Mood Rings and How They Function

History of Mood Rings

The mood ring was invented in 1975 by two New York inventors, Josh Reynolds and Maris Ambats, who bonded liquid crystals with quartz stones set into rings. They initially retailed for $45 for silvery setting and $250 for gold. The Mood ring as a jewellery rapidly becoming a great element of fashion in the 1970s. Celebs still wear mood rings to this day although they don’t raise eyebrows like they used to do when they were first invented.

What  a Mood Ring is

The Stone of a mood ring is really a hollow quartz or glass shell containing thermotropic liquid crystals. Modern mood jewelry is usually made from a flat strip of liquid crystals with a protective coating. The crystals respond to changes in temperature by twisting which later changes their molecular structure, leading to the alteration of the the wavelengths of light that are absorbed or reflected. When the temperature of the liquid crystals changes, the color also changes.

How it works

Mood rings can’t tell your emotional state with any degree of accuracy, but the crystals they were calibrated with have a pleasing blue or green color at the average person’s normal resting peripheral temperature of 82°F (28°C). As peripheral body temperature increases, which it does in response to passion and happiness, the crystals twist to reflect blue. When you are excited or stressed, blood flow is directed away from the skin and more toward the internal organs, cooling the fingers, causing the crystals to twist the other direction, to reflect more yellow.

Meaning of the Mood Ring Colors

• Violet blue          This means a feeling of being happy, romantic
• Blue                    Blue is to do with a calm and  relaxed mood
• Green                This means not much is going on with your mood
• Yellow/amber  Yellow color means a  tensed and excited mood
• Brown/gray     This has to do with a nervous, anxious mood
• Black                This is an indicator that the ring is damaged or cold temperature