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By Chris Benham, co-founder and director of Inspired Jewellery Ltd., and Angelka Vegar, marketing coordinator of Inspired Jewellery Ltd.
The world’s first contactless payment ring has been funded through Kickstarter, achieving 43 percent more than its goal, with more than 2,000 backers. The backers pledged 110,182 British pounds ($158,000) to help bring this project to life.
The ring is called Kerv, and although there are other smart rings on the market, Kerv is the first ring that allows you to make a payment simply by swiping your hand over a contactless payment terminal. We spoke to one of Kerv’s founders, Philip Campbell.
Campbell and the team behind Kerv have backgrounds in the payments, digital, creative and electrical engineering industries.
“We worked on a number of innovative projects in the FinTech sector, but we felt that they weren’t fulfilling their potential, and neither did the other products in the market. We felt we could do it better. Our goal was to make a piece of wearable technology that was desirable and looked more like a fashion item than a piece of technology. Nobody wants to wear ugly jewelry. It’s as simple as that.”
The ring comes in seven colors. Its design was developed by creative director, Dean Leybourn. “Dean and I have worked together for over 15 years, and he's a significant influence on the overall concept.”
And it would seem that people do want to wear it, with such a positive response from more than 2,000 backers pledging their money to get their hands (or fingers) on Kerv. It shows that there is demand for this wearable technology.
Kerv is being marketed to those who are young and active, whose minds are on which mountain to climb next or which gig to attend on Friday. Not concerned with the details, they just want to do it, be there and jump right in.
Currently in the production phase, it will be interesting to follow the journey of this new product concept—a wearable that aims to blend a good-looking aesthetic with useful technology. Executed well, it will provide many opportunities for the company, including opportunities to partner with banks, sports and lifestyle brands looking for clever ways to capture the younger, ‘less is more’ audience. You only need to look at the success of minimalist wallets from the likes of Bellroy, echoing the sentiment of millennials whose daily grind is to ditch the excess.
Campbell points out another group of consumers who have showed positive interest in Kerv. “One of the best responses we have received is from people that lack dexterity in their hands, be it the elderly or some disabled users. We are currently working with some disabled users and groups to help refine the product for this group as it could provide significant benefits. We are very keen to see if we can help support this audience”.
Initial plans were to sell Kerv directly online but the firm is now actively exploring the potential to sell via retail partners, specifically jewelry retailers. “This offers a great opportunity for users to see, touch and try the ring which we have seen leads to a very positive impression.”
There’s no doubt that smart rings are on the rise, only last week the OURA Ring was unveiled at CES 2016. But OURA serves a different function — it assesses your body and sleep patterns to help you live a balanced, healthy life. The NFC Ring (also funded through Kickstarter) unlocks doors and smartphones, and Ringly, the ring that most looks like a traditional piece of jewelry, allows you to receive notifications from apps on your smartphone. Kerv claims to be the first ring to allow contactless payments.
When released to the general public, Kerv will retail for 49.99 British pounds ($71).
Please join me on the Jewelry News Network Facebook Page, on Twitter @JewelryNewsNet, the Forbes website and on Instagram @JewelryNewsNetwork
By Chris Benham, co-founder and director of Inspired Jewellery Ltd.
Wearables is a big discussion point at the moment with the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas—where the who’s who of the tech industry launched their latest products and innovations. Many people, including myself, watched with interest to see all the latest product launches. I must admit I was pretty deflated when I saw an article on all the designs of the watches. Almost as deflated as I was when the Apple Watch was launched.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m a gadget lover. I already have visions of incorporating my wearable in my daily life. I hop into my car. It starts up with my proximity key watch with the door already opened this way. Buy my coffee by swiping my phone using NFC technology (I can’t wait to be able to ditch my wallet and keys!) Then get home and open my garage door with the watch. Then walk to my front door and open my Kevo lock with the touch of my finger. Then as I walk in the Philip Hue lights come on along with the Sonos music streaming my favorite stations … you get the idea. But no matter how cool all this is, I won’t wear it if I look like a walking computer.
To win me over you’ve got to combine exquisite design with exceptional ease of use. An epic challenge. No doubt Apple, Samsung/Android and Withings have all nailed the software side of this. Currently I see the wearables that have been launched fall into two categories:
The first is the phone/tablet/laptop on your wrist category. These are the ones that feel like they’ve been designed by the creators of the software who are often not inherently wearable product designers such as watch, jewelry and fashion designers. The ones that fall into this category include the major brands like the Apple Watch, Samsung and Fitbit. It feels strange adding Apple and Samsung into this category as they are arguably the best product designers in the world.
The second category are the traditional watches that have had some “smarts” added to them but still essentially look like a regular watch to the layperson. These include examples like Withings Activate, the latest LG and Guess watches.
When designing jewelry our challenge is always to make the diamond integral to the design and not an afterthought. The most successful diamond ring designs are the ones that achieve this. Consumers inherently can feel this when they see a design that passes or fails this emotional test. I currently believe there is a gaping hole in the wearable watch between the two categories. The technological advances are not integral to the design and consumer need. They feel like someone has plunked a phone on your wrist or a diamond on a band because you’ve got to get the diamond on there somehow.
Watches, like jewelry, provide people with an outward expression of themselves, their personality and lifestyle. They buy a watch because they have an emotional connection to the design. They already have a clock on their phone so they don’t need one like they used to. But they still buy them because of this connection and expression.
Currently one of the biggest barriers I believe in creating a successful wearable is that in order for it to be successful you need exceptional software to back it up. This can cost millions if not tens of millions to develop. No doubt when Apple’s Watch is available it will have an exceptional user experience that integrates with all the other gadgets you use in your daily life. The same with Withings Activite, which I’m sure has great health-based software that they’ve leveraged from all their existing health based products.
The best products will be developed, I believe, when the barriers to entry are removed and watch creators can use a platform where they can quickly create apps that integrate with the wearable they’ve created to serve a niche. The Android Wear platform will likely be the best place for this. Thus ensuring they don’t have to spend all their time being distracted by creating the software. This will have its own challenges in terms of seamless experience and lack of full control of the customer experience. Apple has overcome this by keeping the ecosystem super tight. The problem that I see with this approach is that they can get away with it when it’s a phone, a MacBook Air, etc. The catch, I don’t wear any of those things.
So to put my money where my mouth is, my prediction is that the truly cool smart watches will come when people start focusing on niches. I like surfing and I for one can’t wait until there is a surfing watch that combines all the tide information predictions, weather patterns and proactively tells me there is a pumping swell coming over the horizon arriving at 7:15 a.m. A watch that I can wear in the surf and not have to take off when I get into the office because it looks like I’ve still got the beach on my hand. But that’s just me.
I’ll be excited when someone creates a wearable that combines form and function not a slapping together of existing technologies. If they achieve this then I’ll be the first person to line up and buy. For now my pick is the Withings Activite but maybe that’s because it embraces traditional industrial design and is not just trying to add another screen to my life. Bring on new developments and innovation—I’ll surely be watching.
See of full list of 56 wearables from the CES conference.
It is a very subjective topic but I’d love to hear if your thoughts on whether you agree or disagree.
Jewelry News Network columnist, Chris Benham, is co-founder and director of Inspired Jewellery Ltd., Wellington, New Zealand, a global creative studio for specialist jewelry design.
Please join me on the Jewelry News Network Facebook Page, on Twitter @JewelryNewsNet and on the Forbes website.
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