The wearable category is still in its infancy—with many of the splashiest devices, including the Apple Watch, yet to come to market. 

But jewelers who haven’t been bowled over by the first wave of wearables now have the option of building their own—without wrestling with the technology.

Wearable start-up Trellie is currently offering a modular Bluetooth radio (basically the guts of a screenless “notifier” wearable) encased in a minuscule plastic cylinder that can be embedded or incorporated into a piece of jewelry.

Its size makes it a perfect partner for pendants, bracelets, and even cocktail rings. The module can also be plucked out of one piece of jewelry and popped into another.

Courtesy Trellie

The modular Trellie wearable device

The device connects wirelessly to Trellie’s proprietary smartphone app. In the app, users can program in which texts, calls, and calendar notifications set off the device’s blinking light, which shines brightly under gemstones. 

“We are putting the technology into things women are wearing anyway, rather than give them a new rubber bracelet that they might wear for a couple of weeks,” Claude Aldridge, CEO of Trellie, told Venturebeat. 

The tech website also reports that the company, which is based in Kansas City, Mo., and New York City, recently signed a design and distribution deal with one of the world’s largest jewelry manufacturers. (Aldridge declined to disclose the company’s name.)

Trellie’s leadership hails from the ranks of mobile royalty. Former Sprint executive and current chairman of GoGo Wireless Ron LeMay is a backer, and Heidi Lehmann, a Women in Wireless veteran, handles the brand’s strategy and business development. The brand has been focused on miniaturizing wearable technology since launching in 2013.

LeMay said in a statement that the new modular platform puts Trellie “in a very unique position to continue shaping and owning the wearable technology marketplace while partnering, not competing, with jewelry designers and fashion brands who already know what’s best for their customers.”

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