Abstract
Digital jewellery is an emerging field of research and practice that combines jewellery practices with microelectronics and employs methodologies from art, craft, design and Human-Computer-Interaction (HCI). This interdisciplinary approach offers exciting possibilities for designing innovative digital devices on the body. However, the field of digital jewellery remains loosely defined and underdeveloped. It is timely to give voice to jewellers and to lead them to shape the many ways in which digital technology can be meaningful to the wearer. This paper synthesises insights from the past five years of digital jewellery research conducted in two jewellery education programs in the UK and Denmark. In doing so, it amplifies the voices of the new generation of jewellers, analysing their practices and highlighting their potential to shape the future of wearable devices. By emphasising longevity, emotional resonance, embodiment and self-reflection, the new generation of digital jewellers offers a compelling alternative to tech-driven wearables.
Keywords
digital jewellery research, poetic, wearables, care, jewellery, jewellers, digital devices, body
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1029
Citation
Koulidou, N., and Laier Henriksen, M. (2026) Situated practices in digital jewellery research: The collective voices of the new generation of jewellers, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1029
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Included in
Situated practices in digital jewellery research: The collective voices of the new generation of jewellers
Digital jewellery is an emerging field of research and practice that combines jewellery practices with microelectronics and employs methodologies from art, craft, design and Human-Computer-Interaction (HCI). This interdisciplinary approach offers exciting possibilities for designing innovative digital devices on the body. However, the field of digital jewellery remains loosely defined and underdeveloped. It is timely to give voice to jewellers and to lead them to shape the many ways in which digital technology can be meaningful to the wearer. This paper synthesises insights from the past five years of digital jewellery research conducted in two jewellery education programs in the UK and Denmark. In doing so, it amplifies the voices of the new generation of jewellers, analysing their practices and highlighting their potential to shape the future of wearable devices. By emphasising longevity, emotional resonance, embodiment and self-reflection, the new generation of digital jewellers offers a compelling alternative to tech-driven wearables.