GB2069817A

GB2069817A - Jewellery

Info

Publication number: GB2069817A
Application number: GB8003911A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1980-02-06
Filing date: 1980-02-06
Publication date: 1981-09-03
Also published as: GB2069817B

Abstract

A kit of jewellery parts consists of links 10 and jointing devices 11, 12, 14. The parts are manually engageable and disengageable to permit the user to make a series of different items such as a necklace, a choker, a pendant etc. The links 10 have bulbous ends which are accommodated between the two annular plates of the jointing device. The plates are held apart by a central collar having an aperture communicating with a slot in one plate to permit attachment of the links, which then project through a circumferential slot between the annular plates. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Jewellery This invention relates to jewellery.

It is an object of the invention to provide a jewellery "kit of parts" to enable the user to make up a series of different items of jewellery such as a necklace, a choker, a pendant and a swinging ornamental chain from a common kit of parts.

In accordance with the invention, a kit of jewellery parts comprises a number of links and a set ofjointing devices, the links and jointing devices being adapted to be easily manually engageable and disengageable to permit the user to make the links and jointing devices up into a number of different articles of jewellery.

Preferably the kit comprises a number of links of different lengths and a number of jointing devices of different diameters.

Each link may have its end shaped to engage in and be retained by slots or grooves in the jointing devices. These devices may be, for example, of circular laminated form with an annular groove between two laminae and adapted to trap and retain a bulbous end of a link.

The links may range in length from about 2 cms to ten or 15 cms or more, and the jointing devices may be for example in a range from 10mum to 40mm diameter.

A preferred form of jointing device comprises two annular plates of a precious metal such as gold, silver or platinum, joined by a central hollow collar, the outer edges of the two annular plates being turned inwardly to form an annular wall with a circulargap in it.

One of the plates may have a central aperture leading into the collar and a curved slot leading from the central aperture to the circular gap in the peripheral wall.

In another form of jointing device one of the two annular plates is diametrically divided by a slot which meets a central aperture and also meets opposite points on the periphery of the same plate at which points the diametral slot is restricted so as to form a resilient construction at the entrance to the circular gap in the peripheral wall.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a plan view of an elaborate piece of jewellery made from a kit according to the invention; Figure 2 shows a set of links of which there may be several sets in a kit; Figure 3 is a plan view of three different sizes of jointing devices; Figure 4 is an isometric view of a jointing device with the central collar shown in dotted line; Figure 5 is a section through a jointing device with a link engaged in it; Figure 6 shows a jointing device with a diametral slot; Figure 7 is an enlarged scrap view of part of Fig. 6; Figure 8 is a jointing device with a thick annular top plate and a large collar; and Figure 9 is a section through the jointing device shown in Figure 8.

The piece of jewellery shown in figure 1 comprises a number of links 10 which may be single links as shown in the lower part of the drawing or double links shown in the upper part of the drawing, and these links 10 are joined by jointing devices 1 liThe jointing devices may be of several different sizes and the drawing illustrates small jointing devices 11, medium sized devices 12, and larger devices 13. The main part of this piece of jewellery consists of a choker which comprises the links 10 connected by jointing devices 11 and supporting a central medium sized jointing device 12. Each of the jointing devices may be of gold or silver and the links may also be of gold or of silver. The jointing devices may be decorated in any manner e.g. by having a central precious stone such as a ruby or diamond shown at 14.

The piece of jewellery also comprises further links 1 Oa which together with medium sized jointing devices 1 2a and 1 2b support a large central motif on a jointing device 13.

The piece of jewellery is further extended by additional links 10b a nd further jointing devices plato form a chain-like extension.

As will be described later the jointing devices and links are readily manually engageable or disengageable so that for example this particular piece of jewellery could be broken down into a choker supporting the device 12 by removing all the lower links and jointing devices or it could be turned into a necklace by removing the jointing device 12 and its associated adjacent links and two jointing devices 14.

By removing central motif 13 and the jointing devices 12, 1 2a and 12b, and associated links the piece of jewellery could be turned into a long chain supported byanotherfeature such as a cross or coin.

These are only examples of many possible variations using the links and jointing devices shown in figure 1.

A kit of parts in accordance with the invention might comprise a complete set of links. The links can be of different lengths as shown in figure 2. Figure 2 shows a series of links 15 to 19 ranging from about 2 cm to 6; cm but normally a kit of parts would include longer links of say up to 10 cm or 15 cm in length. It would be noted that each link has at each end a bulbous end 20 carried on a short extension 21.

