WO2019099019A1

WO2019099019A1 - Marked laminated jewelry and a method of making a high contrast marking

Info

Publication number: WO2019099019A1
Application number: PCT/US2017/062207
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yianni Melas
Original assignee: Yianni Melas
Priority date: 2017-11-17
Filing date: 2017-11-17
Publication date: 2019-05-23

Abstract

A method of marking a piece of jewelry is provided. The method may include forming a body from a first metal. The method may also include laminating the body with a second metal that is more resistant to oxidation than the first metal. The method may further include selectively removing a portion of the second metal from the body to expose a portion of the first metal and mark a surface of the body.

Description

Marked Laminated Jewelry and a Method of Making a High Contrast Marking

[0001] Jewelry is often engraved with quotes, designs, dates, and many other markings. However, the markings are typically visible because of the contrast between the polished surface of the jewelry and the dull surface within the engraving. This can make the markings difficult to see at a distance. Further, both the surface of the jewelry and surface within the engraving may oxidize over time. The oxidation of the surfaces may cause them to develop a uniform darker, dull finish, making the markings even more difficult to see. What is needed, therefore, is a way to mark jewelry that ensures the markings are easily visible and will stay visible over time.

[0002] Embodiments of the disclosure may provide a method of marking a piece of jewelry. The method may include forming a body from a first metal. The method may also include laminating the body with a second metal that is more resistant to oxidation than the first metal. The method may further include selectively removing a portion of the second metal from the body to expose a portion of the first metal and mark a surface of the body.

[0003] Embodiments of the disclosure may also provide a piece of jewelry. The piece of jewelry may include a body. The body may include an inner core and an outer layer. The inner core may include a first metal. The outer layer may be laminated to the inner core and include a second metal that is more resistant to oxidation than the first metal. A portion of the second metal may be removed to expose a portion of the inner core and mark the body.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0004] The present disclosure is best understood from the following detailed description when read with the accompanying Figures. It is emphasized that, in accordance with the standard practice in the industry, various features are not drawn to scale. In fact, the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity of discussion.

[0005] Figure 1 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an exemplary piece of jewelry, according to one or more embodiments disclosed.

[0006] Figure 2 illustrates a back view of an exemplary body, according to one or more embodiments disclosed.

[0007] Figure 3 illustrates a back view of an exemplary body, according to one or more embodiments disclosed.

Detailed Description

[0008] It is to be understood that the following disclosure describes several exemplary embodiments for implementing different features, structures, or functions of the invention. Exemplary embodiments of components, arrangements, and configurations are described below to simplify the present disclosure; however, these exemplary embodiments are provided merely as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention . Additionally, the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various exemplary embodiments and across the Figures provided herein. This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various exemplary embodiments and/or configurations discussed in the various Figures. Moreover, the formation of a first feature over or on a second feature in the description that follows may include embodiments in which the first and second features are formed in direct contact, and may also include embodiments in which additional features may be formed interposing the first and second features, such that the first and second features may not be in direct contact. Finally, the exemplary embodiments presented below may be combined in any combination of ways, i.e., any element from one exemplary embodiment may be used in any other exemplary embodiment, without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

[0009] Additionally, certain terms are used throughout the following description and claims to refer to particular components. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, various entities may refer to the same component by different names, and as such, the naming convention for the elements described herein is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, unless otherwise specifically defined herein. Further, the naming convention used herein is not intended to distinguish between components that differ in name but not function . Additionally, in the following discussion and in the claims, the terms "including" and "comprising" are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean "including, but not limited to." All numerical values in this disclosure may be exact or approximate values unless otherwise specifically stated. Accordingly, various embodiments of the disclosure may deviate from the numbers, values, and ranges disclosed herein without departing from the intended scope. Furthermore, as it is used in the claims or specification, the term "or" is intended to encompass both exclusive and inclusive cases, i.e., "A or B" is intended to be synonymous with "at least one of A and B," unless otherwise expressly specified herein.

