FIELD OF THE INV ENTION

The present disclosure generally relates to jewelry making and in particular to composition and manufacturing methods for alternative j ewelry .

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The manufacture and sale of jewelry constitutes a very large market which cuts across virtually every known consumer and wholesale channel of trade, including: department stores, jewelry specialty shops, wholesale stores, and mail order catalogues. Much of such jewelry is embodied in a fixed configuration which is not intended to be (and likely, literally cannot be) altered by a user.

Conventionally, jewelry may comprise various predetermined configurations of metal elements (perhaps of precious or semi-precious metals, or mixtures thereof, or even of other types of alloys) with various jewels or stones (including precious, semi-precious, natural and man- made). The metal elements may be unitarily formed or bent into closed or sealed interconnections such that a change in their relationship is not intended or is not possible. Hence, while such conventional jewelry may constitute jewelry pieces which are highly desirable and useful with a variety of outfits, they are limited in at least the sense that it is cumbersome to accommodate changes in a user's particular desires or needs. Further, due to high costs associated with the precious metals, stones and the making process, a consumer’s choices are often very limited.

Therefore, the general concept of alternative jewelry that may be modular (i.e. permitting the user to selectively re-configure various pieces) offers substantial advantages which are unparalleled by conventional fixed-configuration jewelry. However, one of the chief appeals and considerations in the selection of jewelry is aesthetically oriented. Even the advantages offered by modular jewelry would be of no moment if the structure and mechanisms by which such modularity were achieved reduced the aesthetic appeal of the jewelry.

Furthermore, even aesthetically-acceptable modular jewelry would still not be commercially successful if it were not suitably functional. For example, it would be present considerable challenge if the modular elements become easily disassembled when worn, i.e. at a time when disassembly is not desired. Also, modular jewelry which required substantial bending or flexing of metal pieces or the like to engage and disengage the modular elements would probably experience failure of the attachment mechanism within a short time due to damage caused by such bending. Moreover, the traditional jewelry has predominantly relied only on precious metals like gold, platinum, silver etc. During the making process, a sizeable amount of these materials gets wasted further adding to the costs. While several attempts have been made in the art of jewelry making to reduce the overall costs, the approaches followed were primarily involving use of alloys of precious metals, and gemstone substitutes to render certain properties while reducing the costs. Hence, there is a need for jewelry makers to explore the low-cost alternatives for making jewelry while also increasing the production.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simple manner that are further described in the detailed description of the disclosure. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential inventive concepts of the subject matter nor is it intended to determine the scope of the disclosure.

In one aspect, a jewelry is disclosed. The jewelry includes a support structure having a metal, a ceramic, or a combination thereof, a body part in contact with the support structure, and an edible material embedded in the body part. The body part includes an organic material. The jewelry is stable in ambient conditions.

In another embodiment, a method for making a jewelry is disclosed. The method includes the steps of creating a design of the jewelry, processing a support material comprising a metal, a ceramic, or a combination thereof to form a support structure, processing a body part comprising an organic material to obtain strength and texture, and affixing a body part to the support structure, and embedding an edible material in the body part.

The summary above is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. Further aspects, exemplary embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the exemplary embodiments can be better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein: FIG. 1 illustrates a type of a j ewelry in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 another type of a jewelry in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 3 is a photograph of a jewelry in accordance with an example embodiment of the present disclosure. Further, skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and may not have necessarily been drawn to scale. Furthermore, in terms of the construction of the device, one or more components of the device may have been represented in the figures by conventional symbols, and the figures may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the figures with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

PET ATT, ED DESCRIPTION OF TTTF TNVFNTTON

For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the figures and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated system, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory of the invention and are not intended to be restrictive thereof. The terms "comprises", "comprising", or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process or method that comprises a list of steps does not comprise only those steps but may comprise other steps not expressly listed or inherent to such process or method. Similarly, one or more devices or sub-systems or elements or structures or components proceeded by "comprises... a" does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other devices or other sub-systems or other elements or other structures or other components or additional devices or additional sub-systems or additional elements or additional structures or additional components. Appearances of the phrase “in an embodiment”,“in another embodiment” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment. The terms“Jewelry” and “jewellery” mean the same and the terms“Jewelry” and“alternative jewelry” are used alternately in the present disclosure.

In addition to the illustrative aspects, exemplary embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The system, methods, and examples provided herein are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.

