WO2014049449A1

WO2014049449A1 - Ornamental articles

Info

Publication number: WO2014049449A1
Application number: PCT/IB2013/051503
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hung Shing LAM
Original assignee: Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Company Ltd.
Priority date: 2012-09-25
Filing date: 2013-02-25
Publication date: 2014-04-03
Also published as: HK1209991A1; CN104661554A; TW201412260A

Abstract

An ornamental article (10) comprising a gemstone receptacle (140) and a claw member (150) which are collectively formed from a single elongate metal member is advantageous as promoting good continuity throughout the article. Such continuity is desirable as it symbolizes values and promises of unity, passion and integrity such as 'the Entire One', 'One Love', 'One Promise', and 'One Life'.

Description

ORNAMENTAL ARTICLES

FIELD

[001 ] The present disclosure relates to ornamental articles, and more particularly to ornamental articles comprising settings. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to jewelry settings, such as gemstone settings, and ornamental articles comprising same.

BACKGROUND

[002] Many ornamental articles such as jewelry and other adornments comprise settings to hold rigid decorative items such as gemstones. In general, jewelry (or jewellery) is a personal adornment comprising precious metals and set with gemstones or imitation gemstones. Bracelets, pendants, rings or necklaces are examples of jewelry items. Cabochon and facet are the two main types of gemstone cutting that are commonly used in jewelry.

[003] In general, a piece of jewelry that is mounted with a gemstone has a setting that holds the gemstone. Along with securely holding the stone in place, a setting is important in displaying the cut, clarity and colors of a gemstone.

[004] While there are many variations of setting styles, prong, bezel, channel, bead and burnish settings are the more fundamental and commonly used ones.

[005] Most known jewelry settings are formed as a part or parts attached to a main attachment body by welding or molding. Such attachments usually lack continuity with the main body to which the setting is attached and are not most desirable for items with great sentimental values. A main attachment body is for example a ring body, a pendant body or the like which attaches a precious item to the human body.

SUMMARY

[006] There is provided an ornamental article comprising a jewelry setting, wherein the jewelry setting comprises an elongate metal member which is wound into a wound portion to form a gemstone receptacle to receive a portion of a gemstone and to form a claw member to hold the gemstone in the gemstone receptacle.

[007] An ornamental article comprising a gemstone receptacle and a claw member which are collectively formed from a single elongate metal member is advantageous as this promotes good continuity throughout the article. Such continuity is desirable as it symbolizes values and promises of unity passion and integrity such as The Entire One', 'One Love', 'One Promise', 'One Life', and the like.

[008] A claw member is used in a claw setting to hold a gemstone in a gemstone receptacle, and a claw setting is sometimes also known as a prong setting. As a prong member is a part of a prong setting which holds a gemstone, the terms 'claw member' and 'prong member' are sometimes interchangeably used. The gemstone receptacle may comprise a plurality of windings. A gemstone receptacle and a claw member wound from a single piece of elongate metal provides a simple yet strong setting while providing valuable and meaningful symbolizations.

[009] The gemstone receptacle may comprise a rub-over setting portion which is to cooperate with the claw member to hold the gemstone in place. The rub-over setting portion may be a rounded portion which protrudes above the plane of a winding.

[0010] The gemstone receptacle may comprise a bezel setting portion which is to cooperate with the claw member to hold the gemstone in place. A bezel setting in the jewelry trade means a setting having a portion surrounding a gemstone. The surrounding can be partial or entire. For example, a winding of the wound portion may be considered a bezel setting, and a rub-over setting may be considered a specific type of bezel settings without loss of generality.

DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

[001 1 ] Examples of the present disclosure will be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front view of a ring mounted with a gemstone,

Figure 1 A is a side view of the ring of Figure 1 ,

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the ring of Figure 1 ,

Figure 3 is a front view of the ring of Figure 1 without the gemstone,

Figure 4 is a side view of the ring of Figure 3,

Figure 5 is a top view of the ring of Figure 3,

Figure 6 is an enlarged view of the ring of Figure 3 showing the gemstone receptacle, and Figure 7 is an enlarged view of the ring of Figure 3 with the gemstone in the receptacle.

