Wear Your 3D Printed Heartbeat On Your Finger With Crafted By My Heart App

The phrase “wearing your heart on your sleeve” was one I failed to understand when I was a child. Although it describes a person who doesn’t hide their feelings, I thought it meant that people were actually walking around with hearts stuck to their sleeves. (The cute Valentine’s Day kind, not the actual organ.) I never saw anyone with a heart on their sleeve, so I really just didn’t get why people said it.

Plenty of people wear hearts, of course, in the form of jewelry and clothing. I’m sure there are plenty of sweaters with hearts on the sleeves, now that I think about it. DDB Group Hong Kong, however, has created a type of heart jewelry that’s much different, and more personal, than anything you’ll find at a typical jeweler. The company, one division of a global creative agency, has designed an app called Crafted By My Heart, which allows users to create jewelry in the pattern of their own heartbeats.

The free app, which is available for iOS, records the user’s heartbeat; all the user has to do is put his or her finger over the phone’s camera and flash. The app detects heartbeat by, interestingly, very subtle changes in the color of the skin as blood flows to the fingertip. As the user watches, his or her heartbeat grows into a pattern along the surface of the ring design on the phone’s screen.

Once the the user is satisfied with the ring design, he or she can order a 3D printed ring in silver, gold, or black silver (gunmetal). There are two basic rings to choose from: Surge, which is a wider band, or Sierra, a narrower, more delicate shape. Although everyone’s heartbeat is different, the app takes extra steps to ensure that no two designs are alike by applying a different algorithm to each design – so if you’re not satisfied with the pattern your heartbeat creates the first time, you can always try again.

“Busy schedules often make finding the perfect gift feel like a chore. With the help of technology, it doesn’t have to be this way,” said Andreas Krasser, Head of Strategy & Innovation at DDB Group Hong Kong. “From your heart to your loved one’s finger, CRAFTED BY MY HEART creates the ultimate personalised gift.”

Rings are 3D printed with a high resolution wax printer, then molded in coated in the finish you choose. Cost ranges from HK$1,198 ($155) to HK$1,588 ($205), depending on the finish, and take about 15-20 working days to complete.

The Crafted By My Heart app is the first product to be designed, produced and launched solely by DDB Group Hong Kong, apart from the main international company. They collaborated with sister agency Travel Worldwide Singapore, and the base ring templates were designed by Hong Kong-based jewelry designer Nomera Agarwal.

I know diamonds are supposed to be a girl’s best friend, and the standard for engagement rings continues to be diamonds or occasionally other precious stones, but I have to say I can’t think of anything more romantic – and precious – than a ring created from the heartbeat of a loved one. Looking for something to give your partner for Christmas – or considering a proposal sometime soon? Try giving them your actual heart – or at least its rhythm. Discuss in the Crafted By My Heart forum at 3DPB.com.