Why I Chose NFC for My Playable Necklaces
If you're looking for an NFC voice recording necklace, you may wonder why some companies choose NFC while others use QR codes. When I designed my playable necklaces, I spent months testing different approaches before deciding that NFC offered the experience I wanted my customers to have.
Design first. Technology second.
Most people never think about how a playable necklace works. They simply expect it to look beautiful, feel comfortable, and play their recording. Achieving all three turned out to be far more challenging than I expected.
Inspired by music, designed for memories
I've spent much of my career around music and audio. Long before creating playable necklaces, Soundwave Art™ was built around the idea that meaningful recordings deserve more than being forgotten on a phone.
When I decided to make those recordings playable, I approached the project the same way I had approached every Soundwave design since 2012. The technology had to support the story, not become the story.
That philosophy shaped every decision that followed, from the playback method to the way the NFC chip would be concealed. The finished necklace needed to feel like handcrafted jewelry first and technology second.
Why I chose NFC
There are two common ways to make a voice recording necklace playable: QR codes and NFC technology. After exploring both approaches, I chose NFC because it provided the experience I wanted my customers to have.
A QR code can work well for playback, but it always remains visible. On a small piece of jewelry, that code becomes a permanent part of the appearance and takes space away from the personalization. I wanted people to notice the craftsmanship, the natural wood, and the engraved Soundwave, not a large square barcode.
Choosing NFC allowed me to create a necklace that looks like handcrafted jewelry first and technology second. The playback experience is still there, but it stays quietly in the background until someone wants to hear the recording.
Once I knew NFC was the right playback method, the next challenge was finding a way to conceal it without compromising the design. That ultimately led me to one of my favorite details on the necklace.
Testing different approaches
The first working prototype was far from the final design. I tested multiple approaches before finding one that delivered consistent playback while preserving the appearance of the pendant.
Some ideas worked technically but didn't meet my expectations visually. Others looked promising but weren't reliable enough for a product that people would wear and use in everyday life. Every change required more testing before I was comfortable moving forward.
Some of the factors I evaluated included:
- Playback reliability across different phones
- How easily customers could find the correct tap location
- Whether the technology could remain hidden
- The overall appearance of the finished necklace
- How the design would hold up during normal wear
Finding the right finishing detail
Even after I had reliable playback working, one challenge remained. I still needed a way to conceal the technology without making the necklace look like a gadget or like something had simply been placed over the electronics.
Since Soundwave Art™ has always been inspired by sound, and because my own background is in the music industry, I kept coming back to a familiar design element: guitar pickguards.
Pickguards are functional, but they're also part of an instrument's identity. They protect what's underneath while still looking intentional. That same philosophy inspired the black pearl detail on the back of my playable necklaces.
The black pearl inlay conceals the NFC chip beneath it while giving the pendant a finished appearance that complements the natural wood and stainless steel frame. Rather than hiding the technology with an obvious cover, I wanted it to feel like it had always belonged there.
My goal wasn't for someone to notice the NFC chip. It was for them to notice the craftsmanship, the Soundwave, and the story behind the recording. The technology simply helps make that story playable.
Every necklace is personalized
Unlike a mass-produced accessory, every necklace begins with a customer's recording. Each Soundwave engraving is created from real audio before the pendant is personalized, assembled, and prepared for playback.
The recording, engraving, optional text, pendant shape, and natural wood grain all contribute to a finished piece that is unique to that order.
Quality checks before shipping
Before a necklace leaves my workshop, I verify that the engraving matches the recording and that playback works correctly. Every order is individually checked rather than being treated as another item moving through an assembly line.
That extra time helps ensure the necklace is ready to become part of the customer's story the moment it arrives.
What mattered most during development
Every decision came back to the same four priorities.
The technology had to support the story
Adding NFC was only one part of the project. The harder task was making every element feel intentional, from the way the necklace is tapped to the way the inlay catches the light.
Soundwave Art™ has always been about turning meaningful audio into something people can see, display, wear, and remember. NFC gave me a way to bring the original recording back into that experience without allowing the technology to take over the design.
The result is a necklace shaped by both sides of my background: years spent around music and audio, and years spent creating personalized art from real recordings.
See the finished result
Months of testing eventually led to the playable Soundwave necklaces available today. Each one is handcrafted from your recording and designed to be meaningful, wearable, and easy to play.
Explore Playable Necklaces