Bezel for producing a jewelry product such as a bracelet, necklace, ring, or similar

Abstract

A bezel for making a jewelry product such as a bracelet, necklace, ring, or similar, comprising a hollow body (1) with a plurality of faces, at least one face constituting of a first frame element obtained from the joining of four posts arranged with their longitudinal axes at the edges of said at least one face. The first frame element includes at least a first post (121) with a section along a plane perpendicular to its own longitudinal axis, this section identifying a shape that has at least two sides (1210, 1211), arranged perpendicularly to each other and an area smaller than the product of the lengths of the two sides (1210, 1211).

Description

[0001] DESCRIPTION

[0002] BEZEL FOR PRODUCING A JEWELRY PRODUCT SUCH AS A BRACELET, NECKLACE, RING, OR SIMILAR

[0003] The present invention relates to a bezel for producing a jewelry product such as a bracelet, necklace, ring, or similar, comprising a hollow body with a plurality of faces. At least one face is made up of a first frame element achieved by joining four posts arranged with their longitudinal axes at the edges of said at least one face.

[0004] The configuration described above is the common configuration of bezels known in the state of the art for producing link structures used in jewelry products such as bracelets, for example spring bracelets or “tennis” type bracelets, rings, necklaces, or similar.

[0005] These link structures are made up of identical bezel elements that are interlocked one another so as to be aligned and form a development line, which identifies the development of the bracelet, at the ends of which line closures are provided, in order to allow the bracelet or necklace to be fastened respectively around the wrist or neck of a wearer.

[0006] Actually, bezels being “modular” elements within jewelry products, they are used in a high number, therefore even a slight structural modification to a bezel causes significant changes in the link structure for producing the jewelry product.

[0007] Consequently, even a minimal reduction of the amount of material used for the bezel involves a significant decrease in weight of the final product.

[0008] This feature is particularly important considering that bezels are generally made of precious materials, so a reduction of material allows a considerable saving in terms of both manufacturing costs and sales costs. For this reason, in the state of the art, various attempts have been made to produce bezels using a reduced amount of material.

[0009] Despite the different types of bezels known in the state of the art, currently none of these types allows saving material, especially due to the structural constraints required for producing the bezel.

[0010] In fact, known techniques in the state of the art involve generating a synthetic material model of the bezel through a 3D printing process, after which the bezel model is covered, for example, with plaster, to obtain a mold of the model itself.

[0011] Once the mold is made, the 3D printed model is removed to obtain a housing seat wherein to insert the material, typically molten gold, which will replicate the shape of the 3D printed model.

[0012] The mold is then removed to carry out cleaning and polishing processes on the bezel.

[0013] Because of the subsequent processes, the bezel must have certain dimensions, making it complex to limit the amount of material used.

[0014] There is therefore an unmet need by bezels and systems known in the state of the art to produce a bezel configured to save material for making of the bezel itself.

[0015] The present invention achieves the above objectives by producing a bezel as previously described, wherein the first frame element includes at least a first post with a section along a plane perpendicular to its longitudinal axis, such section identifies a shape that has at least two sides arranged perpendicularly to each other and an area being smaller than the product of the lengths of the two sides.

[0016] Known bezels in the state of the art have a base frame made by joining multiple elongated elements, so-called posts, which have a square or rectangular section, on a plane perpendicular to their longitudinal axis, i.e., the area of the section having a value corresponding to the product of two sides.

[0017] The bezel object of the present invention, instead, has an area of a value smaller than the product of the lengths of the two sides.

[0018] A smaller area translates into a lesser amount of material to produce the bezel, thus allowing cost savings.

[0019] The material savings achieved thanks to a reduction in the section does not cause any structural problem for the casing, nor aesthetic modifications, as will be clear from the drawings showing some embodiments thereof.

[0020] As is clear, the bezel object of the present invention will have a lower weight than the bezels known in the state of the art, therefore the final product, such as a bracelet, necklace, ring, or similar, will provide the wearer having a more pleasant wearability, an aesthetically pleasing product of a particularly bearable weight.

