14/05/2026
My first reaction to the technology-as-jewellery project was "This is scary!" and oops, I made that comment to someone from the bank who happened to stand right next to me. I'm sure he wasn't thrilled, but he hid it well.
But let me explain. Jewellery is just jewellery, and I personally love it that way. It's about craft, materials, gemstones, creativity, design, pleasure, emotions, stories, history; it's a way to express ourselves. It's as old as humanity, from the first beads to today's refined pieces. And yes, jewellery changed enormously through history, but it always remained expression, never essential utility. The brooch evolved from a functional clasp into an object of beauty and self-expression. Embedding technology strips all of that away and adds utility. And when something becomes utility, it's no longer a pleasure, no longer a story, no longer a luxury, no longer special, it becomes a need.
We can't leave home without it because we need it to pay for our coffee. The jewellery serves the utility, not the other way around. It reduces the piece to its transactional purpose. That takes away everything jewellery is. So… a big no from me. And I'm really curious to hear other opinions.
My initial reaction aside, it was a challenging concept and the results were incredibly fascinating and creative! Necklaces, buttons, brooches, bracelets, even tattoos, all essentially functioning as your bank card.
This was the first of 'TWO WAYS OF MAKING: BAJ Live Projects with Zopa Bank & David Michael Jewels' at
The second way was a collaboration with , where students were challenged to create jewellery inspired by emotion using traditional techniques. Love this concept! This was really interesting because it's not easy to express emotions through jewels. There was an interactive wall where visitors were invited to guess which emotion each piece represented.
Well done to all participants! It's always wonderful to see students' work and the fresh perspectives and approaches they bring to jewellery.
