MILAN — Add some aura to your Oura ring with a little help from Lil Milan.
The Italian fine jewelry label is launching a registered, diamond-encrusted design conceived to elevate smart rings and turn them into proper luxury statement pieces.
Named “Lil Cover” ring, the design stems from founder and creative director Veronica Varetta’s own desire to bridge the gap between wearable technology and wellness monitoring with her personal style.
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The idea traces back to June, when Varetta herself wore a smart ring for the first time. “It was incredibly useful, but it wasn’t a jewel that reflected my style,” she said. “I noticed that people who invest in their health with a smart ring also care deeply about aesthetics. Yet they were forced to choose between monitoring their well-being and wearing their favorite jewelry. I wanted to give them both.”
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Hence she came up with a precious cover compatible with the Oura Ring 4 smart ring, in a design that easily wraps around the device. Varetta underscored how the Oura ring is “the undisputed leader in its category: It has a powerful image, strong brand recognition and a highly engaged global community, [so] I saw an opportunity right away.”
Handmade in Milan, Varetta’s add-on jewelry piece is crafted either from 18-karat gold or 925 sterling silver and dotted with lab-grown diamonds. She created three iterations of the style, including the Pavé version with hand-set lab-grown diamonds covering the entire silhouette; the Letter design, enabling customers to pick their diamond-encrusted initial to customize their smart rings, and the Marquise alternative with a single marquise-cut diamond suspended in the center of the piece.
Priced between 300 euros for the Letter style in silver up to 1,900 euros for the Pavé one in gold, the Lil Cover ring will be available from Wednesday at the brand’s Milan flagship Lil House and its e-commerce, which ships worldwide. The launch will be flanked by a dedicated campaign marked by the claim “Smart never looked this precious.”
The design is Lil Milan’s first venture into combining tech and jewelry and marks another evolutionary step for the brand Varetta launched in 2014 with the mission of modernizing traditional goldsmith craftsmanship. To be sure, the Millennial entrepreneur established the digital-native company with the goal of enabling younger consumers to approach gold jewelry and wear it 24/7 without waiting for special occasions.
This approach helped Lil Milan quickly win followers since its official launch in 2017 thanks to the minimal aesthetic of its gold chains, delicate ear cuffs, small hoops and extra-fine rings made in 9- or 18-karat gold and manufactured in Italy. The sweet-spot price points between 100 euros and 920 euros and its fun, pink-hued communication resonated with women aged 20 to 25, as well as customers aged 35 to 50 looking for everyday and simpler alternatives to their luxury pieces.
Her growing community also encouraged Varetta in launching the Âgée spin-off brand in 2022, which is aimed at giving a second life to vintage gold jewelry.