JEWELRY AND JEWELRY CLASP

Abstract

Jewelry with a clasp having a first end, a second end, a swivel lock rotatably mounted on a hinge pin to the first end and releasably engageable to the second end. One end includes a male component that is inserted into the other end, and the second end defines a channel. The swivel lock includes a component that is received in the channel to prevent unintended separation of the first and second ends. A ball and spring is provided to prevent unintended rotation of the swivel lock.

Claims

1. A piece of jewelry, comprising: a) a body part encircling portion having first and second portions; and b) a clasp to secure and release the first and second portions together, the clasp including, i) a first end at the first portion of the piece of jewelry, ii) a second end at the second portion of the piece of jewelry, the second end having an upper surface defining a channel and a blind bore, a spring-mounted head comprising stainless steel in the blind bore, the spring-mounted head resting proud of the upper surface and seatable at or below upper surface when axial force is applied to the spring-mounted head, and iii) a swivel lock rotatably mounted relative to the first end, the swivel lock having a lower surface provided with a male lock and a recess, the head mounted on the spring comprising a material harder than a material defining the recess at the lower surface of the swivel lock, one of the first and second ends having a male component facing the other of the first and second ends, and the other of the first and second ends defining an opening for receiving the male component, the male component made of a first material stronger than a second material surrounding the opening, and wherein, to close the clasp, the first and second ends are abutted such that the male component enters the opening, and the swivel lock is rotated relative to the first end to cause the male lock to rotate into the channel, and the head moves into the recess, and to open the clasp, an opposite second rotational force is applied to the swivel lock to move the head mounted on the spring out of the recess and at or below the lower surface of the swivel lock and the male lock out of the channel, and the male component is moved out of the opening.

2. The piece of jewelry of claim 1, wherein the head comprises stainless steel.

3. The piece of jewelry of claim 2, wherein the head is at least partially coated with gold.

4. The piece of jewelry of claim 2, wherein the recess in the swivel lock is defined in gold.

5. The piece of jewelry of claim 1, wherein the male component is made of silver coated in 10 karat gold, and the second material is 18 karat gold.

6. The piece of jewelry of claim 1, wherein the channel extends along an arc.

7. The piece of jewelry of claim 6, wherein the male lock extends along the arc.

8. The piece of jewelry of claim 1, wherein the channel is wider at its bottom.

9. A piece of jewelry, comprising: a) a body part encircling portion having first and second portions; and b) a clasp to secure and release the first and second portions together, the clasp including, i) a first end at the first portion of the piece of jewelry, ii) a second end at the second portion of the piece of jewelry, the second end having an upper surface defining a channel, and iii) a swivel lock mounted on a swivel pin that rotates relative to the first end, the swivel lock having a lower surface provided with a male lock, the swivel pin having a non-circular portion, and the first end provided with a deflectable member against which the non-circular portion abuts such that the swivel lock is adapted to naturally rests in discrete and selectable rotational orientations relative to the first end, wherein, to close the clasp, the first and second ends are abutted, and the swivel lock is rotated relative to the first end from a first rotational orientation to a second rotational orientation to cause the male lock to rotate into the channel.

10. The piece of jewelry of claim 9, wherein: the upper surface of the second end defines a blind bore, and a spring-mounted head is provided in the blind bore, the spring-mounted head resting proud of the upper surface and seatable at or below upper surface when axial force is applied to the spring-mounted head, and the lower surface of the swivel lock has a recess, when the swivel lock is in the closed configuration, the head moves into the recess.

11. The piece of jewelry of claim 10, wherein the head comprises a stainless steel ball.

12. The piece of jewelry of claim 9, wherein the channel is defined by sidewalls, and the channel has two notches in one of the sidewalls.

