Gresso chokes on USB pendants

(Credit: Adam&Eve)

For every yin there's a yang. Or something like that. All we know is that, just moments after gushing over the latest luxury MacBooks, we came across a design of another kind--and it's not a good thing. What's most disappointing about this "Adam&Eve" collection of fashion USB drives is that it comes from Gresso, a Russian company that we've followed for the last year because of its unique high-end designs in mobile phones and MP3 players.

Sadly, its USB "jewelry" doesn't compare to those beautiful items, even though the pendants are made with many of the same exterior materials, such as gold, diamonds and the company's signature African blackwood. In fact, they're reminiscent of a USB pendant made by Hong Kong-based Brando, the ultimate common-denominator manufacturer. Worse still, they top out at only 1GB of storage.

The USB jewelry business is a particularly tough gig to compete in, especially with such luxury goods peddlers as S.T. Dupont getting into the market with products costing thousands of dollars. Even so, Gresso made things even worse by stooping to using Swarovski crystals in its collection--a move that we see as the kiss of death.