[0021] Starting from the general concept of decreasing the value of the area of the post's section of the bezel, it is possible to develop different features of the bezel object of the present invention, always with the aim of decreasing the quantity of material used, without changing neither the structural characteristics nor the aesthetic characteristics of the bezel itself.

[0022] Based on what has just been described, the bezel object of the present invention could have a body of any shape, preferably regular, such as pyramidal, truncated cone, provided it has at least one frame element formed by the union of a plurality of posts.

[0023] According to a first embodiment, the bezel object of the present invention consists of a hollow parallelepiped body with six faces. According to this configuration, the first frame element is obtained by joining four posts arranged so as to have their longitudinal axes perpendicular to each other two by two. This embodiment has undeniable advantages from the production point of view, as the parallelepiped or cubic shape is particularly simple to achieve.

[0024] According to a preferred embodiment, the two sides of the post are arranged towards the outside of the bezel body.

[0025] This feature allows the aesthetic appearance of the bezel object of the present invention to remain unchanged as compared to bezels known in the state of the art. In fact, the section will have a different shape only towards the inside of the bezel, i.e., towards an area that remains out of sight, while showing at the outside the typical edge of bezels known in the state of the art, that is a square section of the posts.

[0026] It is specified that in order to obtain a section area of the posts smaller than the square section area, any shape known in the state of the art can be used.

[0027] However, there are some shapes that optimize the maintaining of the aesthetic appearance compared to the reduction of material, i.e., that allow to maximally decrease the amount of material used, while keeping unchanged the aesthetic characteristics.

[0028] The preferred shape in this case is given by the triangular shape, in particular, the first post has a section that identifies a right triangle.

[0029] As will be clearly shown by some embodiment examples, the oblique side of the right triangle is facing the inside of the hollow body of the casing.

[0030] Starting from the right triangle shape, which maximizes the decrease in the quantity of material while keeping unchanged the aesthetic and structural characteristics, it is possible to envisage shapes that facilitate production, but above all the subsequent processes to the molding of the bezel, such as the cleaning or polishing. According to a preferred embodiment, in fact, the said right triangle has its acute vertices truncated.

[0031] A shape entirely similar to a right triangle is thus achieved, but the tips at the acute vertices are avoided, which turn out to be critical points regarding the processes to be carried out after the molding of the bezel.

[0032] The advantages described are also achieved by just modifying the section of a post, but obviously the savings of costs regarding the decrease in the quantity of material used increase significantly if two or more posts are modified.

[0033] For this reason, according to a preferred embodiment, the first frame element has two or more posts made like the first post according to one or more of the characteristics previously described, taken individually or in combination.

[0034] Similarly, it is possible to provide that the hollow body has two or more faces each comprising a frame element.

[0035] Each frame element is made like the said first frame element.

[0036] From what has been described, it is clear that the bezel object of the present invention can have different configurations:

[0037] - a hollow body comprising at least one frame element where at least one post has a section along a plane perpendicular to its own longitudinal axis, which section identifies a shape that has at least two sides arranged perpendicularly to each other and an area being smaller than the product of the lengths of the two sides,

[0038] - a hollow body with at least one frame element formed by posts which two or more posts or preferably each post have / has a section along a plane perpendicular to its own longitudinal axis, this section identifying a shape that has at least two sides arranged perpendicularly to each other and an area being smaller than the product of the lengths of the two sides,

[0039] - a hollow body comprising two or more frame elements, or preferably made by assembling a plurality of frame elements, wherein at least one post or two or more posts or, preferably, each post of every frame element has a section along a plane perpendicular to its own longitudinal axis, this section identifying a shape that has at least two sides arranged perpendicularly to each other and an area being smaller than the product of the lengths of the two sides.

[0040] Given the advantages outlined above, the present invention also relates to a jewelry product, such as a bracelet, necklace, ring, or similar, comprising a link structure formed by the interlocking of a plurality of modular bezel elements bound together along a development line of the link structure.

