US20100300150A1

US20100300150A1 - Jewellery item including spherical elements

Info

Publication number: US20100300150A1
Application number: US12/599,508
Authority: US
Inventors: Pascal-Vincent Vaucher
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: La Tete dans les Etoiles SA
Priority date: 2007-05-11
Filing date: 2008-04-22
Publication date: 2010-12-02
Also published as: CN101686742A; CH701099B1; ATE512603T1; PT2129255E; JP2010535042A; WO2008139346A1; ES2368191T3; EP2129255B1; EP2129255A1; HK1131865A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a jewelry item including several spherical or near-spherical elements (hereinafter spherical elements) in which each spherical element (1) includes at least one bore (2) and is connected to at least one adjacent spherical element (1). The assembly of two adjacent spherical elements (1) is carried out using a rod (3) inserted on either side into the corresponding bore (2) of each spherical element (1). A plurality of spherical elements (1) each include at least two bores (2), wherein the axis of each bore (2) extends radially relative to the centre of the spherical element (1). The spatial positioning of adjacent spherical elements (1) on either side of a common spherical element (1) is achieved by the angular orientation in space of the bores (2) relative to each other. The assembly of each adjacent spherical element (1) to the common spherical element (1) is achieved by inserting or screwing each rod (3) on either side into the corresponding bores (2). Each adjacent spherical element (1) can be a spherical element (1) that is common to one or more other adjacent spherical elements (1). The assembly of all spherical elements (1) gives a jewelry item having a desired shape.

Description

The present invention relates to the field of jewelry, more particularly to a jewelry item having a number of spherical or almost spherical elements (hereinafter “spherical elements”), each spherical element being joined to at least one other adjacent spherical element by way of a rod.
A number of jewelry items having a plurality of spherical elements, such as pearls, joined together by various means are already part of the prior art.
The publication JP7303507 discloses a necklace having a number of pearls, some of which have through-holes which pass approximately through the center of the pearl. The pearls are arranged in relation to one another by way of at least one more or less rigid element in the form of a ring.
The publication WO2005055756 for its part discloses in particular a jewelry item having a joining system which consists in linking a number of juxtaposed spherical elements held together by means of rods passing through bores. Each rod has a coil spring arranged so that the juxtaposed spherical elements can be moved apart under the action of a force.
One of the disadvantages of the joining methods disclosed in these documents results from the fact that the mutual positioning of the spherical elements is spatially limited. Consequently, the forms that can be obtained are relatively restricted.
It is an aim of the present invention to provide a jewelry item composed of a number of essentially spherical elements, the mutual spatial positioning of said elements being entirely controlled in order to obtain the desired form.
In accordance with the invention, this aim is achieved by virtue of a jewelry item as claimed in claim 1, having a number of spherical or almost spherical elements (hereinafter “spherical elements”). Each spherical element has at least one bore and is designed to be secured to at least one adjacent spherical element. Two adjacent spherical elements are joined together by means of a rod which is inserted on either side into the corresponding bore of each spherical element. A number of spherical elements each have at least two bores, the axis of each bore being oriented radially with respect to the center of the spherical element. The adjacent spherical elements are positioned spatially on either side of a common spherical element by way of the mutual angular spatial orientation of the bores. Each adjacent spherical element is joined to the common spherical element by driving, adhesively bonding or screwing each rod on either side into the corresponding bores. Each adjacent spherical element can constitute a common spherical element for one or more other adjacent spherical elements. The joining of all the spherical elements gives a jewelry item of a desired form.

The features of the invention will become more clearly apparent from reading the description of a number of embodiments of the joining concept, said embodiments being given solely by way of example and being nonlimiting, with reference to the schematic figures, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a front view of a jewelry item having a number of spherical elements;

FIG. 2 shows a sectional view along the line A-A in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a main spherical element around which are arranged, by way of rods, a number of spherical elements having smaller diameters;

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of FIG. 3 at a different angle; and

FIG. 5 shows a sectional view along the line A-A in FIG. 4.

