“A stylish take on journaling”

• Polished design and build
• No subscription hassles
• Plenty of customization
• Science backs the approach

• Journals are synced to cloud drive

• A lot of accidental triggers

• Character limit on journal entries
• No real health tracking
• Priced similar to fitness bands

Quick summary?

Do you believe in the power of positive journaling, but for some reason, you can’t take out the time or the effort to put pen to paper? If the answer is yes, and the above question describes your predicament, Adiaro may have a neat solution for you. The company makes jewelry in a whole bunch of styles and colors, but the center of it all is the charm gemstone that comes equipped with an NFC tag.

All you need to do is tap your phone against the gem, and it opens a digital journal for you that is also linked to your Google or Apple account. Does it work? Yeah, if you mind the end result, and not the medium. It comes in a variety of gem choices, too. So, if you are someone who believes in the healing power of certain gems, consider this bracelet as the perfect hybrid solution that asks about your mood, lets you vent, use it as a diary, and build an emotional calendar.

What is this?

It’s a bracelet that wants to blend the spiritual side of gem-based healing with the scientifically proven benefits of journaling. How? Well. at the heart of the gemstone is an NFC tag, and when you tap your phone on it, you get access to a web-based journal app. It works pretty reliably, though, on a few occasions, I’ve found myself inadvertently triggering the notification by simply placing the phone near the Adiaro bracelet in my pocket, or on the table.

I tried the Adiaro Tiger Eye Balanced Chain bracelet, but you can also pick between amethyst, obsidian, white and golden jade, rose quartz, and turquoise options. You can also try an entirely different style with the bead-heavy grounded bracelet, and separately purchase the gem charms in different shapes and colors at $19 apiece.

Attaching them is pretty easy, thanks to a magnetic clasp system that looks like a chrome bead and separates into two halves. As far as the build quality goes, the Balance chain feels pretty high-end. The metal finish is pretty sharp, and there are no loose ends or poor craftsmanship visible on this one.

How does it work?

Well, think of this bracelet as more of a hidden digital diary than a piece of jewelry. As soon as you tap your phone against the gem charm, it triggers a notification that subsequently opens a web-based digital journal app. At the top, you see a thoughtful quote that varies on a day-to-day basis.

Underneath, you can pick between five different moods to reflect your emotional state in that moment. The spectrum starts at “overwhelmed” and slowly progresses to “amazing.” And finally, there’s a dedicated text field where you can describe your mood in 800 characters.

It’s a tad limiting, especially considering the fact that voice-typing on a phone is a lot quicker and far more convenient than writing in a diary using a pen. Once you are done with your digital journaling, it is saved as a log that is synced with your Google Drive or iCloud Drive.

All your mood entries and ruminations are recorded. The Adiaro app creates a progressive map that shows how your mood has changed over the past few days and what kind of thoughts occupied your mind. I like the approach. It’s almost like taking a look into the past few days and assessing how your mental state and energy levels have been at a certain time of the day, or midway through a certain activity.

The broad idea is that, aside from just journaling through a day, you can also check the mood calendar and try to find patterns, depending on the details you have shared in your notes and how your mental state has been. It may not work for everyone. But for some, it can prove to be beneficial.

For example, over a span of three weeks, I noticed that my mood affirmations were usually amazing at noon, and I was high on energy and willing to take on challenging assignments. As the evening passed, I was generally tired, even though my energy levels were consistent, but I felt a certain sense of stress.

Acting on the data at hand, I tried to adjust my work hours and shifted low-priority tasks to the evening slot. It was not a magical cure, but it did help me accomplish a few pending tasks that I kept postponing and felt stressed about. Your mileage might vary depending on how you journal and what kind of actionable insights you can get from the mood calendar.

What about the science?

I have never maintained a diary for journaling, nor have I poured my heart out on an obscure blog. But I know a lot of people who do it, and I see them feel good about it. One of my friends says it’s an escape route from the events that give them anxiety and offers a safe space to vent it all out. Broadly, they see it as a channel of relief.

Adiaro is building on that relief pathway. It might sound like a placebo, or make-believe kind of solution, but there is scientific backing behind the approach. A research paper published in the peer-reviewed JMIR Mental Health journal, positive affect journaling (PAJ) can tone down mental distress and trigger and enhance well-being, serving as an effective intervention.

As part of a randomized trial, patients living with different medical conditions and elevated anxiety symptoms were asked to perform a 15-minute web-based journaling task. The task was performed thrice a week, and the whole experiment lasted 12 weeks. At the end of the trial, the team found that web-based positive affect journaling was linked to lowered mental distress among the participants, lower anxiety, and perceived stress.

It also said to have triggered greater perceived personal resilience and encouraged social integration. “Overall, the findings from this study suggest that PAJ has potential utility as an intervention for managing mental distress, particularly elevated anxiety symptoms, and other aspects of well-being among general medical patients. This is consistent with, and extends, prior research on positive writing interventions as a way to improve aspects of health and well-being,” says the research paper that was published in 2018.

Another paper published in the Family Medicine and Community Health journal arrived at a similar conclusion after an analysis of multiple clinical trials and peer-reviewed papers that explored the link between journaling and mental health. Broadly, it sees journaling as a low-cost, low-risk method to manage mental health symptoms, but not as a replacement for proper medical care.

“This meta-analysis provides further affirmation that journaling as an intervention has merit and can be an efficacious adjunct when prescribed and implemented properly. The findings of this study can be applied in primary care practice by using journaling as a low-risk, low-resource intensive adjunct to standard therapy for patients with mental health concerns,” notes the research paper.

Does that mean Adiaro’s smart jewelry is one of those helpful solutions described in scientific research on the benefits of journaling? Not explicitly, but it gets pretty close to the fundamental. At the end of the day, it’s a journaling solution that also comes with the added benefit of a mood calendar. Only this time, instead of opening a diary, you tap a phone against the bracelet’s jewel and tap on a screen.

Should you buy?

If you are someone who is not averse to the idea of wearing a bracelet on a daily basis and want to give journaling a try, Adiaro’s bracelet is worth a try. It looks gorgeous, doesn’t ask you to pay for a subscription, and doesn’t even require an app download. All your journals are neatly synced to your Google account, and the mood calendar comes in handy without slapping you with a learning curve.

If you believe in the power of positive journaling, you should get one. The only caveat is that it costs nearly as much as a fitness band, and some of them actually come with guided meditation exercises. They don’t quite let you do the journaling part, but they offer a lot more value, especially if you’re someone who also wants to keep an eye on your body vitals and track your exercises. Alternatively, you can just try Apple’s Journal app on the iPhone, a mood tracker app, or have an AI chatbot like Gemini build your own mood dashboard in a few minutes.

How we tested

I tested the Adiaro bracelet as a smart journal for a period of three weeks. In that span, I wore it on a daily basis and used it to log my mood and jot down my thoughts. I did not bind myself to a fixed routine for journaling, and I only did it when I felt the need to note down my positive thoughts and tired ruminations. I used an iPhone 17 Pro and used my Google account to sync and save my journal notes.

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Is it customizable?

Yes, you can get it in a variety of styles, colors, and gemstone choices.

What sizes does it come in?

It offers free size adjustment. The metallic band can be adjusted to fit wrist sizes from 15 to 22 centimeters (5.9 to 8.7 inches).

Can you change the charm gemstone?

Yes, the bracelet comes with a magnetic stainless steel charm system that lets you easily swap the gemstone.