[0041] In particular, all the modular elements are made by one or more of the features, taken individually or in combination, of the bezel previously described.

[0042] Thus, by increasing the number of bezels within a single jewelry product, the advantages related to the savings of manufacturing costs will be particularly significant, allowing to achieve a product that is particularly competitive from the cost point of view, while keeping unchanged aesthetic characteristics.

[0043] These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of some illustrative embodiments in the attached drawings wherein:

[0044] - Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of a possible embodiment of the bezel object of the present invention; - Figure 2a illustrates a section of a part of a bezel known in the state of the art;

[0045] - Figures 2b and 2c illustrate two possible sections of a part of the bezel object of the present invention;

[0046] - Figures 3a to 3d illustrate some perspective views of a bezel known in the state of the art alongside a possible embodiment of the bezel object of the present invention;

[0047] - Figures 4a and 4b illustrate some details of a possible embodiment of the bezel object of the present invention;

[0048] - Figures 5a and 5b illustrate two details of a bezel known in the state of the art;

[0049] - Figures 6a and 6b illustrate two details of a possible embodiment of the bezel object of the present invention;

[0050] - Figure 7 illustrates a perspective view of a further embodiment of the bezel object of the present invention.

[0051] It is specified that the figures attached to this patent application illustrate only some possible embodiments of the bezel object of the present invention, to better explain its advantages and the characteristics described.

[0052] These embodiments are therefore to be understood as being illustrative only and not limiting the inventive concept of the present invention, i.e., to produce a bezel configured to achieve significant savings in the quantity of material used, while keeping unchanged structural and aesthetic characteristics of bezels known in the state of the art and reducing the overall weight of the bezel itself.

[0053] With particular reference to Figure 1 , a perspective view of a possible embodiment of the bezel object of the present invention is shown.

[0054] According to this embodiment, the bezel is made up of a hollow body 1 , having a parallelepiped shape, i.e., a hollow body 1 with six faces. Each face is made up of a frame element, which in turn is formed by joining four posts arranged with their longitudinal axes parallel two by two.

[0055] As with bezels known in the state of the art, the bezel object of the present invention thus has a top face 10, a bottom face 1 1 , and four side faces, of which only two faces, 12 and 13, are shown in Figure 1.

[0056] The faces hidden from the view are made in a manner entirely similar to faces 12 and 13.

[0057] The top face 10 is an “aesthetic” portion, i.e. , a part of the bezel facing a possible observer.

[0058] Consequently, the bottom face 1 1 is facing the wrist, neck, or finger of a wearer wearing the jewelry product that includes the bezel, i.e., the jewelry product being in a worn condition.

[0059] The top face 10 is configured to accommodate at least one precious stone, or precious metals, as it can be made of a plate or similar metallic material, preferably precious, like gold or similar.

[0060] According to the alternative illustrated in the figures, the top face 10 has four protrusions 100 configured to secure a precious stone.

[0061] It is specified that the alternatives illustrated in the figures show a hollow body 1 of the bezel configured to achieve a sort of “base frame” onto which possible embellishments for the final product can be fitted, such as metal plates, precious stones, or similar.

[0062] As known in the state of the art and as will be described later, the frame elements of the hollow body are configured to allow the coupling of one bezel to another and the insertion of a possible filiform element to keep the bezels aligned with each other once coupled.

[0063] According to the embodiment illustrated in the figures, each frame element making up each face of the hollow body 1 is made in a manner entirely similar, i.e., with identical posts.

[0064] For this reason, for illustrative simplicity, in Figure 1 the posts of a single frame element, constituting the side face 12, are shown, but also the remaining posts will be made in a manner entirely similar.

[0065] In particular, the frame element constituting face 12 has two posts 120 and 121 arranged horizontally and with their longitudinal axes parallel to each other and two posts 122 and 123 arranged vertically and with their longitudinal axes parallel to each other.