One or more of the embodiments of the present disclosure include a jewelry and method for making the jewelry. The jewelry can be viewed as an alternate option for a traditional jewelry that is preliminarily formed of metals. The disclosed jewelry primarily includes a support structure, a body part, and at least one edible material. Despite the presence of the edible material as being part of the jewelry, the jewelry is stable in ambient conditions for a long-time duration. The ambient conditions as used herein includes normal ambience of a user wearing the jewelry without being exposed to extreme pressure or temperature conditions that a human user may not be exposed in the normal course of living. In some embodiments, the ambient conditions may include in contact with water for certain time duration. The time duration of contact with water may range up to few days without degrading the jewelry.

The jewelry has at least three parts -a support structure that includes a metal, a ceramic, or a combination thereof, a body part that is in contact with the support structure and the edible material. In most embodiments, the edible material is embedded in the body part such that the edible material is not directly exposed to the ambience. The“support structure” as used herein is a base structure that is used to provide support or to strengthen the body part, the edible material, or both. It may be noted that the support structure need not always be essential to maintain the integrity of the body part, the edible material, or the combination per se, but may be used to hold any of these in the jewelry. In a non-limiting example, the support structure may be used to form structures such as a hook, a link, etc., that may be used only in small portions of the jewelry. The support structure may be present as a single piece in the jewelry or may be present as multiple connected or discrete parts.

In some embodiments the support structure includes a metal. The metal may be any metal that is safe for a user, solid at ambient conditions and has malleable and ductile properties that can be used for forming desired shapes and designs of a part of the jewelry. Traditionally, jewelry is associated with precious metals. The metal used in the jewelry may be a non-precious metal or a precious metal. Non-precious metals may include stainless steel, copper, brass, aluminum etc. or any combination of metals. In some specific embodiments, the jewelry disclosed herein includes at least one precious metal. The precious metal may include silver, gold, platinum, rhodium, titanium, or any combinations of any of these. In some embodiments, a combination of one or more precious metal may be used along with one or more non-precious metals, as a support structure. For example, a stainless-steel material having silver or gold patterns or coating may be used for forming the support structure. In some embodiments, the support structure may include a metal and one or more nonmetals.

A ceramic material may also be used as a support structure of the jewelry along with a metal or in the absence of a metal. Some of the materials that are aesthetically appealable and amenable for the structural use in the jewelry may be used in making the support structure. Examples of the ceramic materials that may be used in the support structure include any structural ceramic material including, but not limited to alumina, silica, granite, marble, cement, or any combinations thereof. In some embodiments, a combination of a metal and a ceramic may be used to form the support structure. For example, a design including both the metal and ceramic may be used as the support structure to enhance durability, workability, aesthetic appeal, and / or to include a preference of the user of the jewelry. In some embodiments, a metal, a ceramic material, or a combination of metal and ceramic material along with one or more nonmetal and/or non-ceramic material may be used to form the support structure, without restricting only to the above-mentioned materials. For example, any material that provides structural strength (such as, for example, wood) may be included in the support structure.

The body part that is included in the jewelry may include an organic material. The organic material may be any organic material that is durable and amenable to withstand ambient conditions. Non-limiting examples of the organic material may include a resin, a polymer, wood, or any combinations of any of these. The resin may be a natural resin or a man-made resin. The polymer may be a thermo setting or thermoplastic polymer and may be formed by starting from the monomers or by altering another polymer. Wood may include any part of the wood and may be used in its natural form or in a processed form. In the jewelry, the body part may be present in a processed or semi processed form. In a processed form, the size, shape, and design features of the body part may be set and may not be amenable to changes by a user. A semi processed form of the body part may be in a form that has a characteristic of being amenable, at least partially, for further processing to suite the desired design features, size, or shape of the jewelry as per the requirement of the user.

The body part may be present in various sizes, shapes, and designs in the jewelry. The edible material is embedded in the body part. In some embodiments, the edible material is encased in the body part. In another embodiment, the edible material is embedded in the body part and encased by the combination of the body part and the support structure. This encasing provides protection to the edible material from the environment. In some embodiments, the embedding also imparts structural stability to the edible material. In some embodiments, at least some portions of the body part are transparent or translucent such that the edible material that is embedded in the body part is at least partially visible through the body part.