[0010] Figure 1 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an exemplary piece of jewelry 1 00, according to one or more embodiments disclosed. The piece of jewelry 100 may be a pendant (as shown in Figure 1 ), a ring, a necklace, earrings, or any other type of jewelry. The piece of jewelry 100 may include a body 102 that is formed from a laminate of two metals, where one metal forms an outer layer 104 of the body 102 and the other metal forms an inner core 106 of the body 1 02. The outer layer 104 may be made of a metal such as gold, platinum, palladium, or another similar oxidation-resistant metal. The inner core 106 may be made of silver or another similar metal that is prone to oxidation. As shown in the exemplary embodiment, the body 102 may be integrally formed with the piece of jewelry 100. In other embodiments, the body 102 may be an independent tag (not shown) that is coupled to or threaded on to the piece of jewelry 1 00.

[0011] In one embodiment, the outer layer 104 may be an overlay that is bonded to the inner core 106. This process may involve covering the inner core 106 with the metal that will make up the outer layer 104. Both metals may then be heated and compressed to create a bond between the two metals. As shown in Figure 1 , the entire inner core 106 may be covered with the outer layer 104. In other embodiments, only a portion of the inner core 106 may be covered with the outer layer 104, leaving one or more sides of the inner core 106 exposed. This may be accomplished by covering only a portion of the inner core 106 with the metal prior to heating and compressing the metal and the inner core 1 06.

[0012] Electroplating may also be used to cover the inner core 106 with the outer layer 1 04. The electroplating process involves immersing the inner core 1 06 in a solution of metal ions and passing an electric current through the solution to bond the ions with the inner core 106. The thickness of the resulting outer layer 1 04 may be controlled by varying the time that the inner core 106 is immersed in the solution. Similar to the overlay method described above, the solution may include ions of gold, platinum, palladium, or another similar oxidation-resistant metal. The solution may be used to plate the inner core 106 made of silver or another similarly oxidation-prone metal. In some embodiments, only a portion of the inner core 106 may be plated with the metal in the solution, leaving one or more sides of the inner core 106 exposed. This may occur when regions of the inner core 106 that are not indented to be plated with the metal in the solution are masked prior to electroplating.

[0013] Figures 2 and 3 illustrate back views of exemplary bodies 200, 300. The bodies 200, 300 may be used in place of the body 102 illustrated in Figure 1 . The bodies 200, 300 may be marked on at least one side. As shown in the exemplary embodiment, the back surface 202 of the bodies 200, 300 may include markings 204 that detail the year the piece of jewelry 100 was made. Although the size of the markings 204 shown in Figure 1 are uniform, the markings 204 may vary in size. In place of or in addition to the aforementioned markings 204, the bodies 200, 300 may be marked with text, an artistic design, a religious symbol, a logo, or any other desired marking 204. In some embodiments, only the front surface (not shown) or the back surface 202 of the bodies 200, 300 may have a marking 204. In other embodiments, both the front surface and the back surface 202 of the bodies 200, 300 may have markings 204.

[0014] The bodies 200, 300 may be marked by removing a portion of the outer layer 104. In one embodiment, shown in Figure 2, a portion of the outer layer 104 may be removed to create the markings 204. In another embodiment, shown in Figure 3, a portion of the outer layer 104 may be removed to outline the markings 204. The portion of the outer layer 104 may be removed by vaporizing the portion the outer layer 104 with a laser to expose the inner core 106. The inner core 106 may also be exposed by mechanically removing a portion of the outer layer 104 through engraving or similar means. Once the inner core 106 is exposed to the air, the metal of the inner core 106 may begin to oxidize and darken, increasing the contrast, and therefore, the visibility of the markings 204.

[0015] An oxidizer, such as Liver of Sulphur, may be applied to the exposed inner core 106 to hasten the oxidation process and further darken the marking or markings 204 applied to the bodies 200, 300 and make the markings 204 more visible against the outer layer 104. In some embodiments, a second chemical mixture, such as a mixture of hydrochloric acid and tellurium, may be used after the initial oxidizer to turn the exposed inner core 106 black.

