crystals
Gadgets
9:30AM Nick Broughall | Oregon Scientific are releasing a weather station studded with Swarovksi crystals. Yes, a weather station. Am I the only person who feels like their head wants to explode just so it doesn’t have to think about that unlikely combination any more? More »
Is There A Product Swarovski Won’t Stick Their Crystals On?
9:30AM Nick Broughall | Oregon Scientific are releasing a weather station studded with Swarovksi crystals. Yes, a weather station. Am I the only person who feels like their head wants to explode just so it doesn’t have to think about that unlikely combination any more? More » 
Music
The Elton John iPod Has Sparkles, Needs Sunglasses
12:03AM Mark Wilson | I know what you want. You want an iPod nano, covered in 250 color-coordinated Swarovski crystals and donning Elton John’s signature. Wait, you don’t? WELL IT HELPS FIGHT AIDS YOU JERKS! DON’T YOU HATE AIDS??? More »
Gadgets
NYC’s Permanent New Year’s Eve Ball Is the Largest Ever
9:20AM Sean Fallon | At first glance, the new ball set to drop over Time’s Square this New Year’s Eve looks a lot like designs from years past. However, the updated ball is twice as big as previous versions (12-feet tall, 5,385kg) and it will be the first to be a permanent year-round fixture atop One Times Square. Besides its size, the ball is decked out with 2,668 Waterford Crystals and powered by 32,256 Philips Luxeon Rebel LEDS that are capable of generating more than 16 million distinct colours and billions of patterns. Essentially, it’s a giant LivingColors lamp kaleidoscope for the world. [Times Square NYC] More »
Design
Venus Crystal Chair, Probably Manufactured on Krypton
11:00PM Mark Wilson | Tokujin Yoshioka likes chairs as much as the next chair designer, but he’s not accustomed to using standard building materials. His latest project, the Venus Chair, is not built but grown. He shapes a sponge-like substrate called polyester elastomer into a sort of chair skeleton and then submerges it into a tank to grow crystals inside and out. The result is fit for Superman, except he’d never fit in this tiny scale model. He’d need something more like this full-blown La-Z-Boy version: More »
Science
Sonic Crystals to Make Homes, Cars Completely Soundproof
9:25PM Gizmodo US Edition | A new technology presented in the New Journal of Physics may lead to completely soundproof homes, cars, or any other space using a meta-material called sonic crystals. One of the developers, who is not Reed Richards but Dr José Sánchez-Dehesa of the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain, says that this “acoustic cloaking will deviate sound waves around the object that has to be cloaked.” More »
Gadgets
Battlemodo of Highest Res Video Goggles: Zeiss Cinemizer vs. Myvu Crystal
11:01AM Brian Lam | Despite the stigma, I’ve always wanted a pair of video goggles. I never did mind the nerd factor accompanying any piece of gear, at least not after admiring sci fi heroes like Cyclops of the X-men and Geordi from ST:TNG. But they’ve never been cheap or high-res enough until now. The Zeiss Cinemizer (US$400) and the Myvu Crystal (US$300) both do 640×480 resolution, which is best in class. And so today I’ll try to figure out which one is better headset. During it all, I will suspend all disbelief when it comes to the practicality of wearing a second screen for your video iPod on your face. I mean, what are you really saving here but neck cramps? More »
Games
Crystal Foosball Tables Suck All of the Fun Out of the Game
11:00AM Sean Fallon | We have seen long foosball tables, hi-fi foosball tables and even beautiful foosball tables before, but none can compare to the luxury and elegance that the Teckell Collection can provide. The tables come in a number of different versions, but they all feature a crystal frame with shiny aluminium players—potentially making them the most expensive foosball tables the world has ever seen.
Screens
Dell Crystal LCD Reviewed: Shiny, Expensive and Crappy
12:44AM Adam Frucci | You may remember Dell’s fancy-pants Crystal Monitor, the sliver of prettiness that costs rich guys US$1,200. We know it looks nice, but how does it, you know, work? Not so well, it turns out. More »
Vehicles
3:01PM Nick Broughall | If you weren’t content with having your light fittings blinged up with Swarovski crystals, why not consider this low-rider bike?
I’m sure the idea sounded perfectly rational at the Swarovski labs: “What haven’t we stuck our crystals on yet?” says boffin 1, in a voice not unlike Stewie Griffin. “I don’t know. I think we’ve covered every conceivable product” replies boffin 2 (who sounds a bit like James Earl Jones). “What about a bike?” says boffin 1. “Already done – although we could go for a fancy type of bike this time” boffin 2 responds. “Brilliant!” Exclaims boffin 1, “We should bling up a low-rider!” Or so the conversation sounds in my head.
It took roughly 110,000 crystals to cover the bike, which is a low-rider creation from UK designer Ben Wilson. It is handmade to order, and price is on application, although considering the website tells you to hold your breath, we’re guessing that it ain’t going to be cheap.
[Ben Wilson Design via BornRich]
More »
Blinging The Swarovskis To The Low-Riders
3:01PM Nick Broughall | If you weren’t content with having your light fittings blinged up with Swarovski crystals, why not consider this low-rider bike?
I’m sure the idea sounded perfectly rational at the Swarovski labs: “What haven’t we stuck our crystals on yet?” says boffin 1, in a voice not unlike Stewie Griffin. “I don’t know. I think we’ve covered every conceivable product” replies boffin 2 (who sounds a bit like James Earl Jones). “What about a bike?” says boffin 1. “Already done – although we could go for a fancy type of bike this time” boffin 2 responds. “Brilliant!” Exclaims boffin 1, “We should bling up a low-rider!” Or so the conversation sounds in my head.
It took roughly 110,000 crystals to cover the bike, which is a low-rider creation from UK designer Ben Wilson. It is handmade to order, and price is on application, although considering the website tells you to hold your breath, we’re guessing that it ain’t going to be cheap.
[Ben Wilson Design via BornRich]
More »
Home
11:42AM Nick Broughall | Those marketing guys at Swarovski are quite the gadget whores – they’ll happily stick their crystals on anything and everything for a bit of promotion. But it isn’t always a bad thing, especially when you get products like their lighting range.
The concept is simple – they use their crystals to refract and reflect the light from LEDs onto your loungeroom ceiling, walls or floor (or all three). And although that sounds like it could look worse than, say, a Swarovski toilet, it’s done in an understated way that looks unique and appealing.
The pic above is part of their Spots range, dubbed the Fana, but there are countless options available, including drop down crystals for the disco effect and lights that are flush with the ceiling.
Some of the range is available in Australia, but you’ll need to contact Swarovski directly for a more detailed breakdown of exactly what, where and how much they are.
[Swarovski via Trendir]
Swarovski Lighting, The 24/7 Mood Light For Your Home
11:42AM Nick Broughall | Those marketing guys at Swarovski are quite the gadget whores – they’ll happily stick their crystals on anything and everything for a bit of promotion. But it isn’t always a bad thing, especially when you get products like their lighting range.
The concept is simple – they use their crystals to refract and reflect the light from LEDs onto your loungeroom ceiling, walls or floor (or all three). And although that sounds like it could look worse than, say, a Swarovski toilet, it’s done in an understated way that looks unique and appealing.
The pic above is part of their Spots range, dubbed the Fana, but there are countless options available, including drop down crystals for the disco effect and lights that are flush with the ceiling.
Some of the range is available in Australia, but you’ll need to contact Swarovski directly for a more detailed breakdown of exactly what, where and how much they are.
[Swarovski via Trendir] 
