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Author: Aleena Gardezi

Ringly Founder Christina Mercando d’Avignon Puts Fashion First

Posted February 13, 2017

Ringly Founder, Christina Mercado d’Avignon wanted to create something where fashion met technology. Although fitbits, apple watches, and similar wearable products can do a lot, this jewelry is perfect for those who are passionate about fashion and expression.

Additionally ,for those, who are tired of missing calls or important alerts, Ringly bracelets and rings connect to your phone via Bluetooth and let you receive customized mobile notifications through vibration and a subtle color-coded light.  The jewelry interacts with many apps and does all of the below:

  • Track Activity: Accurately record your steps taken, distance traveled and calories burned.
  • Set & Manage Goals: Create goals and view progress within the Ringly app.
  • Get Smart Alerts: Never miss a message again – receive customized phone alerts on your bracelet with subtle vibration patterns and light.
  • Sync Your Favorite Apps: Select notifications from your favorite apps – over 100 popular productivity, wellness and messaging apps to choose from.
  • Water Resistant: Don’t worry about getting your jewelry wet.

DIVERGE spoke  to Ringly’s Founder Christina Mercado d’Avignon to find out more:

Where did the idea of Ringly come from?

I continued to miss calls and texts from my friends and family because my phone was buried in my purse and I hated leaving it on the table every time I went out. I also disliked feeling so dependent and chained to my phone. 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?”  I got really excited about creating a solution to the problem while also designing something that women would get excited about wearing.

We wanted to build a technology that was discreet yet stylish. Most women don’t want to wear something that screams ‘tech gadget’. Ringly creates simple and unobtrusive jewelry, focused equally on fashion and technology.

Why is this significant for women?

Many women fall in one of two categories – keeping their phone in their purse and missing important notifications, or being tethered to their device, anxiously anticipating the next message. Ringly products keep the wearer effortlessly connected, allowing her go through her day knowing she will be notified of the things that matter most. Further, our pieces blend seamlessly into a woman’s wardrobe, designed so beautifully she would buy regardless of the embedded technology.

Ultimately, Ringly helps women be their best by making their lives easier and creating peace of mind.

What makes Ringly unique? How is it different from its competition?  i.e. Apple watches, etc.

Watches aren’t for everyone. Consumers, especially women, care about fashion and expression. We’re not looking to do everything your phone can already do. We want to create simple products that do what your phone can’t do.

There are a lot of wearable products on the market today, but they lack the aesthetic quality that women are looking for when they shop for accessories. Many technology companies building wearable tech products are making products that are “unisex” or modular. We take a different approach by making the technology discreet and creating products that our customer would want to buy even if it didn’t include technology.

We are not a tech company that is trying to be fashionable. We are a fashion-first company that’s packing small and powerful technology into beautiful jewelry. Ringly is not trying to replace your phone, rather we want to integrate technology to make your life easier.

What’s next for Ringly?

We want to continue to grow Ringly into the leading smart jewelry brand for women, creating beautiful pieces to be distributed through our website and retail partners, as well as in collaboration with other designers.

Can this be purchased in any stores?

In addition to purchasing on the Ringly website, Ringly is sold at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bloomingdale’s, Intermix, Shopbop, and Neiman Marcus.