[0016] The foregoing has outlined features of several embodiments so that those skilled in the art may better understand the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that they may readily use the present disclosure as a basis for designing or modifying other processes and structures for carrying out the same purposes and/or achieving the same advantages of the embodiments introduced herein. Those skilled in the art should also realize that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, and that they may make various changes, substitutions, and alterations herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

Claims What is claimed is:

1 . A method of marking a piece of jewelry, comprising:

forming a body from a first metal;

laminating the body with a second metal that is more resistant to oxidation than the first metal; and

selectively removing a portion of the second metal from the body to expose a portion of the first metal and mark a surface of the body.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first metal comprises silver.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second metal comprises at least one of gold, platinum, and palladium.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein laminating the body with the second metal comprises electroplating the body with the second metal.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein laminating the body with the second metal comprises overlaying the body with the second metal.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein selectively removing the portion of the second metal from the body to expose the portion of the first metal comprises vaporizing the portion of the second metal with a laser.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein selectively removing the portion of the second metal from the body to expose the portion of the first metal comprises mechanically engraving the body to remove the portion of the second metal.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising applying an oxidizing agent to the exposed portion of the first metal to darken the first metal.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising applying a chemical solution to the darkened first metal to turn the first metal black.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the surface of the body is marked with at least one of text, a design, a religious symbol, and a logo.

1 1. A piece of jewelry comprising a body, the body comprising:

an inner core comprising a first metal; and

an outer layer laminated to the inner core, the outer layer comprising a second metal that is more resistant to oxidation than the first metal, wherein a portion of the second metal is removed to expose a portion of the inner core and mark the body.

12. The piece of jewelry of claim 11 , wherein the first metal comprises silver.

13. The piece of jewelry of claim 1 1 , wherein the second metal comprises at least one of gold, platinum, and palladium.

14. The piece of jewelry of claim 11 , wherein an oxidizing agent is applied to the exposed portion of the first metal to darken the first metal.

15. The piece of jewelry of claim 14, wherein a chemical solution is applied to the darkened first metal to turn the first metal black.

16. The piece of jewelry of claim 1 1 , wherein the first metal is electroplated with the second metal.

17. The piece of jewelry of claim 1 1 , wherein the first metal is overlaid with the second metal.

18. The piece of jewelry of claim 1 1 , wherein the body is marked with at least one of text, a design, a religious symbol, and a logo.

19. The piece of jewelry of claim 1 1 , wherein the portion of the second metal is removed via a laser.

20. The piece of jewelry of claim 1 1 , wherein the portion of the second metal is removed via mechanical engraving.

21. The method of any of claims 2 and 4-10, wherein the second metal comprises at least one of gold, platinum, and palladium.

22. The method of any of claims 2, 3, and 6-10, wherein laminating the body with the second metal comprises electroplating the body with the second metal.

23. The method of any of claims 2, 3, and 6-10, wherein laminating the body with the second metal comprises overlaying the body with the second metal.

24. The method of any of claims 2-5 and 8-10, wherein selectively removing the portion of the second metal from the body to expose the portion of the first metal comprises vaporizing the portion of the second metal with a laser.

25. The method of any of claims 2-5 and 8-10, wherein selectively removing the portion of the second metal from the body to expose the portion of the first metal comprises mechanically engraving the body to remove the portion of the second metal.

26. The method of any of claims 2-7 and 10, further comprising applying an oxidizing agent to the exposed portion of the first metal to darken the first metal.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising applying a chemical solution to the darkened first metal to turn the first metal black.

28. The method of any of claims 2-9, wherein the surface of the body is marked with at least one of text, a design, a religious symbol, and a logo.

29. The piece of jewelry of any of claims 12 and 14-20, wherein the second metal comprises at least one of gold, platinum, and palladium.

30. The piece of jewelry of any of claims 12, 13, and 16-20, wherein an oxidizing agent is applied to the exposed portion of the first metal to darken the first metal.

31. The piece of jewelry of claim 30, wherein a chemical solution is applied to the darkened first metal to turn the first metal black.

32. The piece of jewelry of any of claims 12-15 and 18-20, wherein the first metal is electroplated with the second metal.

33. The piece of jewelry of any of claims 12-15 and 18-20, wherein the first metal is overlaid with the second metal.

34. The piece of jewelry of any of claims 12-17, 19, and 20, wherein the body is marked with at least one of text, a design, a religious symbol, and a logo.

35. The piece of jewelry of any of claims 12-18, wherein the portion of the second metal is removed via a laser.

36. The piece of jewelry of any of claims 12-18, wherein the portion of the second metal is removed via mechanical engraving.