Discussion on:

Artists turn old computer hardware into beautiful, unique jewerly

TechRepublic members have long debated the best way to dispose of computers that are at the end of their life cycle.

Some donate the equipment to local charities or sell the machines to employees. And once the computers no longer function, many turn to local recyclers.

A few artists and craftspeople however, have found a unique way to breath new life into dead computer hardware?jewelry.

Would you wear jewelry made from computer hardware?

Check out some of these amazing creations and take our poll:
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/itdojo/?p=2000

Not a chance in Hades.

What about the lead? Cadmium? Plasticizers? I see allergic reactions. This just looks bad in general. Can you say lawsuit in 5 or 10 years?
Paul

Datamation magazine commissioned an artist to create some one-of-a-kind art objects from computer components that were photographed as covers for the magazine. I have some old posters of an angel fish and Noah and the Ark. These are impressive.

Seems there should be some way to use epoxy, or a similar product, to isolate the circuit materials from the wearer. I really admire the creativity of the artist is repurposing these "throw away" products.

Check out the photo show. There did seem to be some pieces that were not protected though. Some of those were the non-conforming materials and hopefully RoHS compliant.

Jewelry doesn't really interest me. I made an interesting analog clock from a motherboard (bottom side as face). Never carried through on other ideas yet.

i have 9 children

I can see a piece of art on the wall, or better yet, functional art, but not personal jewelry. That screams 'geek' far too loudly. Besides, I would never want jewelry to be other than gold or silver, anything else is irritating to the skin.

The whole "chunky" jewellry thing just don't work for me, making it out of dead electronics don't change that.

tie pins are pretty small actually; but their is no accounting for taste anyway. I really like the look, but it would have to be minimal on me as well.

The necklace looks kind of Aztec, and would look good on a woman, I think. Maybe if mixed with good dress design, it would transform the look?

Now there is a oxymoron if ever I heard one.

Good and Dress Design should never be used int he same sentence. After all the Fashion Industry can be accused of a lot of things but Good Design defiantly isn't one of them. They are far more interested in Looks than good design.

Also it doesn't matter if it's cheap as it makes more profit. I spent 5 years catering to the High End of the Fashion Designers here and they drove me crazy. They almost wanted me to sign The Official Secrets Act every time before I entered their studios so I wouldn't tell their competition what they where doing and tell them what their computation was doing. So silly really and when all is said and done totally unimportant.

My description of their Creations always was A Few bits of Rag sewn together and flogged off onto the stupid. Didn't make them happy but I was always honest.

Col

What the women's dress designers always forget, is it is the men that need to be impressed with the women in their life. I think even the women forget that!

If it looks too gay, I'm just not impressed. Not that there's anything wrong with that!(As they used to say on Seinfeld, HA!) =D

Women never think of men when dressing. Men have no sense of style. Women always dress to impress other women.

as far as I'm concerned.

many years ago, I cut a cross-shaped circuit out of a dead mobo (probably an 8086) and wore it on a chain. That count?

But I am rather partial to this, though it is not jewelery: http://www.grandideastudio.com/portfolio/hard-drive-coffee-table/

to an internet cafe. Wow, a hard drive table! It has been a while since I saw a drive that big in action!

but I definitely think you could raise an attractive atmosphere in a café with a theme based on such items.

It has been a very long time since my limited exposure to such large drives as well. And fun stuff like punch tapes and Hollerith cards...

I'd pay the ridiculous price for coffee at that shop!! For real!

Intel used to give out dead 486's as tie tacs and Pentiums as keyrings ? I have both of these jewelry items and think they look great. Especially under a magnifying glass!

He must have alot of time on his hands.

My father once showed me how to make a not-unattractive tie tack from one of the old style "can" type transistors.
And the physical discs from hard drives are "flashy".

Already wear some I made. Get a lot of comments!

But then my work requires that I don't wear watches and rings for safety reasons. It's too much of a hassle to take jewelry off and put it back on, so I don't wear anything except a watch.

Even that, for safety reasons.

Molten glob landed exactly between the metal Spidel band and my wrist, welding itself to the band. Hooked a finger under the band and, with one move, removed it and flung the thing across the parking lot -- already too late.

Never since. That was 35 years ago.

One of the techs at the transmitter site at my first assignment did this: http://www.jaapa.com/circumferential-electrical-contact-burn-of-a-finger/article/137571/

In those days, you either lost the finger or kept the scar tissue.

You reminded me of a Mechanic cutting a exhaust pipe off a car where a glob of molten metal fell off and landed in his crutch 3 days prior to his wedding.

Wife to be wasn't at all happy. I'm not sure if it was the fact that the nurses got to touch things that she thought should not be touched by other females particularly so close to the wedding or that she didn't get any on the wedding night.

OK so I don't know how he did this but it was incredibly stupid to place yourself in that position.

Col

I saw a machinist get too close to an induction heater once, and convinced him to stop wearing metal watches. I always wore as much rubber/plastic construction as I could to avoid conduction in a panel, but usually simply took it off.

Pocket watches were the thing 30 years ago in the natural gas industry. Anything on your arm could get caught in a flying piece of 20 ton equipment, and fling you off across the parking lot!

The appendage that was formerly yours.

////^^^\\\\

Haha; this reminds me of the movie "The 5th Element".

I wouldn't mind wearing the cufflinks or a tie clasp made from old PCB boards; but if its not RoHS compliant, or the PCB is older than the 80's ... heck no.

**ck (private parts) ring on the go.