
Re:Utilitarianism (Score:2)
Or it could be indicative of the fact that he is a geek, who are famous (or, more likely, infamous) for favoring function over form. Since we're on Slashdot, I'm guessing he's a geek.
Re:Utilitarianism (Score:3, Insightful)
Oh, please. My dad got into programming long before it was fashionable or lucrative. And I started young, spending far too much of my youth in my basement, hacking away, without thought of lucre.
I do well programming, but for me it's something I can't not to, like a musician and his music. If I had a day job waiting table
Re:Utilitarianism (Score:2)
It goes back much farther than that, really. Tool use has been a big factor through a lot of human evolution from our great ape ancestors, and it's pretty clear that geekiness has a genetic component. So I'd bet that the geek's utilitarian aesthetic has been around much longer than a few thousand years.
Re:Utilitarianism (Score:2)
True, but I don't see how that relates exactly. I'm saying the geek worldview exemplified by the poster, which includes an aesthetic preference for function over decoration, both predates and is not primarily driven by th
ringing (Score:3, Interesting)
http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/SUNDIALS2.HTM
http://www.uniquecanes.com/AstroKey1721.htm
Since this is something you'll be spending your life with, you might have one made by a jeweler. In that case, it could be designed for your latitude.
A cipher key phrase or a circular slide rule of some sort could be put into a ring also. Any slide rule should translate into a circular slide rule, but on the scale of a ring, it would be quite small, and so not terribly easy to use.
Not to be too much of a sanctimonious PITA, but how does your fiancee feel about this? This is an object that symbolizes your commitment to each other. While I wear a wedding ring that I made, I certainly discussed it with my wife, because this ring is about us.
You might try to find a phrase worthy of inscribing on the ring, if a plain band seems useless to you. That could increase the personal meaning. You might think of other designs you care about, or something you find unique and beautiful. Don't underestimate the importance of beauty and personal meaning.
OK, I spent enough time writing this that other people have made the same points. I'll risk redundancy, and say my piece anyway.
Secret Map (Score:2)
Check out the creative use of rings on this page. Pictures of the ring in use near the bottom of the page.
Green Lantern! (Score:2)
Anyway, yeah. I agree with a previous poster; with most women, the best "functionality" a ring can probably have is that it cuts glass. Face it; while you may be thinking logically, and want something that costs x thousands of dollars to actually *do* something, love and lust never respect logic. Just get something pretty.
Oh, wait, there's one more functionality - Whenever she sees it, she thinks of you. And t
The function of a diamond (Score:2, Insightful)
Jewelry also serves as a store of value... if anything happens she can sell the ring a
IT has no value. (Score:5, Informative)
Re:IT has no value. (Score:3, Insightful)
This part of the parent post is entirely false. As a matter of fact, it highlights the most common misconception about diamonds.
Within the United States, you can buy a diamond for exactly what you can sell it for, no more, no less (otherwise, you couldn't buy and sell diamonds on eBay, for being able to buy something on eBay is defined as being able to
Thank you. (Score:2)
Money storeage: Diamonds have no resale value (Score:3, Informative)
if anything happens she can sell the ring and live for a month
Very wrong unfortunately.
Diamonds have absoulutely no resale value worth speeking of. Have a look at this slashdot story [slashdot.org]
Yes a diamond could be used as a bribe, but you certainly can't live for a month on one.
Gold might be slightly better. Most jewlers will readily give money for 'scrap gold'. Althouh most survivalists will tell you how useless gold Kruger rands /soverigns etc are. Most banks wont accept them and jewlers will often just giv
Re:Money storeage: Diamonds have no resale value (Score:2)
Which begs the question, why not buy used?
-C
Not many suggestions so far... (Score:5, Interesting)
Still, I have no idea if this is possible, but would it be possible to make two rings that can sense when they are near each other and change in some way? Let see now, transmitter, reciever, power source (tiny solar cell?) indicator (led? heating element? not a noice or a vibration otherwise it'll drive you mad being together) - it might be just do-able. The japanese are fond of those badges that do this.
Problem will be size of course, so perhaps this idea is not practicable, unless you both have big hands.
OK, then, perhaps you need something mechanical. Hmm. Perhaps something that you get when you fit both rings together? A key, perhaps?
Best suggestion so far is the guy with his SO's name engraved on one of those cool titanium rings. Sequence her DNA and write that on it!
Re:Not many suggestions so far... (Score:2)
Must continue to work for as long as you want the marriage to last.
This argues strongly for something where the utility is what it is, rather than what it does.
A "does" will wear out, mechanical failure, chemical breakdown, too many cosmic ray strikes, whatever. A "is" will last as long as the ring is in one piece.
it IS functionally useful (Score:2)
It's also great for getting it caught on things and tearing your finger off! :)
microchip security (Score:2)
Then you can use it as a key for anything digital, or a micro storage device.
