Eyeball Jewellery: Dutch eye surgeons have implanted tiny pieces of jewellery called "JewelEye" in the mucous membrane of the eyes of six women and one man in cosmetic surgery pioneered by an ophthalmic surgery research and development institute in Rotterdam.
The procedure involves inserting a 3.5 mm (0.13 inch) wide piece of specially developed jewellery -- the range includes a glittering half-moon or heart -- into the eye's mucous membrane under local anaesthetic at a cost of 500 to 1,000 euros (270 to 540 pounds).
"In my view it is a little more subtle than (body) piercing. It is a bit of a fun thing and a very personal thing for people," said Gerrit Melles, director of the Netherlands Institute for Innovative Ocular Surgery.
The piece of jewellery is inserted in the conjunctiva -- the mucous membrane lining the inner surface of the eyelids and front of the eyeball -- in sterile conditions using an operating microscope in a procedure taking about 15 minutes.
Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
^^^ I second that.
No, it's a joke, right?
Although I was more reminded somehow of the kids in that William Gibson story who wanted to be actors, with the cameras for eyes, and they said, "zeiss-zeiss-zeiss-zeiss" in rings in the irises.
JESUS CHRIST I HATE THAT SHIT
Oh god that makes my skin crawl just thinking about it. Never mind looking at the picture. Aaaah!!!
When do the Official DNA Lounge eyeball jewelry come out?
Burning man in the left eye, DNA spiral in the right. I can dig it.
*shudders*
Man, that's freaking creepy. Though you could get some really interesting patterns with something like that...
another pic from the MSNBC article (where i believe urls have a longer life expectancy than yahoo):
Funny thing, I had my left eye operated on when I was 2. If I look far enough to the right, you can see scar tissue. I guarantee you it squicks people far more than this does when I explain what it is.
Also, €500-€100 is getting MORE and MORE expensive in US dinars due to the, uh, successful US economy. Folks, trim the frickin' shrub already, or you won't be able to accessorise like this without mortgaging your house.
Har, I was thinking about the same dollar-euro issue.
"...at a cost of 500 to 1,000 euros (270 to 540 pounds, about 175,000 to 350,000 dollars.)"
I just love that there's a "Netherlands Institute for Innovative Ocular Surgery". I guess what ocular surgery really needs is "innovation".
somehow i find this so disheartening...funny, as i'm an old body-modder from years and years ago, but somehow the eyes feel like sacred space to me...'decorating' them as if they were a wood panelled basement feels too much like taudry human arrogance...then again, humans ruin everything. ;)
Decorations on the windows to the soul just block the view.
*grin* yes something like that...
"The girl, me, and the three mutants would become successful in the children's simul-stimul biz. The girl filled out and was my main squeeze for a while. Then she got into leather, shaved her head, had her eyes pierced, and left me for a hyper-testosterated message bouncer."
--from The Guru of News by Steve Connelly, circa 1990, alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo
Once again proving that science fiction precedes reality. Even in satire.
ICK> Sorry but don't mess with my eyes.
Okay, adding you to my friends list so I stop posting the same things a few hours later.
I want it as an add on option to lasic treatment. I assume they have to do a similar cut and peel routine with the outer membrane anyway. More interesting is that 3.5mm is quite enough for an interesting microchip...
Or the dawn of a new era in teledildonics.
I'm holding out for the Ocular Disco, by the makers of Oral Disco.
I guess I'm the only person so far who is really not at all grossed out by this. In fact, i generally think tattoos are quite ugly, and I'm not a real big fan of piercings, but this looks really cool...
Actually your not the only one, I think it'd be really cool myself. If there's no serious long term issues I think it'll be a serious trend, depending on costs of course.