DESCRIPTION

[0012] A gemstone ring 10 depicted in Figures 1 and 2 comprises a ring body 100 on which a gemstone 110 is mounted. The gemstone 110 is mounted on a gemstone setting 120 formed on the ring body 100. The ring body 100 comprises a substantially circular ring band 130 which is adapted for wearing on the finger of a user and a gemstone setting 120 for receiving the gemstone 110. The ring band 130 is usually formed of a precious metal such as gold, gold alloys such as white gold, silver or platinum. The ring band 130 defines a finger aperture 132 into which the finger of a user is to insert. The ring band 130 is usually customized to fit the finger size of a user for comfortable, yet closely fitted wearing.

[0013] The gemstone 110 depicted in the ring of Figure 1 is a facet cut diamond comprising a crown portion, a pavilion portion, and a girdle portion. The crown portion is on the upper side, the pavilion portion is on the lower side and the girdle portion is between the crown and pavilion portions. A cut diamond is used herein as an example of a gemstone for convenience and because a ring mounted with diamond is a precious adornment desired by many jewelry lovers.

[0014] As shown in more detail in Figures 3 to 5, the jewelry setting 120 (or setting in short) comprises a gemstone receptacle 140. The gemstone receptacle 140 is formed as an integral extension of the ring band 130 of the ring body 100. As the ring body 100 is primarily constructed from an elongate piece of a precious metal which forms the ring band 130, the receptacle 140 is also substantially formed from a single piece of wire or a band of precious metal. To form the receptacle 140, free ends of the band forming the ring band 130 are twisted about each other to form the receptacle 140. More specifically, a free end is or the free ends are twisted or helically wound into forming a part conical (or frusto-conical) shaped boundary at a junction where the free ends meet or encounter. The frusto-conical shaped boundary defines a aperture for receiving the pavilion portion of the cut diamond. This gemstone receiving aperture is somewhat tapered or conical to cater for the tapered pavilion portion of the cut diamond. It will be noted that an axis of lateral symmetry of the tapered receptacle 140 is substantially parallel to and on the plane of the ring as defined by the ring band 130 in the case of a ring.

[0015] Referring to Figure 6, the portions of the ring band that collectively form the gemstone receptacle 140 are from the two opposing free ends of the ring band 130. The free ends of the ring band 130 cooperate to form the gemstone setting 120 after they encounter at the junction end of the ring body 100. In other words, the free end portions of the ring band 130 are mutually wound on encountering each other to form the gemstone receiving receptacle. In general, the wound portion is a continuity of the ring band 130, and the receptacle 140 and the ring band 130 are integrally formed from a single elongate piece of precious metal by twisting or winding of the ring band 130. More specifically, the receptacle 140 is formed by twisting or winding the free ends of the ring band 130 about each other.

[0016] As depicted more particularly in Figures 6 and 7, a claw member 150 for securing a gemstone 110 in the gemstone receptacle 140 is formed at the free end of the wound band portion. A claw portion 150 of a setting is also referred to as a prong portion in the jewelry business or industry. In particular, the claw portion 150 is formed by turning the band end at an angle relative to the plane defined by the winding plane. More specifically, the band end is bent or turned orthogonally upwards relative to the winding plane to form an upward bend which is about 90 degrees relative to the winding plane. This about 90-degree bend at the band end forms an upwardly extending claw portion 150 which when cooperates with the wound portion will hold the gemstone 110 in the receptacle 140. The upward bend also means that the free end of the wound portion points away from the ring body 100. Resilience of the claw portion 150 provides an urging force to help to hold a gemstone in place.

[0017] A rub-over setting 160 is formed on the wound portion of the gemstone receptacle 140 to provide backing to the gemstone 110. This rub-over portion 160 comprises a small arcuate protrusion on a winding. This rub-over portion 160 rises from the winding plane and then descends to join the winding plane to forms an arcuate portion whereby backing to the gemstone 110 when inside the gem receptacle 140 is provided. As shown in the Figures, the rub-over portion 160 only occupies a fraction of a single winding. More specifically, the rub- over portion 160 is directly or diagonally opposite the claw member 150. It will be noted from Figure 6 that the slightly elevated portion on a winding which defines the rub-over portion 160 defines a seat to back the gemstone 110. As shown in Figure 7, the rub-over portion 160 extends between the pavilion and crown portions of the diamond. Resilience in the rub- over portion 160 provides an additional urging force to cooperate with the claw portion to hold the gemstone in place and other portions of the receptacle.