[0066] It follows that the longitudinal axes of posts 120 and 121 will be perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of posts 122 and 123.

[0067] Unlike bezels known in the state of the art, the posts belonging to the bezel object of the present invention have a different shape.

[0068] This shape is particularly clear in Figures 4a and 4b, which illustrate perspective views of a section of body 1 of the bezel along a vertical plane, i.e., perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of posts 120 and 121 .

[0069] In particular, post 121 has a section along the plane perpendicular to its own longitudinal axis that identifies a shape having two sides, one side 1210 and one side 121 1 , perpendicular to each other.

[0070] In particular, side 1210 is parallel to a horizontal plane, while side 121 1 is parallel to a vertical plane.

[0071] Sides 1210 and 121 1 join each other, on one side, forming a 90° vertex and, on the other side, with a segment 1212.

[0072] The 90° vertex is facing the outside of body 1 of the bezel and forms the outer edge of post 121 , while segment 1212 is facing the inside of body 1 of the bezel and gives the section of post 121 a triangular shape.

[0073] The section of posts belonging to the bezel object of the present invention can take different shapes, of which two possible forms are

[0074] Illustrated in Figures 2b and 2c.

[0075] Specifically, figure 2b relates to a right triangle shape, with the two cathexes 1210 and 1211 and a hypotenuse 1212.

[0076] Similarly, figure 2c shows a shape of the section in the form of a right triangle, but with the acute vertices truncated.

[0077] In this case, the cathetus 1210 connects at one end to cathetus 121 1 , forming the 90° angle, while from the other end there extends a segment 1213 having a certain length and in a direction parallel to cathetus 121 1. Similarly, cathetus 121 1 connects at one end to cathetus 1210, forming the 90° angle, while from the other end there extends a segment 1214 of a certain length in a direction parallel to cathetus 1210. The ends of segments 1213 and 1214 are then connected to each other by the oblique segment 1212.

[0078] As described above, the section of post 121 along a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the post itself can have various shapes, provided that the size of the area identified by the section itself is smaller than the size of the area obtained by multiplying the measure of side 1210 by the measure of side 121 1.

[0079] This concept is particularly clear in figure 2a, which illustrates the section of a post of a bezel known in the state of the art. This section, always obtained according to a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the post itself, has a rectangular or square shape, with a side 2120 and a side 221 1.

[0080] The area of the section in figure 2a will thus be equal to the product of the measure of side 2210 by the side 221 1 and will be bigger than the areas of the sections in figure 2b and figure 2c.

[0081] Advantageously, as anticipated, all the posts of the bezel object of the present invention are made like post 121 , so all the posts of all the frame elements have a reduced section compared to the posts of bezels known in the state of the art.

[0082] This reduction of the area of the section means as a reduction of the amount of material used for making the posts of the bezel object of the present invention.

[0083] This reduction of material is particularly clear in figures from 3a to 3d and from 5a to 6b, where a comparison is made between a bezel 300 known in the state of the art and a bezel 400 made according to the characteristics described above.

[0084] As clearly results from these figures, bezels 300 and 400 appear very similar in aesthetic appearance, which is further dictated by possible embellishments that are fixed to the frame elements, and in structure, but the bezel 400 is made by using about half of the material as compared to bezel 300.

[0085] Indeed, bezel 300, particularly illustrated in figures 5a and 5b, has a section of posts 301 along a plane perpendicular to their longitudinal axis similar to the section in figure 2a, wherein the area of the section is equal to the product of the two sides 2210 and 221 1.

[0086] Bezel 400, instead, particularly illustrated in figures 6a and 6b, has posts 401 made like post 121 described above and, in particular, with the section of posts 401 along a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the posts themselves, according to the shapes of figures 2b or 2c, which have a much smaller area as compared to the area of the section 2a.

[0087] Since the posts are made of solid elements, it is clear that a decrease in the area corresponds to significant savings when making bezel 400 as compared to bezel 300.

