It's a contradiction in terms, but someone has actually made geek jewelry that is also nice by non-geek jewelry standards. The bangles, charms, key rings, and necklaces in Sweet Tooth's Smiley collection sport various silver and gold emoticons familiar to anyone who uses email and instant messaging. At the same time, there's a retro appeal for those of us who lived through the original one-note smiley faces of the 70s, the basis for the whole silly emoticon phenomenon. Prices in the Smiley collection range from $35 to $80 (these are pieces of jewelry, not throw-away trinkets). I don't even use emoticons in my IM messages, but I'd wear these pieces.

This Smiley jewelry isn't made by a gadget maker. The company's founder, Laurie Chapman, is a true jewelry designer, and most of her collections have nothing to do wth smiley faces or computers. But they're just as whimsical, with names like "Triple Dip," "Soda Pop," "Sprinkles," "Iced Martini," and "Linzer Tart." It's like elegant Sanrio jewelry for grownups. I originally went to the site to buy these dreamy earrings fom the designer's Triple Dip collection (no more fuddy duddy lawyer jewelry for me).