This activity-tracking device by former Apple CEO John Sculley's tech startup Misfit looks more like luxury jewellery than a sports accessory.

The Shine wearable device by Misfit counts steps and tracks activity to estimate the number of calories burnt during a day.

Unlike other activity monitors such as the Nike+ FuelBand and Jawbone Up, the anodised aluminium disc can be attached to clothes, worn around the wrist or tied around the neck using different catches and straps to look like a fashion accessory.

Data collected by the device can be synced with an iPhone by placing it on top of the screen, then the user can set goals of how many steps to walk or calories to burn and graph the results with an app.

Progress towards an activity goal during the day is shown around a ring of lights on the edge of the disc, which illuminate when tapped on the top.

Tapping with two fingers turns the surface into a clock dial, so the user doesn't need to wear a watch at the same time. The hour is indicated with a constant light and the minute by a flashing dot.

First launched this summer, the products have recently starting selling in UK department stores John Lewis and Selfridges.

The design joins a growing line of wearable gadgets for monitoring activity that includes the FuelBand, Up and miCoach Smart Run by Adidas. It's a less extreme way to collect data than Tim Cannon's Circadia 1.0 device, which he had implanted under his skin to monitor his body temperature.