13. A piece of jewelry, comprising: a) a body part encircling portion having first and second portions; and b) a clasp to secure and release the first and second portions together, the clasp including, i) a first end at the first portion of the piece of jewelry, ii) a second end at the second portion of the piece of jewelry, the second end having an upper surface defining a channel, and iii) a swivel lock mounted on the first end, biased into a closed configuration or an open configuration which are rotationally displaced from each other, the swivel lock having a lower surface provided with a male lock, wherein, to close the clasp, the first and second ends are abutted, and the swivel lock is rotated relative to the open configuration to the closed configuration to cause the male lock to rotate into the channel.

14. The piece of jewelry of claim 13, wherein: the upper surface of the second end defines a blind bore, and a spring-mounted head is provided in the blind bore, the spring-mounted head resting proud of the upper surface and seatable at or below upper surface when axial force is applied to the spring-mounted head, the lower surface of the swivel lock has a recess, and when the swivel lock is in the closed configuration, the head moves into the recess.

15. The piece of jewelry of claim 14, wherein the head comprises a stainless steel ball.

16. The piece of jewelry of claim 3, wherein the channel is defined by sidewalls, and the channel has two notches in one of the sidewalls.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a piece of jewelry in a configuration closed about a hinge, with a clasp described herein in a locked position.

[0013] FIG. 2 is a top view of the piece of jewelry of FIG. 1.

[0014] FIG. 3 is perspective view of the piece of jewelry of FIG. 1.

[0015] FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the piece of jewelry in a configuration open about the hinge, with a clasp described herein in an unlocked position.

[0016] FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective top view of the clasp in an unlocked position.

[0017] FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective bottom view of the clasp in the unlocked position.

[0018] FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective top view of the clasp in an intermediate assembled position.

[0019] FIG. 8 is an enlarged section view of the clasp in the locked position.

[0020] FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective top view of the clasp in a locked position.

[0021] FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective bottom view of the clasp in the locked position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022] Referring to FIGS. 1 through 4, a piece of jewelry 10 is shown. The jewelry 10 is a bracelet, but alternatively could be any other banding piece of jewelry such as a necklace, anklet, or ring. The jewelry 10 includes substantially rigid first and second portions 14, 16 that rotate on a hinge 12 between a closed configuration (FIGS. 1 through 3) and an open configuration (FIG. 4). The first and second portions 14, 16 meet at a clasp 20. Alternatively, the first and second portions 14, 16 may be at least in part flexible, for example, constructed at least partially of a chain along one or both of their lengths to permit movement between the open and closed configurations.

[0023] Turning to FIGS. 5 and 6, the clasp 20 includes a first end 22, a second end 24, and a swivel lock 26 rotatably mounted on a swivel pin 28 that extends into the first end 22. The first and second ends 22, 24 are releasably engageable via the swivel lock 26, as described below. The swivel lock 26 preferably includes a decorative upper surface 29 and can be any suitable shape, such as the diamond shape shown, which is adapted to be manipulated in rotation by the wearer of the jewelry, preferably with one hand (as the jewelry in many cases is intended to be worn on the wrist and the wearer will not have use of her other hand). Preferably, the first and second ends 22, 24 define first and second upper surfaces 30, 32 over which the swivel lock 26 rotates. The first and second upper surfaces 30, 32 are preferably planar. The second upper surface 32 is preferably covered in a thin plate 33 (FIG. 8) of 10-karat gold.

[0024] The second end 24 is provided with male component 34 facing the first end 22, and the first end 22 defines an opening 36 (FIG. 8) into which the male component 34 is inserted to align the first and second ends 22, 24 of the clasp 20 for closure and subsequent locking, described below. The male component 34 preferably slightly interferes with a frame 38 (FIG. 8) that defines access to the opening 36 during insertion. The male component 34 and frame 38 are preferably made of different materials. In one preferred embodiment, the male component 34 is a silver ball coated in 10-karat gold, and the frame 38 is made from 18-karat gold. This combination of materials permits the components 34, 38 to be close fitting and interfere with each other when the male component 34 is inserted into the frame 38, provides a desirable amount of tactile feedback, and maintains the structural integrity of the components against wear. In an alternate arrangement, the male component 34 can be provided to the first end 22, and the opening 36 for receiving the male component can be provided to the second end 24.

