Unfortunately, Dr. Chunlei Guo of the University of Rochester hasn't yet figured out how to turn scrap metals into gold, but he, along with Dr. Anatoliy Y. Vorobyev, has discovered how to colorize a variety of metals. By utilizing a "femtosecond laser processing technique," the duo has crafted a method for turning even aluminum into aluminum with an impeccable gold finish. Furthermore, they've also been successful in turning tungsten dark blue, leaving reason to believe that nearly any metal could be altered to appear as a different color. Ah, just imagine what these folks could do with your MacBook Pro.

[Via The New York Times, thanks Jonathan]

Love USB? Love wood? Love high fashion? It's okay if you lied about one of those, we swear. Regardless of the level of your honesty with us (which we now believe to be lower than expected), you'll want to get your grubby mitts all over these fancy pieces of technology / jewelry. Gresso's cross- and apple-shaped flash drives supposedly transmute the story of Adam & Eve into African mahogany, 18-karat gold, Swarovski crystals, and white diamonds. Inside the dolled-up necklaces, you'll find a 1GB USB drive, which will be perfect for holding all the pictures of yourself that you carry around, or video clips of you and your friends on the catwalk. The drives will be available sometime this month, and prices range from a bourgeois $100, all the way up to an aristocratic $1000.

[Via Coolest Gadgets]

We've definitely seen some of our favorite gizmos turned into jewelry in the past, and while thiakosia's polymer clay-based Wiimote pieces aren't nearly as tasty as some other homemade controllers we've seen, they'd look mighty geektastic hanging from your lobes. The artist claims to use Sculpey clay along with a single coat of satin glaze finish to construct each of the items, and so far, there's Wiimote-based cellphone charms, keychains and earrings for you to pick up. Best of all, these oh-so-cute items aren't outrageously priced, ranging from just $6.50 to $15 before shipping. Check out the rest of the gang after the jump, and be sure and hit the read link if you're scoutin' a gift for your favorite nerd.

[Via Technabob]

If that Pasha De Cartier USB drive is getting a bit stale these days, why not replace it with yet another grossly overpriced, albeit totally fashionable one from S.T. Dupont? This designer flash drive, dubbed the Lacquer and Palladium USB Key, sports that trademark diamond head pattern and a vividly colored cover. Apparently, these gems are available in turquoise blue, soft pink, palladium, and black, and while we personally feel that 2GB of data should never be worth the $480 asking price without some pretty confidential documents already loaded on, those with more money than sense can have at it. More colors after the break.

[Via Sybarites, thanks JW]

Just in case you've been out of the loop for some time, this DAP certainly won't go down as the first to come glazed in Swarovski crystals, but Sony has nevertheless teamed up with Abiste Corporation to craft the limited edition Walkman E010 lineup. The players will be available in pink, violet, black, blue, or gold colors, have removable caps adorned with Swarovski glass crystals, and won't arrive to your domicile for two solid months after you initially place an order. 'Course, those even remotely interested in one of these beauties should know that it won't come sans a premium, and while you can snag the lowly 1GB flavor for "just" ¥15,800 ($134), the 2GB rendition will run you ¥18,800 ($160) while the 4GB unit demands ¥24,800 ($210) -- while supplies last, mind you.

[Via Luxist]

Don't count on Ashley Gehman's rendition of Apple's stock earbuds to come bundled in with a special edition iPod anytime soon, but if you're looking to permanently affix such icons to your lobes as a tribute to your fangirlism, these are for you. The iArtifact iPod earbud earrings look to be made from sterling silver, sport the tell-tale dimples across the top, and on top of all that, they're wireless. All jesting aside, these completely non-musical body adornments should light up the eyes of your favorite lady, and while these haven't gone commercial just yet (probably some papers left to sign regarding that whole Made for iPod agenda), we could definitely see these things selling like hotcakes in Apple stores worldwide.

What's better than a 5-inch Gundam? Why a 5-inch Gundam slathered in platinum with diamonds for eyes, of course. This $250,000 robot soldier is manufactured by Bandai and will be on display next month at Baselworld, in Basel Switzerland. You know, for the big watch and jewelry show everyone's been talking about... sheez. Great, but we're not interested until this can be produced on a 1:1 scale.

[Via Impress]

Given MobiBlu's efforts to convince consumers that the company's tiny 1500i audio player can be worn as jewelry, it seems only fitting that someone has taken them literally, and produced a customized version of the player encrusted with shiny crystals. The DAH 1500i Crystal is a 2GB version of the player, and is available in the UK for £169 ($307). Of course, if you care more about music than about showing off your zirconium collection, you'd probably prefer to skip this one and wait for MobiBlu's upcoming Cube 2, which DAPreview reports will boast a 0.67-inch, 64x48 JPEG-capable OLED display (though we tend to think actually checking out pics on such a small screen probably isn't the best idea), SRS WOW HD, FM tuner and some sort of docking station. Still no word on pricing, availability and whether MobiBlu will try to convince 1500i owners to pick up a Cube 2 so they'll have a set to use as earrings.

Read - 1500i Crystal
Read - Cube 2, official page (via DAPreview)