Inclusion of an edible material in the jewelry unlocks a wide possibility of design variations and personal choices of the jewelry. This provides enhanced options of customization and have individual and personalized appeal. Further, stable jewelry having edible material may have decreased cost compared to the traditional jewelry. Reliable, light weight, colorful, cost effective, and customized jewelry may be produced by including edible material in the jewelry and can be used as a personal, time specific, event specific, or theme-based statement of the user. A vast range of edible materials may be used in the jewelry. The edible material may be in the form of a solid or liquid. In some embodiments, the edible material used in the jewelry is in a solid state. In some embodiments, the edible material used in the jewelry includes sugar, corn- based material, food-grade wax, artificial color, artificial flavor, or any combinations of any of these materials. Non-limiting examples of the corn-based material includes corn syrup and com starch. Any kind of sweets, deserts, savory, or any cooked or uncooked food material with or without preservatives may be used as the edible material. The edible material may be present in various sizes, shapes, and designs in the jewelry. For example, the edible material may have any particular geographical shape or combination of shapes of similar or dissimilar sizes and colors. Any writing or two-dimensional or three-dimensional art may be crafted using the edible material alone or using the edible material along with any other material or part of the jewelry. In an example embodiment, edible material sprinkles having spherical shapes are encased inside the body part of the jewelry.

One aspect of the claimed jewelry is its cost effectiveness and light weight. In some embodiments, the support structure portion of the jewelry is sufficient to reduce the cost and weight of the jewelry. The support structure portion may be used to create the aesthetic appeal and to impart structural stability and variability to the jewelry. In some embodiments, a content of the support structure in the jewelry is less than 50 volume percent of the jewelry. In some embodiments, the support structure in the jewelry is limited to less than 30 volume percent of the jewelry. In an example embodiment, less than 10 volume percent of the jewelry is made up of the support structure material.

The edible material may be present in the jewelry in any quantity. In some embodiments, the edible material may be present in small quantity as discrete particles. For example, only few particles of edible material may be artistically spaced in the body part. In some embodiment, the edible material forms a substantial part of the jewelry. In some embodiments, the amount of the edible material used is significantly more than being used merely as a coloring agent. In some embodiments, a content of the edible material is more than 1 volume percent of the jewelry. In certain embodiments, the edible material forms more than 5 volume percent of the jewelry. In a specific embodiment, a content of the edible material is more than 30 volume percent of the jewelry. In another embodiment, the content of the edible material is more than 50 volume percent of the jewelry. In general, the body part and the edible material of the jewelry have lower density compared to the materials that are included in the support structure. In some embodiments, the edible material has a lower density when compared to the density of the materials used in the body part of the jewelry. Therefore, in some embodiments, weight of the jewelry significantly reduces when the edible material part of the jewelry increases, and the resultant jewelry is lighter compared to counterpart jewelry including traditional jewelry, fine jewelry, and imitation jewelry.

In some aspects, the jewelry may include one or more members in addition to the support structure, the body part, and the edible material. In one embodiment, the jewelry includes a decorative member. Decorative member adds to decorative value of the jewelry by improving its appearance and appeal to the user.

The decorative member may be in contact with the support structure, with the organic member, with the edible material, or with two or more of the support structure, body part, and the edible material. In some embodiments, the decorative member is in contact with the body part. In a specific embodiment, the decorative member is embedded in the body part. The embedding may be a partial embedding or a full embedding leading to encasement.

The decorative member may be of any natural or man-made material. Non-limiting examples of the decorative member material include precious, semi-precious, or non-precious stones, rocks, glass, metal or non-metal decorative items, organic materials, leaves, flowers, petals and any colored or non-colored semi solids, liquids, and gases. For example, a colored liquid design or a bubble may be embedded in a resin and set to have structural stability and providing an appearance of colorful decoration to the jewelry. More than one decorative members may also be used in combination in the jewelry.