According to one of the embodiments of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the jewelry item comprises a number of spherical elements (1) of variable dimensions. These spherical elements (1) are held secured to one another by way of rods (3), each rod (3) being driven on either side into the corresponding bore (2) of each element (1).
Each bore (2) is produced such that its axis is oriented radially toward the center of the spherical element (1). The mutual spatial positioning of the spherical elements (1) is thus determined by the mutual angular spatial orientation of the bores (2) of each spherical element (1). In this embodiment, the orientation of the bores (2) has been determined such that all the spherical elements (1) are positioned on a single plane.
The length of the rod (3) and the depth of the bores (2) are determined in order to position two spherical elements (1) side by side or at a certain distance from one another. In the present embodiment, the depth of the bores (2) represents around half the radius of the spherical element (1), the length of each rod (3) having been determined in order to have a certain clearance between each element (1).
FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 illustrate another example of the joining concept featuring a main spherical element (1′) which has a large number of bores (2), the respective axes of which are oriented radially with respect to the center of this main element (1′). The peripheral spherical elements (4) which have smaller diameters may have a through-bore (2) passing through their centers. One of the ends of the rod (3) may thus be housed in one or more other spherical elements (not shown) arranged on a radial axis to the main spherical element (1′) but separated by at least one peripheral spherical element (4).
It is obvious from reading the description and in the light of the figures relating thereto that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described hereinabove by way of example, but on the contrary includes any embodiment variants, the invention residing mainly in the mutual angular orientation of each bore made in each spherical element in order to obtain, after joining all the spherical elements, the resulting jewelry item.
Thus, each spherical element may have one to a large number of bores so that one to a large number of spherical elements can be positioned side by side with a common spherical element.
Moreover, what is called the spherical element may have an imperfect form called an almost spherical form. This is the case when pearls are the spherical elements, pearls almost never having a perfectly spherical form. An almost spherical element is also understood to be a spherical element having a large number of facets.
The spherical element may just as easily be a semiprecious stone. Thus, the jewelry item may, for example, be composed of semiprecious stones alternating with pearls.
In another embodiment, each bore may have an internal thread and each rod an external thread on either side in order that two adjacent pearls can be screwed together. Adhesively bonding the rod inside the bores may represent another way of joining the spherical elements.
Finally, the rod, intended to secure two adjacent spherical elements together, may conceivably be flexible in order to give the jewelry item a certain elasticity.

Claims

1. A jewelry item having a number of spherical or almost spherical elements (1) (hereinafter spherical elements), where each spherical element (1) has at least one bore (2), the cross section of which remains constant along its longitudinal axis, and is arranged secured to at least one adjacent spherical element (1), two adjacent spherical elements (1) being joined together by means of a rod (3, inserted on either side into the corresponding bore (2) of each spherical element (1) and of which the ends intended to be arranged in the corresponding bore (2) have a constant cross section along the longitudinal axis of the rod (3), characterized in that a number of spherical elements (1) each have at least two blind bores (2), at least two blind bores (2) of at least one spherical element (1) having one of the ends of a corresponding rod (3) driven into or adhesively bonded to them, the longitudinal axis of each bore (2) being oriented radially with respect to the center of the spherical element (1), the adjacent spherical elements (1) being spatially positioned on either side of a common spherical element (1) by the mutual angular spatial orientation of the bores (2), each adjacent spherical element (1) being joined to a common spherical element (1) by driving or adhesively bonding each rod (3) on either side into the corresponding bores (2), it being possible for each adjacent spherical element (1) which has at least two blind bores (2) to constitute a common spherical element (1) for one or more other adjacent spherical elements (1), the joining of all the spherical elements (1) giving a jewelry item of a desired form.

2. The jewelry item as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the depth of each bore (2) is less than or equal to the radius of the spherical element (1), the length of the rod (3) being determined such that the two adjacent spherical elements (1) are side by side.

3. The jewelry item as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that at least one of the spherical elements (1) (hereinafter main spherical element (1′)) has a large number of bores (2) so that a large number of spherical elements (4) (hereinafter peripheral spherical elements) can be arranged around the periphery of the main spherical element (1′).

4. The jewelry item as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that it further includes at least one peripheral spherical element (4) having a substantially smaller diameter than the diameter of the main spherical element (1′), said peripheral spherical element (4) having a through-bore (2) passing through its center.

5. The jewelry item as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that two adjacent spherical elements (1) are joined together by driving said rod (3) into the corresponding bore (2) of each spherical element (1).

6. (canceled)

7. The jewelry item as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that at least one spherical element (1, 1′, 4) is a pearl.

8. The jewelry item as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that at least one spherical element (1, 1′, 4) is a semiprecious stone.

9. The jewelry item as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that it comprises at least one almost spherical element (1, 1′, 4) having a large number of facets.

10. The jewelry item as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that it further includes at least one spherical element (1) having a single blind bore (2).