[0025] Referring to FIG. 6, a lower surface 40 of the swivel lock 26 that extends over the upper planar surface 32 of the second end 24 of the clasp includes a male lock 42. The male lock 42 preferably extends along a circular arc corresponding to a radius at its distance from hinge pin 28 and has a rounded front end 43. The male lock 42 also preferably has a dovetail shape such that it has a larger width further from the lower surface 40. Turning back to FIG. 5, the upper planar surface 32 of the second end 24 of the clasp 20 defines a channel 44 for receiving the male lock 42. The channel 44 preferably extends along the same circular arc as the male lock 42. The channel 44 also preferably includes a dovetail shape; i.e., it is wider at its bottom or lower end to securely receive the male lock 42. In addition, the channel 44 preferably includes at least one notch 46, and more preferably two notches in its far sidewall, which reduces pressure required to insert the male lock 42 through the channel and provides desirable tactile feedback as the rounded front end 43 moves into the notch(es) as the swivel lock 26 is rotated.

[0026] The swivel pin 28 acts against a deflectable leaf spring member 48 mounted in the first end 22 to define preset rotational resting configurations for the swivel lock 26 relative to the first end 22. The swivel pin 28 either is non-circular in cross-sectional shape, and preferably rectangular in cross-sectional shape, where it extends within the first end 22 of the clasp 20, or includes a non-circular collar 52 or other suitable structure fixed around its exterior. The non-circular portion 52 of the swivel pin 28 presses on the leaf spring member 48, which provides resistance to rotation until sufficient rotational force is applied to deflect the leaf spring member 48 and permit rotation. The non-circular shape allows the swivel to assume set resting configurations rotated at 90 apart, i.e., in the open and closed positions, such that it has a two-step swivel closure. Other set rotational configurations could be indicated by the exterior shape of the swivel pin 28 or collar.

[0027] Referring to FIGS. 5, 6 and 8, a catch head 50, preferably having a hemispherical end, is mounted on a spring 52 in a blind bore 54 in the upper surface 32 of the second end 24. The head 50 rests proud of the upper surface 32 but is seatable at or below the upper surface when the spring is compressed. The head 50 is preferably made of structural metal and coated at least on its hemispherical end with a precious metal. In a preferred embodiment, the structural metal is stainless steel, and the precious metal is 10-karat gold. The combination provides excellent wear capability while continuing to provide a preferred visual presentation. A recess 56 is provided in the lower surface of the swivel lock 26 to accommodate at least a portion of the hemispherical head 50 when the swivel lock 26 is rotated into the closed position.

[0028] In operation, from the open configuration shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the first and second ends 22, 24 of the clasp 20 are moved against one another, with the male component 34 being inserted through and into engagement with the frame 38 of the opening 36 into the configuration shown in FIG. 7. Then, the swivel lock 26 is rotated on swivel pin 28 to engage the male lock 42 into the channel 44. The dovetail engagement vertically secures the components together. The ball head 50 enters into the recess 56 once the swivel lock 26 is fully closed and provides a locking engagement that prevents inadvertent rotational release of the swivel lock. However, the swivel lock 26 can be rotated to overcome the spring force on the ball head 50 and unlock the clasp 20 to remove the jewelry. The clasp is sufficiently sturdy for repeated locking and unlocking.

[0029] There have been described and illustrated herein embodiments of a clasp for jewelry and jewelry incorporating such a clasp. While particular embodiments of the invention have been described, it is not intended that the invention be limited thereto, as it is intended that the invention be as broad in scope as the art will allow and that the specification be read likewise. Thus, while particular materials and preferred constructions have been disclosed, it will be appreciated that other materials and constructions can be used as well. It will therefore be appreciated by those skilled in the art that yet other modifications could be made to the provided invention without deviating from its scope as claimed.