JEWELRY WITH INTERCHANGEABLE STONES

Abstract

The jewelry comprises at least one first holder comprising a horseshoe-shaped part, a lever mounted on a shaft so as to be pivotable relative to the holder between an open position and a closed position, and a second holder bearing a stone, said second holder being intended to be inserted into said part and held in said part by said lever in the closed position.

Description

CORRESPONDING APPLICATION

The present application claims the priority of the earlier Swiss patent application No. CH070348/2021 filed on Oct. 5, 2021 in the name of Mr. David HOFMANN, the contents of this earlier Swiss application being incorporated by reference in their entirety in the present application.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a piece of jewelry, such as a ring, earring, piercing or similar object, with a stone and/or a bezel bearing at least one stone.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Rings, such as finger rings, bearing a stone are known to the state of the art. Typically, such rings or finger rings comprise a ring body (in annular form) bearing a bezel wherein at least one stone is set.

However, a disadvantage of the known products is that the ring and the stone are attached to one another and cannot be exchanged simply and without special tools and appropriate skill. Consequently, it is necessary to own several rings if one wishes to wear different stones of different colors and/or shapes. This disadvantage is the same for an earring, for example, or any other piece of jewelry such as a necklace or pendant.

Accordingly, one aim of the present invention is to improve known jewelry.

A further aim of the invention is to propose a system for personalizing jewelry, for example rings or other items of jewelry, said personalization being easy to carry out by the wearer by means that are simple to implement.

In some embodiments, the invention relates to an object such as a piece of jewelry comprising at least one horseshoe-shaped part (as a non-limiting example), a lever mounted on a shaft so as to be pivotable between an open position and a closed position, and a second holder bearing a stone, said second holder being intended to be inserted into said part and held in said part by said lever in the closed position. Preferably, insertion takes place from the side. This type of insertion, for example, allows a better hold and stability for the assembly.

In some embodiments, the second carrier is a bezel.

In some embodiments, the bezel bears at least one stone, such as a gemstone.

In some embodiments, the lever and horseshoe-shaped part comprise locking means for holding the lever in the closed position.

In embodiments, the bezel and the horseshoe-shaped part have complementary shapes so that once the bezel is inserted, there is no relative rotation between the bezel and the part. In other embodiments, such relative rotation is possible.

In some embodiments, the locking means are complementary shapes.

In some embodiments, the jewelry comprises a ring on which the U-shaped piece is mounted and forms a finger ring.

In some embodiments, the holder comprises at least one ring through which a chain can pass, and the object forms a pendant. In combination with a chain, this embodiment creates a necklace, for example. The necklace may comprise one or more holders according to the invention.

In some embodiments, the holder comprises at least one stud designed to pass through a pierced ear, and the object forms an earring.

In some embodiments, the jewelry parts are made of metal, preferably precious metal. Other suitable materials are of course possible, such as synthetics, etc. The stone(s) borne by a bezel may be precious, semi-precious or non-precious, or a combination.

In some embodiments, the invention relates to an assembly comprising at least one jewelry as described in the present application and one or more bezels bearing different stones. Customizable sets can therefore be formed with a ring and/or pendant and/or earring and a bezel or a plurality of bezels, the bezels being usable on the ring, pendant or earring. Bezels can be identical, similar or different (same stones or not, identical stone sizes or not, identical stone colors or not). These assemblies can be combined in a number of ways.

In variants, a holder can be formed to receive several bezels to form jewelry with several stones, for example. In another variant, one bezel can bear several stones itself.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an example of an embodiment of the present invention, in the form of a finger ring.

FIGS. 2A/2B show a further embodiment of the invention in the form of a necklace/pendant.

FIGS. 3A/3B show a further embodiment of the invention in the form of an earring.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In one embodiment, the invention relates to a ring 1 with an interchangeable bezel 3.

More specifically, according to one embodiment of the invention, a ring body (or ring) 1 is intended to be worn on a person's finger. This ring 1 has the function of a holder linked to the person wearing the object of the invention and other objects can have the same function, for example other embodiments can be an earring, a piercing, a pendant etc., as described below.

In this embodiment, the ring 1 comprises a “horseshoe” or “U” shaped part 5, or other equivalent shape, to accommodate by insertion a removable bezel 3 bearing at least one stone 6. The part 5 and/or lever 2 and bezel 3 may have complementary shapes and/or means to prevent rotation of bezel 3 once inserted. Alternatively, the bezel 3 can be freely rotated once inserted.

The horseshoe-shaped part 5 further comprises a closure system comprising a clasp 2 (in the form of a lever) mounted on a shaft 4 allowing rotation of said clasp 2 between an open or deployed position wherein a bezel 3 can be inserted into part 5 or removed from said part 5 and a closed position wherein the bezel is “enclosed” and held in the part 5.

According to the invention, the bezel 3 is the element on which a stone 6 is mounted, for example by crimping (or other equivalent means such as bonding). The bezel 3 is independent of the ring body 1 and can be exchanged when the clasp 2 is deployed, thus opening the horseshoe-shaped part 5 and enabling the bezel 3 to be inserted or removed. A bezel 3 can of course hold more than one stone 6.