In one aspect of the disclosure, a method for making a jewelry is disclosed. The method discusses some steps of producing or crafting the jewelry. In the process of producing the jewelry a design of the jewelry may be created, may be mentally, on paper, or in an electronic media. For example, a design of the jewelry may be drawn on a paper or may be drawn using a computer-aided designing software or any other forms of drawings. In another example, the design may be conceived mentally and verbally explained to the artisan making the jewelry. The steps of the method for making the jewelry depends on the details of the design and may vary from one jewelry to another. Broadly, the method steps include processing a support material, processing a body part, affixing or attaching the body part to the support material, and embedding an edible material in the body part. As presented earlier, the steps of the method may be interchanged, repeated, or include further steps in between, depending on the design of the jewelry and ease of processing the support structure, body part, and the edible material. The support material forming the support structure may include a metal, a ceramic, or a combination of a metal and a ceramic -alone or in combination with any other materials. The body part may include an organic material, which in turn may include a resin, a polymer, wood, or any combinations thereof with or without including other materials. Processing the body part may include forming the body part itself or imparting a strength, design, shape, size, texture, or workability to any portion or whole of the body part. For example, a resin may be processed to form certain shape and to set around the edible material such that the edible material is protected from the environment. In another, non-limiting example, a polymer may be formed by processing monomers or another polymer to form or alter the body part.

Prototypes of the support structure, body part, or various sizes and shapes of the edible material may be made and tested before attempting preparation of the intended jewelry. Embedding the edible material in the body part may include encasing of the edible material by the organic material of the body part. Affixing the body part to the support structure may also include affixing a part of the body part at one instance and affixing other part or parts in a later stage. Affixing may be carried out before or after embedding the edible material and any other parts - if present, in the body part. In some embodiments, one or more molds are used for making various parts of the jewelry. The material and the method of making the molds may be specifically designed considering the size, shape, material, and the finishing of the jewelry part to be made using the molds. In some examples, prototypes of the molds may be made and tested before making the actual mold and using for making the jewelry. As disclosed above, the process steps of the method may include further steps. One such step may be affixing a decorative member to the body part. The decorative member may be affixed to other parts of the jewelry also, in addition to affixing to the body part. In some embodiments, affixing includes embedding or encasing the decorative member in the body part. Processing steps may further include other steps of making the jewelry such as, for example, polishing any portion of the jewelry during formation or after forming the jewelry, or polishing any parts separately before affixing to the jewelry that is in making. Other processing steps to impart strength, stability, size, shapes, and texture to the jewelry will occur to persons skilled in the art of making jewelry.

In some embodiments, the disclosed jewelry may be packaged in at least a primary box comprising a transparent lid operable via one or more clasps. The transparent lid of the primary box assists the user in locating the jewelry easily when stored. Further, the packaging may be designed to be sleek and ergonomically convenient to store even in the minimalistic space.

Turning now to figures, FIG.l and FIG.2 illustrate exemplary types of jewelry according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. While FIG. 1 and FIG.2 show a ring 100 and cuff links 200 respectively, it is to be noted that several different types of jewelry can be made using the components and methods of the present disclosure.

The members 105 and 205 in FIG. 1 and FIG.2 represent the support structures of the jewelry including a metal, a ceramic, or a combination thereof without or along with any other materials. In some embodiments, the support structures 105, 205 may be the substrates providing shape and strength to the entire jewelry 100, 200. In specific embodiments, the support structures 105 and 205 may include precious metals. In contrast with the prior art jewelry, the present disclosure proposes usage of only a fraction by weight of the precious metal to achieve the same shape, texture and design.

The members 110, 210 in FIG.l and FIG. 2 respectively are body parts including an organic material. As disclosed earlier in this disclosure, the organic material may include a resin, a polymer, a wood, or any combinations thereof. The resin or the polymer may be transparent or translucent at least in some portions. Non-limiting examples of the organic material may include an epoxy, a polyurethane, a polyester and the like. The organic material of the body part physically binds to the support structure 105, 205 that may be acting as the substrate. The organic material may be further processed to impart desired features to the body part. The body part provides a platform for the addition of edible material and decorative member to the jewelry. In one embodiment, the selected organic material, such as, for example, a resin, are generally non-reactive with many materials including metals, ceramics, edible materials and decorative members. As is evident, the present disclosure aims to reduce the quantity of precious metal used in conventional jewelry and instead proposes an alternative form of jewelry with reduced quantity of precious metals or using alternates to precious metals combined with organic and edible materials, thereby decreasing the weight and cost of the jewelry. Members 115, 215 are the edible materials, such as, for example, coloring agents present in the jewelry. In an example embodiment, edible sprinkles are encased in a resin to provide desired shapes and colors to add to the enhanced appearance of the jewelry 100, 200 respectively. The edible materials 115, 215 may be applied or set manually or using an automated system. The edible material 115, 215 may be embedded in the body part 110, 210 before or after the body part 110, 210 physically binds to the support structure 105, 205.

