Holder for jewelry and adornment having the same

Abstract

A jewelry holder for holding a piece of jewelry having a tapered portion including a jewelry mount base on which the piece of jewelry is mounted, and a frame portion including plural lower frames extending from the jewelry mount base so as to surround the piece of jewelry and form a swing space in which the piece of jewelry is freely swingable, and plural upper frames joined to the lower frames. The jewelry mount base has a recess portion in which the tip portion of the tapered portion of the piece of jewelry is mounted, and the piece of jewelry is swingable in any direction in the jewelry holder with the tip portion thereof as the center of the swing motion.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a jewelry holder for holding a piece of jewelry therein so that the piece of jewelry is freely swingable, and an adornment having the jewelry holder.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] Various ring designs have been hitherto developed and proposed worldwide for jewelry, and they have fascinated human beings with glorious glitter of jewels mounted thereon. For example, a jewel-fixed type of ring is known as a general one of these ring designs. In this type of ring design, a cut jewel such as a brilliant cut jewel or the like is fixedly set on the collet of a ring by keeping a crown of the jewel to engage with a daw section integrally formed on the collet. In order to enjoy glitter of the jewel itself, a user flutters his/her finger around which the ring is put.

[0005] In order to further enhance the glitter of a jewel on a ring, a ring having a jewel holder in which a jewel or the like is movably mounted has been proposed (for example, Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3076475 registered on Jan. 17, 2001). The holder comprises a jewel mount portion which is directly joined to a ring and in which a jewel is mounted, and a lid portion covered on the jewel mount portion. The jewel mount portion is designed substantially in an upwardly-opened bowl-like (cup-like) shape so as to be slightly larger in diameter than the jewel, and the lid portion has design holes formed therein. The jewel is mounted in the jewel mount portion so that it can make a minute motion in the jewel mount portion. This minute motion makes the glitter of the jewel more glorious, and thus a user can enjoy unique and glorious glitter of the jewel by slightly fluttering his/her finger around which the ring is put.

[0006] According to the ring thus constructed, the culet of a cut jewel is mounted on the bottom portion of the jewel mount portion, and the jewel makes a minute motion while the crown of the jewel abuts against the peripheral edges of the design holes of the lid portion or the inner peripheral surface of the lid portion. Therefore, the minute motion of the jewel is greatly effected by the dimensional relationship between the jewel and the jewel holder. The minute motion of the jewel has a great effect on the glitter of the jewel itself as described above, and thus it is necessary to manage (adjust) the dimensional relationship between the jewel and the jewel holder so that the glitter of the jewel is not disturbed by the abutting between the jewel and the inner surface of the jewel holder (i.e., the inner surface of the jewel mount portion and the inner surface of the lid portion).

[0007] With respect to the dimension (size) of each jewel, there are various types of jewels which are different in size from one another, that is, it is impossible to adjust the size of the jewel itself (i.e., it is impossible to equalize the dimension among jewels). Accordingly, in order to keep the excellent dimensional relationship between the jewel and the jewel holder, it is necessary to manage (adjust) the dimension of the jewel holder itself, particularly, the depth (height) dimension of the jewel holder in the manufacturing process of the jewel holder.

[0008] In order to adjust the dimension of the jewel holder (i.e., the depth (height) dimension of the jewel holder) with high precision, it is necessary to manually adjust the height of the jewel mount portion by filing the overall peripheral edge portion of the cup-shaped jewel mount portion or the like. Therefore, the adjustment work of the dimension of the jewel holder requires a lot of skill, and also it is difficult to carry out the adjustment work itself, so that it takes much time to complete the adjustment work and the manufacturing cost rises up.

[0009] Further, in the publication of the Japanese Utility Model Registration described above, a circular groove in which the culet of a jewel is fitted is formed in the bottom portion of the jewel mount portion so that the jewel is movably mounted therein, the processing of the circular groove also needs a lot of skill, and the processing work itself is difficult, so that the processing cost rises up more and more. In addition, in the jewel holder described above, the cut jewel must be mounted in the jewel mount portion so that the culet of the jewel abuts against the bottom portion (circular groove) and the crown of the jewel is brought into smooth contact with the inner surface of the lid portion without disturbing the minute motion of the jewel. Therefore, it is difficult to positionally settle the culet of the jewel so that the abutting of the crown of the jewel against the inner surface of the jewel holder does not disturb the minute motion of the jewel, and thus if the positioning of the culet of the jewel in the circular groove (i.e., the processing of the groove) is displaced even slightly, the minute motion of the jewel would become unstable, so that the glitter of the jewel is less glorious.