[0088] Figures 4a and 4b illustrate some details of an embodiment of a bezel made according to the present invention, particularly according to a section along a vertical plane.

[0089] In the case of figures 4a and 4b, all the posts of all the frame elements have a triangular section or similar to a right triangle.

[0090] It follows that all the posts are made of triangular-based prisms that are joined together. In particular, the first four posts are joined together to create a first frame element, in such a way that the four prisms are arranged along the sides of a rectangle, with their longitudinal axes perpendicular to each other two by two. Similarly, the other three frame elements are then made and fixed to each other and to the first frame element to achieve the shape of the bezel illustrated in the figures. This process is purely conceptual, because as known in the state of the art, the models of the bezels are designed via software, so as to be able to obtain the models by 3D printing on which to make the mold.

[0091] For this reason, via software, it is also possible to model the joining points between one prism and another, a possible embodiment thereof is illustrated in figures 4a and 4b.

[0092] Posts 5 and 6, made like post 121 , are joined together to create an interface 56 consisting of a triangular-shaped surface, with two sides 560 and 561 following, respectively, surface 51 slope and surface slope of the post arranged next to post 5, and a third side 562 perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of post 6.

[0093] It is obviously possible to envisage any interface, but the one illustrated represents the most aesthetically pleasing choice.

[0094] As described above, starting from the base configuration, i.e., from a bezel made by joining four frame elements, it is possible to add functional / aesthetic elements, of any type known in the state of the art, such as the tips 100 for engaging precious stones or similar.

[0095] Another example is illustrated in figure 7, wherein the bezel shows an appendage 7 configured to allow the coupling of one bezel to another bezel for the production of jewelry products such as bracelets, necklaces, or rings.

[0096] An example of a possible use of appendage 7 is described in the Italian patent number 0001383693 filed on January 4, 2007, its content is to be considered an integral part of this patent application.

[0097] Finally, it is specified that any methodology known in the state of the art can be envisaged to allow the coupling of one bezel to another, without the need to make specific changes to the structure of the bezel object of the present invention and to the characteristics described above.

[0098] While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative constructions, some preferred embodiments have been shown in the drawings and described in detail.

[0099] It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific embodiment illustrated, but, on the contrary, it is intended to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents that fall within the scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

[0100] The use of "for example", "etc.", "or" indicates non-exclusive alternatives without limitation unless otherwise indicated. The use of "includes" means "includes, but not limited to" unless otherwise indicated.

Claims

CLAI MS1 . A bezel for making a jewelry product such as a bracelet, necklace, ring, or similar, comprising a hollow body (1 ) with a plurality of faces, at least one face consisting of a first frame element obtained by joining four posts arranged with their longitudinal axes at the edges of said at least one face, characterized in that the first frame element includes at least a first post (121 ) with a section along a plane perpendicular to its own longitudinal axis, this section identifying a shape that has at least two sides (1210, 121 1 ), arranged perpendicularly to each other and an area smaller than the product of the lengths of the two sides (1210, 121 1 ).

2. The bezel according to claim 1 , wherein said hollow body has a parallelepiped shape with six faces, being said first frame element obtained from the joining of four posts arranged so as to have their longitudinal axes perpendicular to each other two by two.

3. The bezel according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said two sides (1210, 121 1 ) are arranged facing the outside of the bezel body.

4. The bezel according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein said section of the first post identifies a right triangle.

5. The bezel according to claim 4, wherein said right triangle has truncated acute vertices.

6. The bezel according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein said first frame element includes two or more posts (5, 6) made like the first post according to one or more of the claims from 1 to 5.

7. The bezel according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein said hollow body provides two or more faces each comprising a frame element, whichframe element is made like said first frame element.

8. The jewelry product, such as a bracelet, necklace, ring, or similar, comprising a link structure made by the interlocking of a plurality of modular bezel elements bound together along a development line of the link structure, characterized in that the modular bezel elements are made according to one or more of the claims from 1 to 7.

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