Patent Application
20090044565
The present invention relates to jewelry and particularly to necklaces and suspended ornaments having a storage compartment.
Lockets and other jewelry have been known to have compartments therein for retaining photographs or other objects, in fact, even in Victorian times brooches and lockets were used to retain a lock of hair in a compartment. Other uses for pendants have included containers for perfumes, medications or cremation ashes. Human nature has always searched for love, health and wealth. Religion and spiritual or supernatural beliefs give answers and guidance to these searches. These; give birth to all kinds of magical beliefs and superstitions and; create rituals, amulets, and good luck charms.
An example are the Milagros; which are offered to saints as a reminder of the petitioner's need. For a sore arm, a tiny silver arm is hung on the saint; for a pig to bear many piglets, the owner will pin a pig milagro on the saint's robe. Each Saint is known for different attributes; San Francis is known to help with animals and Saint Anthony to find lost objects, so; people will request the saint according to the need. Iberians in Spain before Christ, used similar Milagros to the ones employed today in Spain, other Mediterranean countries and most Latin America.
Inspired by the milagros tradition and responding to a portable need; due to traveling and lack of space: a functional, “carry on”, new kind of jewelry item was designed. The person asking for the grace, can carry the Saint image, cross, or any other form of jewelry and insert in it a small “miracle” or paper with the name of the beloved or whatever icon or good luck charm he chooses to conceal as a reminder; and still keep it so private nobody else will know.
Designs for these containers have focused on various aspects including ornamental design and container closure apparatus. However, none of the prior pendant designs have focused on an object retention apparatus within the container.
In view of the foregoing it can be seen that there is a need for a device for secure concealment of a memento or icon within a piece of jewelry, within a mechanism that is in essence very different from traditional forms that have been used for such purposes. The peculiar designs of the various holding mechanisms, which allow at once for the safekeeping, accessibility, and concealment of the object, without interfering with the outward form and design of the article of jewelry, represent both innovative and practical means to achieve such purposes.
It is an object of the invention to provide an article of jewelry with a compartment having retaining apparatus therein.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a hidden article retaining apparatus which.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an article retaining apparatus having a slot for receiving an object therein.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a pendant having a compartment for receiving the article retaining apparatus.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a pendant in the shape of a cross.
In summary, the invention is a mechanism designed to retain a keepsake, such as a memento or good-luck item, concealed within an article of jewelry by means of a hollow space and an insertion device held in place by means of a concealable system involving, alternatively, a screw, a clasp, or other locking mechanism. The insertion device involves a type of male-female system with a variety of holding mechanisms that will serve to hold in place the keepsake item (for example a piece of paper, a lock of hair, or any other small memento). Two alternative designs are provided, the first is designed to hold a lock of hair, a small piece of paper, or another type of small, flexible memento like a chain or ribbon. The first alternative includes a slot in an elongated holder for the insertion of a flexible object. One end of the object will be inserted on the slot and the remainder of the object is wrapped about the elongated holder. The second design includes an empty compartment designed to receive various amulets, milagros or souvenirs. The compartment may also included a guiding rail to assist in retention of the inserted items. These two designs may also be used in combination to retain diverse items. The invention is intended for use within any article of jewelry on which it may, because of its shape, be adapted with sufficient space to hold a small keepsake. Examples are a Christian Cross or a Jewish Star of David, a saint medallion but is not to be limited to religious objects or icons. It may similarly be used in letter-shaped pendants, bracelets, or other designs. The invention draws for inspiration from the tradition of concealing things of personal and sentimental value within items of jewelry kept close to one's person, ideally one's heart or wrist.
Innovative aspects of the invention are the ability to provide a mechanism by means of which the wearer can extract the object held within the device by means of a simple turn of a screwing device or loosening of a clasp, while yet having the object retain its integrity as an article of jewelry that does not at first appearance resemble the form of a traditional reliquary or brooch.
In summary, the invention is directed to an insertion and retaining device, including but not limited to the hollow space, the various retaining devices, and the concealed locking mechanisms to be used in jewelry design as a way to hold keepsakes of different kinds within various forms of wearable jewelry. The invention, in other words, can turn an ordinary object of jewelry into a reliquary by means of a system that does not interfere with the outward appearance of the piece.
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While this invention has been described as having a preferred design, it is understood that it is capable of further modifications, uses and/or adaptations of the invention following in general the principle of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within the known or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains and as maybe applied to the central features hereinbefore set forth, and fall within the scope of the invention and the limits of the appended claims.
