Ringly’s Stylish Spin on Staying Connected
Missing an important text or e-mail while at work, class or dinner is upsetting for most, but constantly clutching a glowing screen can be distracting and rude to others around you.
This conflict is what prompted Christina Mercando, founder and CEO of Ringly, to create a piece of jewelry that allows users to enjoy special moments without the worry of missing notifications.
Ringly, stylish gold and silver rings with rectangular gemstones, acts as a personal assistant on your finger by alerting users via vibrations and light when they have an incoming notification.
“I started to realize that a lot of my friends were having the same issue so I thought, ‘what if I could make my jewelry smart?’” she says. “I loved the idea of creating something that women would get excited about wearing but could also help them feel less tied to their phone.”
Through the Ringly app — available on iOS and Android platforms — users can set custom color and vibration patterns for various apps and notifications including text messages, Facebook, Uber, e-mail, etc.
Mercando says she loved the idea of creating something that women would get excited about wearing, but when she looked at what was already on the market, many devices were designed to be unisex and nothing seemed to fit her personal style.
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So she started working with a jewelry designer to prototype different designs and engineers to develop the technology.
“Our biggest challenge was getting the tech as small as possible so that it would look beautiful,” Mercando says. “We didn’t want something that was bulky and techy, or replaced your phone in any way. Our goal was to make something you would want to wear even if the technology was not there.”
Since the company began accepting preorders in June 2014, Mercando says the success is “incredibly thrilling” and it is amazing to see such overwhelming enthusiasm over the past several months.
Erin Dodd, one of the first 100 people to order a Ringly, says the wearable piece of technology has allowed her to stress less at work especially when she is sitting through meetings.
“I wear it every day and it has been extremely beneficial in work and personal life,” Dodd says. “It is so good to not be so attached to my phone – there is a real world out there, look up from your phone screen and enjoy it.”
As a merchandise manager for the jewelry company Chloe + Isabel, she said many women are incorporating wearable tech into their everyday lives, but not many products offer the stylish statement that Ringly provides.
“Wearable tech is definitely becoming more popular, but people are still kind of turned off by things like the Apple Watch,” Dodd said. “Anyone who sees [Ringly] can’t wait to buy it because it is actually something they would wear even if it is not turned on.”
