No, really: Austrians develop hi-tech jewellery made out of concrete

Seems like a waste of palladium to me

Much better uses for it than sat on someone's finger.

Personally, I'd rather be able to breathe the air than look at a shiny thing made artificially dull by spray-on concrete.

I'd be happier if they used man-made Pd though, "forged in a nuclear furnace" seems likely to be a selling point in this market, given the crazy "so hard to manufacture" talk that always comes with designer jewellery.

It's probably okay once set, but when it is setting concrete can cause burns.

What's Next?

Concrete Shoes?

So what does it actually look like?

What I'd like to see is some nice close up colour pictures to see what it actually looks like. Those are very pretty arty shots, but ultimately concrete is mineral grains in a matrix... If all those grains are highly polished I can imagine the resulting effect as being rather decorative - each different mineral grain reflecting separately...

I can then go on to visualise the same effect with something rather exotic as the mineral grains. For the really affluent how about diamond, ruby and sapphire grains in a metallic matrix? They must be reasonably available as residue from the process of cutting gem stones I should have thought...

Or is my imagination just leaping way beyond what this stuff would actually look like?

This is silly.

1. They get a super-expensive precious metal, but hide most or all of it from view. You might as well use steel!

2. If it does catch on, you'll find a hundred factories open making knock-offs that do use steel. And it'll be impossible to tell them apart without destroying the jewelry.