Personally I think that would really be cool to get, but then I am just a geek.
When I got married... (Score:5, Interesting)
We found a local jewler and asked if he could fashion two gold rings in the shape of a mobius strip [pbskids.org] (a one sided one edged object). We showed him, out of paper, what a mobius strip was and what it could do. A month later, and for a total cost of $90 (in the 80's) we had two rings with a half twist. To make the rings comfortable and keep the twist in a certain place he had slightly flattened the underside of the ring so that it wouldn't ride around on our fingers. (for those interested, to make a one sided one edged solid gold object he created the twist in a mold and then poured the gold into the mold.)
I always liked the mobius strip rings... there is certainly symbolism in them (no 2 sides, but 1 side... 2 people working together as 1, etc...). Nobody else had anything like them and they were quite attractive.
Aloha Nui Loa for your upcoming wedding - hope to see you honeymoon here on the active volcano in Hawaii.
Re:When I got married... (Score:2)
Upgrading? (Score:4, Insightful)
What may seem novel or cool today will probably not seem so novel or cool 20 years from now. Remember that the ring is a symbol of your marriage. What ring you select should reflect what you value in your marriage and your spouse.
Scribe tool (Score:5, Funny)
A diamond ring has the inherent functionality of being able to score glass. With a little practice, she can become adept at permanent warchalking on the windows of businesses with poor wi-fi security.
Ring (Score:2)
Don't you look at a ladies hand, before you start hitting on her?
Re:Ring (Score:2)
Signet Ring (Score:2)
I hope you got a real geeky one (Score:3, Funny)
I have all sorts of high concepts about what this should represent and I keep coming back to the thought 'nothing which is useless can be truly beautiful'.
Just don't tell you fiance this when you have her in bed. She might start asking what her "use" is.
Get her the diamond, AND (Score:2)
Brass Knuckles: Beautiful and Functional (Score:2)
Four times the rings, five times the impact
i have an idea... (Score:2)
you could also use the engagement ring as one half of the decoder and the band as the other.
Call me sentimental (Score:2)
Rus
For you: Java Ring (Score:2)
Now for you, the Java Ring [google.com] might be just what you're after. Sold by MRI [maxim-ic.com], you can get ones that store, encrypt or compute. It's FIPS-140-1 certified, 134K of SRAM, zeroizes on tampering. Here is the fact sheet [ibutton.com].
Of course, you can get a nice plain wedding band, and ask her to get you the Java Ring for the other hand. Your call.
Diamonds.... (Score:2)
OK, second hand or antique, but not new. Please.
New can be OK too. (Score:2)
Well Duh! (Score:2)
The Java Powered iButton ring of course!
http://www.iowatelecom.net/~njohnsn/thejava1.ht
(I was going to say that a regular ring is useful, it's the chain that your wife uses to enslave you, but my wife hit me when I said that...
Holographic Ring (Score:2, Interesting)
Some ideas... (Score:2, Funny)
How about...
Golomb Rulers (Score:2)
A friend of mine has a necklace marked as a Golomb ruler. This is not really "useful" (except in the sense that if you were stuck somewhere and really needed a ruler, this is the optimally short piece of equipment to use), but it is a neat mathematical curiosity.
http://www.distributed.net/ogr/
Puzzle rings (Score:2, Interesting)
Keys are Beautiful Jewelry (Score:2)
Other posters have already suggested that the piece of jewelry be used to store keys for cryptographic purposes. But I have to ask, why use a cumbersome piece of jewelry for that?
I've often thought that mechanical locks and keys have some intrinsic beauty, and they are functional, not requiring electricity, etc.
So why not commission a locksmith to make your and yours a special houselock with exceptionally beautiful keys? Or, if you prefer, car keys?
BTW, about this "must be functional" fetish. Take a pie
Re:Keys are Beautiful Jewelry (Score:2)
Hey you might get lucky with SevenOfNine or the Vulcan chick on Enterprise!
Oooh! (Score:2)
Nothing says "I love you"... (Score:2)
A cock ring (Score:2)
sob
Different Design for a Wedding Ring (Score:2)
The idea was that the raised bit represented the wedding, then each year there after we would get a groove cut into the ring to represent the anniversary. We managed five of them before we
It is functional (Score:2)
Make it a biometric identifcation device that functions by gauging the size of her ring finger. That way you can tell if someone is trying to impersonate your wife, as while you could use cosmetic surgery to make someone look like your wife, I doubt they'd think about changing her finger size. Sort of like Cinderella's slipper, it will only fit her. After all, she is your princess now, isn't she?
Use a RFID tag (Score:2)
Rig that up to your computer room entrance. Then when she walks near it - it will automatically lock the door or unlock it depending on the mode that you've got it in: PORN or NO-PORN.
Re:The New Bush/Ashcroft Jewelry Line (Score:2)
Re:It will be her ring (Score:2)