As a result, it is easy to change the bezel 3 on the ring body 1 and customize the ring in this way. More specifically, the stone 6 and bezel 3 can be easily exchanged by the person wearing the ring, for example to show his or her mood, or the day of the week, or to match an outfit or outfit color, or according to the occasion (work, social event or restaurant outing, for example). The wearer can therefore have several different stones mounted on “standard” bezels, and the exchange is made very easy by simply opening the horseshoe opening 5, removing the bezel 3 present and inserting another bezel 3 bearing another stone 6.

The stones 6 mounted on the bezels 3 (e.g., by crimping, bonding or other equivalent means) can be different: color, shape, size, material etc. to suit the choice of the person concerned when he or she is going to wear the jewelry.

The clasp 2 and the part 5 comprise locking means 7-8, for example of complementary shapes, ensuring that the clasp 2 remains in a stable closed position (enclosing a bezel 3 in the horseshoe 5). Preferably, when the clasp reaches a closed position, a “click” is produced to indicate to the user that the system is correctly closed. Additional means of locking the clasp 2 in the closed position may also be provided.

In another embodiment shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the jewelry is a pendant 10 for a necklace, with FIG. 2A showing an exploded view of the parts forming the pendant and FIG. 2B showing an assembled state.

The pendant 10 comprises a bezel 3′ similar to the bezel 3 of FIG. 1 (e.g., bearing one or more stones). The bezel 3′ is inserted into a holder 11, which is closed by a shaft-mounted clasp 12, in a manner similar to the embodiment of FIG. 1. The holder 11 is, for example, “U”-shaped, horseshoe-shaped or equivalent. Once the bezel 3′ has been inserted into the holder, the “U” is closed by means of the clasp 12. The part 11 and/or lever 12 and bezel 3′ may have complementary shapes and/or means to prevent rotation of the bezel 3′ once inserted. Alternatively, the bezel 3′ can be freely rotated once inserted. Preferably, complementary shapes are provided on the holder 11 and clasp 12 to achieve a stable closed position, and also preferably, a “click” is sensed by the user when this stable closed position is reached (see FIG. 2B).

The holder 11 further comprises at least one ring 13 wherein a chain 30 (shown schematically in FIGS. 2A and 2B as passing through said rings) is intended to pass to form a necklace. The holder 11 may comprise a single ring 13 or more than two rings 13, depending on the circumstances (for example, the size of the pendant 10 or the stone 6).

In another embodiment shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the jewelry is an earring 20, with FIG. 3A showing an exploded view of the parts forming the pendant and FIG. 3B showing an assembled state.

The earring 20 comprises a bezel 3″ similar to the bezel 3 of FIG. 1 or to the bezel 3′ of FIGS. 2A/2B.

The bezel 3″ is inserted into a holder 21, for example in the shape of a “U” or a “horseshoe”, which is closed by a clasp 22 mounted on a shaft, in a similar way to the design shown in FIG. 1. The holder 21 and/or lever 22 and bezel 3″ may have complementary shapes and/or means to prevent rotation of the bezel 3″ once inserted. Alternatively, the bezel 3″ can be freely rotated once inserted. The holder 21 includes a stud 23 for insertion into a pierced ear to be worn as an earring. Once the bezel 3″ has been inserted into the holder 21, said holder 21 is closed by means of the clasp 22. Preferably, complementary shapes are provided on the holder 21 and clasp 22 to achieve a stable closed position, and also preferably, a “click” is sensed by the user when this stable closed position is reached (see FIG. 3B).

In variants, the bezels 3, 3′ and 3″ are identical, so that the same bezel 3/3/3″ can be mounted on a ring (ring configuration, FIG. 1), pendant (necklace configuration, FIGS. 2A/2B) or stud (earring configuration, FIGS. 3A/3B). This multiplies the possibilities for personalizing jewelry worn by the same person.

Any suitable material can be used to produce the parts of the device: for example metals and/or precious metals, alloys etc. and/or any equivalent material.

As described above, the principle of the invention applies not only to a ring but also to other items of jewelry: pendants, necklaces, earrings, piercings (using the stud 23, for example), etc.

The embodiments described in this application are intended as illustrative examples and should not be regarded as limiting. Other embodiments may use means equivalent to those described, for example. The embodiments can also be combined with one another depending on the circumstances, or means used in one mode can be used in another mode.

Claims

1. A piece of jewelry comprising at least one horseshoe-shaped part, a lever mounted on a shaft so as to be pivotable on the part between an open position and a closed position, and a second holder bearing a stone, said second holder being intended to be inserted into said part and to be held in said part by said lever in the closed position.

2. The jewelry according to claim 1, wherein the second holder is a bezel.

3. The jewelry according to claim 2, wherein the bezel bears a stone, for example a precious stone.

4. The jewelry according to claim 1, wherein the lever and the horseshoe-shaped part comprise locking means for holding the lever in the closed position.

5. The jewelry according to claim 4, wherein said locking means are complementary shapes.

6. The jewelry according to claim 1, said jewelry comprising a ring on which the horseshoe-shaped part is mounted, forming a ring.

7. The jewelry according to claim 1, wherein the holder comprises at least one ring allowing the passage of a chain, forming a pendant.

8. The jewelry according to claim 1, wherein the holder comprises at least one stud intended to pass through a pierced ear, forming an earring.

9. The jewelry according to claim 1, wherein the parts of said jewelry are made of metal, preferably precious metal.

10. An assembly comprising at least one piece of jewelry according to claim 1 and one or more bezels bearing different stones.