Additionally, as disclosed earlier, the jewelry 100, 200 may include one or more decorative member 120, 220, including but not limited to precious stones, semi-precious stones, substitutes, simulants and other such artefacts that are added to the jewelry for improving the decorativeness of the jewelry 100, 200. The one or more decorative members 120, 220 are added at the appropriate places identified during the designing of the jewelry using methods known in the art. Further, a micro-pave setting of diamonds or other such decorative members 220 (for example uncut, flat diamonds) may be affixed on the surface of the body parts 110, 210. For example, a faceted diamond is used in the prongs of jewelry shown in FIG. 1, and non-faceted diamond and bezel set is used in the cuff links of FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 shows a photograph of an exemplary jewelry 300 made according to some aspects of the present disclosure. The jewelry 300 is a hand bracelet. The jewelry 300 includes the support structure 305 formed of silver and the body part 310 formed of an epoxy resin. The edible material 315 is a desert in sprinkles form encased completely in the body part 310. In the FIG. 3, only a portion of the silver support structure 305 is visible. Another portion of the support structure 305 runs through the body part 310 and is covered by the edible material 315, restricting the visibility of that portion of the support structure 305. A diamond 320 is embedded in an outer surface of the body part 310 as a decorative member. In this exemplary embodiment, a content of the edible material 315 is more than 50 volume percent of the jewelry 300 and a content of the silver support structure is less than 20 volume percent of the jewelry 300.

EXAMPLE

The following example illustrates a specific method used for making a jewelry and the jewelry made by the process. The example is only for the illustration purpose and should not be read into the claims. In a first step, a detailed design of the jewelry was prepared on paper. The design included the specific sizes and shapes of the final jewelry to be made. Silver was used as the support material and an off-the-shelf transparent resin was used as the body part. Silver was processed to make the support structure. A hardener was used along with the resin for setting the resin while making the body part. Desert sprinkles having spherical ball structures were used as the edible material. A mold was formed for making body part of the jewelry. Prototypes of the edible material, resin and hardener mixes were formed and the required time duration, process parameters etc. were studied and optimized prior to making the actual j ewelry . In this example, the resin was mixed with the hardener material for about 2 minutes using a slow stirring to avoid bubble formation and reduction of visibility. The prepared resin and hardener mix was poured into the mold simultaneously carefully positioning the edible material in the resin mix encasing the edible material and creating a required design of the edible material inside the resin mix. The mold was sealed in a specific direction and the resin mix was cured. After about 72 hours of curing, the hardened resin mix including the edible material was demolded and subjected to required polishing and touch ups. Few diamonds were affixed to the body part as decorative members. The body part having the encased edible material and the embedded decorative member was attached to the support structure to complete the jewelry. A traditional jewelry made using silver material of the same size and shape was weighing about 40 grams, while the jewelry made in this example weighed approximately 7 grams, thus recording about 85 percent weight reduction in the jewelry and corresponding reduction in the cost.

The alternative jewelry and the method of manufacturing described herein is advantageous in that the cost of the jewelry as well as the cost of manufacturing is significantly reduced owing to reduced usage and wastage of precious metals. Further, embodiments of the present disclosure allows a user to choose from a variety of colors and designs since the usage of organic materials, edible materials and a vast variety of conventional and non-conventional decorative members overcomes the limitations of traditional jewelry designing that is restricted only to precious metals and certain types of stones and gems.

While specific language has been used to describe the disclosure, any limitations arising on account of the same are not intended. As would be apparent to a person skilled in the art, various working modifications may be made to the method in order to implement the inventive concept as taught herein. Further, even though the claims and description of this disclosure are drawn towards the jewelry, the application is not limited only to personal jewelry. The jewelry disclosed herein may also be used as one or more accessories or as decorative items, including, but not limited to, home and office decorative items.

The figures and the foregoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment. For example, orders of processes described herein may be changed and are not limited to the manner described herein. Moreover, the actions of any flow diagram need not be implemented in the order shown; nor do all the acts necessarily need to be performed. Also, those acts that are not dependent on other acts may be performed in parallel with the other acts. The scope of embodiments is by no means limited by these specific examples. Numerous variations, whether explicitly given in the specification or not, such as differences in structure, dimension, and use of material, are possible. The scope of embodiments is at least as broad as given by the following claims.