[0018] To strengthen the gemstone securing function of the gemstone receptacle, adjacent windings are welded or soldered together by point welding, soldering, or other fusion joining techniques, as is represented by the solder joints 170 schematically depicted in Figures 1 and 3. [0019] In this example, the rub-over portion 140 and the claw portion 150 are diametrically opposed as depicted in Figures 5 & 6.

[0020] While the present disclosure has been described with reference to the examples above, it shall be appreciated that the examples are only for assisting understanding and shall not be used to limit the scope or meaning of claims or terms. For example, while a facet cut diamond has been used as an example of gemstones, it should be appreciated that non- facet cut gemstones such as cabochon cut or oval or egg shaped gemstones can be mounted on the gemstone receptacle. Furthermore, while a diamond is used as an example of a gemstone, it shall be appreciated that a gemstone can be a diamond, imitation diamond, precious and semi-precious stones such as jade, sapphire, emerald, and opals etc. without limitation. In addition, while a ring has been described as an a convenient example, it shall be appreciated that the ornamental article can be any items that carry a gemstone, and common examples of such are rings pendants necklaces bracelets etc. without loss of generality.

[0021 ] While the claw portion 150 and the rub-over portion are diametrically opposed in this example, it should be appreciated that there can be more than one claw portion and/or more than one rub-over portion. The claw and rub-over portions can be distributed around the gemstone receptacle in a non-diametrically opposed manner, -for example, distributed around a surrounding periphery on vertices of a triangle such as an equilateral or isosceles triangle or around the vertices of a polygon especially a regular polygon.

Claims

1 . An ornamental article comprising a jewelry setting, wherein the jewelry setting comprises an elongate metal member which is wound into a wound portion to form a gemstone receptacle to receive a portion of a gemstone and to form a claw member to hold the gemstone in the gemstone receptacle.

2. An ornamental article according to Claim 1 , wherein the elongate metal member is wound into the helically wound portion to form the gemstone receptacle.

3. An ornamental article according to Claim 2, wherein the helically wound portion of the elongate member defines an interior boundary to define the gemstone receptacle.

4. An ornamental article according to any of the preceding Claims, wherein a free end of the elongate metal member is bent or turned relative to a winding plane of the wound portion which is immediately adjacent the free end to form the claw member.

5. An ornamental article according to any of the preceding Claims, wherein the claw member is at an angle relative to the winding plane of the wound portion immediately before the free end.

6. An ornamental article according to Claim 5, wherein the angle of the claw member relative to the winding plane immediately preceding the free end is between 70-130 degrees, preferably between 80-100 degrees, and more preferably between 85-95 degrees.

7. An ornamental article according to Claims 5 or 6, wherein the claw member is bent upwards and/or away from the base of the gemstone receptacle.

8. An ornamental article according to any of the preceding Claims, wherein the wound portion also forms a rub-over setting portion, the rub-over setting portion cooperating with the claw member to hold the gemstone in place.

9. An ornamental article according to Claim 8, wherein the rub-over setting portion is formed on the last winding of the wounding portion.

10. An ornamental article according to Claims 8 or 9, wherein rub-over portion is diagonally opposite the claw member.

1 1 . An ornamental article according to Claims 8 or 9, wherein there are more than one rub-over setting portions and/or more than one claw members, wherein the rub-over setting portion and/or the claw members are distributed around the gemstone receptacle in a non-diametrically opposed manner.

12. An ornamental article according to any of the preceding Claims, wherein the wound portion forms a bezel setting portion, the bezel setting portion cooperating with the claw member to hold the gemstone in place.

13. An ornamental article according to any of the preceding Claims, wherein adjacent windings on the wound portion are held together by soldering, welding or like fusion joining techniques.

14. An ornamental article according to any of the preceding Claims, wherein the gemstone is a facet cut diamond.

15. An ornamental article according to any of the preceding Claims, wherein the gemstone is cabochon cut or oval or egg shaped.

16. An ornamental article according to any of the preceding Claims, wherein the elongate metal member comprises a precious metal such as gold, silver, platinum, or the like.

17. An ornamental article according to any of the preceding Claims, wherein the article is a ring comprising a ring band, and the jewelry setting comprises a helical extension of the ring band.

18. An ornamental article according to any of the preceding Claims 1 to 16, wherein the article comprises a pendant having an attachment body, the elongate metal member forms part of the attachment body.