Jewelry Design Inspired by Coral Ecological Protection Using Thermochromic and Photochromic Materials

In response to the environmental protection theme in jewelry design as promoted by the International University Jewelry Alliance, this research focuses on jewelry designs inspired by ecological protection of corals. With the perspective of coral ecological protection, this paper first studied the appearances of the coral theme in various arts and designs, and analyzed the material characteristics in these artworks that reflect the biological phenomena of corals. In particular, the research focused on the bionic use of thermochromic and photochromic materials in jewelry to imitate enological destruction processes of the coral ecosystem. To study the feasibility of applying thermochromic and photochromic materials to jewelry design, this research initiates a series of experiments on the selected organic thermochromic and photochromic materials' colour blending, colour changing effects, modeling modes, etc. It obtained the method of applying the materials to jewelry designs that mimic the shapes, colorations, and bleaching of corals. In summary, appealing for ecological protection of corals and the larger ecosystem, this research brings up new ideas and techniques to make jewelry artworks that could emotionally interact with the designers, makers, wearers and viewers.