make a fashion statement ~ wear 'Smog' ring

How many rings do you wear ? and how costly are they ?? …. Navrathna means ‘nine gems’.  People attach lot of significance to stones set in Gold ~ of course some wear very costly diamonds.  It is stated that in Navratna ring, ruby is always at the centre surrounded by diamond, pearl, red coral, hessonite, sapphire, emerald. Beyoncé Giselle Knowles is a famous American singer who has released many albums. Shawn Corey Carter  better known as Jay Z reportedly presented Loraine Schwartz 18 carat emerald cut flawless diamond set in platinum cost to Beyonce and that reportedly is worth  a whopping $5 million.

Sometime back, I had posted about the Margazhi season and the smog that envelops. Smog is a type of air pollutant. The word "smog" was made as a portmanteau of the words ‘smoke and fog’ to refer to smoky fog. About a century ago it was known as pea soup fog, a familiar and serious problem in London from the 19th century to the mid 20th century, caused by the burning of large amounts of coal within the city; this smog contains soot particulates from smoke, sulfur dioxide and other components. Modern smog is a type of air pollution derived from vehicular emission from internal combustion engines and industrial fumes that react in the atmosphere with sunlight to form secondary pollutants that also combine with the primary emissions to form photochemical smog. Smog is a serious problem in many cities and continues to harm human health.

Recently  there were reports highlighting air pollution in China, which according to the U.S. embassy index, had hit a dangerous particulate concentration of 497. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said pollution is a major problem and the government will “‘declare war’’ on smog by removing high-emission cars from the road and closing coal-fired furnaces. Pollution is ‘‘nature’s red-light warning against the model of inefficient and blind development,’’ Li said in his work report at the start of this year’s National People’s Congress in Beijing.   There was to be a “smog insurance” product  too being introduced there.  

In the melee, here is an opportunity to wear the smog ring and make an eco-statement.  Here are some excerpts from a report in Daily Mail.  Fashionistas with a conscience can now make an eco-statement with their jewels by buying a precious ring made from Beijing's densely polluted air.

Scientists will suck dirty air from China's capital city with a revolutionary machine and compress it for around half a day to make the 'smog stones'. Jewellers will then set the stone within a band made from a high-quality locally sourced metal to make the smog ring. Profits will go towards micro-financing the city's first smog-free parks. Each ring is made from - and in turn removes from the atmosphere - 1 cubic kilometre of polluted air. The rings are the first phase in the SMOG Project, the brainchild of artist and innovator Daan Roosegaarde. The Dutch designer, 35, is currently in Beijing having talks with the mayor, urban planning and city executives to iron out fine details.

Roosegaarde told MailOnline that he wanted to show people that they can be part of a solution. In his words. 'The rings may not be the solution but they can bridge the gap between where we are now and where we need to be.' Roosegaarde's background is rooted in creating social designs that explore the relation between people, technology and space. Right now, he and his team of experts are in the process of developing a safe, energy-friendly installation - the world's largest - to capture the smog and create clean air. It will use patented ion technology and a nano air purifier to create the cleanest, smog-free space in Beijing. A four-meter vacuum tower will use ionic filters to charge and remove smog particles, blowing fresh air out. Continued press interest has inspired large numbers of students, artists, designers and engineers to come forward with ideas on smog reduction. Roosegaarde will collect 100-150 of these initiatives for the second phase in The SMOG Project. He will use them to populate an exhibition in Beijing, showing 'what is possible when we co-create our environment'. The show is planned for October 2015.

The aim is to build a number of smog-free parks in Beijing that harvest smog particles from the environment. The Beijing government recently launched a £133.5m project to have its city smog free before 2017, and projects like these are leading the way. Interesting to say the least !!

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

29^th  May 2014.