These bulbous ends are adapted to engage in slots in the jointing devices.

The jointing devices may be of different sizes as illustrated in Figure 3. In this figure there are shown three different sized jointing devices 22, 23, and 24 each of which has a central aperture 25 and a curved slot 26 joining the aperture to the periphery of the jointing device.

As shown in figure 4 each of the jointing devices comprises a pair of laminae in the form of annular plates 27 and 28 joined internally by a collar 29. Each of the plates 27 and 28 has an inturned peripheral edge 30, and 31 respectively between which is formed a continuous circular gap 32. The collar opens into an aperture 33 which leads via arcuate slot 26 to the edge of the device.

The bulbous end 20 of any one of the links shown in figure 2 may be inserted in the central aperture 33 in the upper plate 27 so that it extends into the collar 29, the bulbous end is then run through a hole 34 in the collar 29 whilst the extension 2f of the link runs in the upper slot 26 until eventually the position is reached as shown in figure 5 where one link 15 has its bulbous end 20 within the cavity formed between the two plates 27 and 28 and the extension 21 extends through the circular slot 32. It will be seen that the link 15 is thus trapped and held by the jointing device but can be moved at any position around the circular slot 32 so that the link may extend in any direction. The link will not easily come apart from the jointing device but can, manually, be manipulated so as to remove it when required.

Figure 6 shows an alternative arrangement in which the jointing device again comprises two laminae in the form of plates 35 and 36. The upper plate 35 is formed in two parts 35a and 35b each of which is separately joined to a collar 37 which has two holes 38 and 39 and two slots 40 and 41, the slots mating with a diametral gap 42 between the two portions 35a and 35b of the plate 35.

At the outer ends of the diametral gap are pip-like extensions 43 and 44 of the plate 35b and 35a respectively. These pip-like extensions serve as resilient plates through which the extensions 21 of the links have to pass. The mounting of the two half plates on the split collar ensures that there is some resilience here and that once a link has passed the tips 43 and 44 (Figure 7) it will not accidently return.

Another alternative jointing device is shown in Figures 8 and 9. Here the upper plate 45 is of thicker construction than the lower plate 46 but central aperture47 is much larger and so is the collar 48. The central aperture 48 may be used to include a large piece of decoration for example a small watch could be placed in there and this jointing device used in a pendant watch.

A kit of parts might comprise of 6 different links and links and perhaps 5 of each link, 3 or4 different sizes of jointing devices with perhaps 6 of each jointing device and the sides of the jointing device remote from the slot 26 can be decorated with jewels, precious stones, or can be engraved or carry any definite motif or design.

The whole kit enables the user to make up all kinds of different pieces of jewellery from a single kit and to vary the jewellery according to the function being attended. The links and jointing devices might even be used to make up a tiara, or for a simple occasion to make a bracelet and necklace etcetera.

In an alternative arrangement (not illustrated) a link may have an integral joint at one end and the other end may be in the bulbous form illustrated.

The links may be of thin flexible material or of more rigid rod-like material and they may be straight or curved or chain-like.

Claims

1. A kit of jewellery parts comprising a number of links and a set of jointing devices, the links and jointing devices being adapted to be easily manually engageable and disengageableto permit the user to make the links and jointing devices up into a number of different articles ofjewellery.

2. A kit according to claim 1 comprising a number of links of different lengths and a number of jointing devices of different diameters.

3. A kit according to claim 1 or claim 2 and in which each link has its ends shaped to engage in and be retained by slots or grooves in the jointing devices.

4. A kit according to any of claims 1 to 3 and in which said jointing devices are of circular laminated form with an annular groove between two laminae adapted to trap and retain a bulbous end of a link.

5. A kit according to any preceding claim in which a jointing device comprises two annular plates of a precious metal joined by a central hollow collar, the outer edges of the two annular plates being turned inwardly to form an annular wall with a circular gap in it.

6. A kit according to claim 5 in which one of the plates has a central aperture leading into the collar and curved slot leading from the central aperture to the circular gap in the peripheral wall.

7. A kit according to any of claims 1 to 4 in which a jointing device formed of two annular plates has one of the plates diametrically divided by a slot which meets a central aperture and also meets opposite points on the periphery of the same plate at which points the diametrical slot is restricted so as to form a resilient constriction at the entrance to the circular gap in the peripheral wall.

8. A kit of jewellery parts substantially as hereinbefore particularly described and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.