[0010] Still further, in the jewel holder described above, the jewel mount portion itself is formed of metal, and thus at least a lower half portion of the jewel itself is hidden by the jewel mount portion, so that the user cannot enjoy the glitter of the overall body of the jewel held in the jewel holder.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a jewelry holder which enables a piece(s) of jewelry to make a stable minute motion such as a swing motion, a precession or the like and enhance the exposure (revealing) degree of the piece(s) of jewelry through the jewelry holder with a simple construction, and also can be more easily manufactured.

[0012] According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a jewelry holder for holding a piece of jewelry having a tapered portion, characterized by comprising: a jewelry mount base on which the piece of jewelry is mounted; and a frame portion which extends from the jewelry mount base so as to surround the piece of jewelry and form a swing space in which the piece of jewelry is freely swingable, wherein the jewelry mount base has a recess portion in which the tip portion of the tapered portion of the piece of jewelry is mounted, the piece of jewelry being swingable in any direction with the tip portion thereof as the center of the swing motion.

[0013] In the jewelry holder described above, the piece of jewelry has a pavilion, and the piece of jewelry makes the swing motion while the tip portion of the pavilion abuts against the bottom portion of said recess portion and a part of the tapered portion abuts against the peripheral edge of the recess portion.

[0014] In the jewelry holder described above, the piece of jewelry has a culet, and the piece of jewelry makes the swing motion while the culet of the piece of jewelry abuts against the bottom portion of the recess portion.

[0015] In the jewelry holder described above, the frame portion comprises plural lower frames which are linked to the jewelry mount base and extend upwardly, and at least one upper frame linked to one ends of the lower frames so as to cover the piece of jewelry.

[0016] In the jewelry holder described above, the outline shape of the upper frame is a polygonal shape such as a triangular shape, a rectangular shape, a pentagonal shape, a hexagonal shape or the like.

[0017] In the jewelry holder described above, a reception groove for receiving the tip portion of the piece of jewelry is formed in the bottom portion of the recess portion.

[0018] In the jewelry holder described above, the piece of jewelry has a pavilion and a culet, and the piece of jewelry makes the swing motion while the culet of the piece of jewelry abuts against the reception groove of the bottom portion of the recess portion.

[0019] In the jewelry holder described above, the jewelry mount base and the frame portion are formed integrally with each other.

[0020] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an adornment at least one piece of jewelry having a tapered portion, characterized by including: at least one jewelry holder having a jewelry mount base on which the piece of jewelry is mounted, and a frame portion which extends from the jewelry mount base so as to surround the piece of jewelry and form a swing space in which the piece of jewelry is freely swingable; and at least one adornment supporter which is fixed to the jewelry holder to support the jewelry holder, wherein the jewelry mount base has a recess portion in which the tip portion of the tapered portion of the piece of jewelry is mounted, the piece of jewelry being swingable in any direction with the tip portion thereof as the center of the swing motion.

[0021] In the adornment described above, the adornment is one selected from the group consisting of a necklace, a pendant, a pierced earring, an earring, a bracelet, a broach, a pin broach, a hatpin, a locket, a ring, a scarf pin, a tie tack, a cuff button, a badge, a buckle, an anklet, a hair comb, and a hairpin.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] FIG. 1 is a front view showing an adornment using a jewelry holder according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the adornment shown in FIG. 1;

[0024] FIGS. 3A to 3C are cross-sectional views showing an example of a jewelry mount base (pedestal) of the jewelry holder of FIGS. 1 and 2 on which a piece of jewelry is mounted, which is taken along one-dotted chain line A-A, wherein FIG. 3A shows a case where the piece of jewelry stands vertically in the jewelry holder, FIG. 3B shows a case where the piece of jewelry swings leftwardly, and FIG. 3C shows a case where the piece of jewelry swings rightwardly;

[0025] FIGS. 4A to 4C are cross-sectional views showing another example of the jewelry mount base (pedestal) of the jewelry holder of FIGS. 1 and 2 on which a piece of jewelry is mounted, which is taken along one-dotted chain line A-A, wherein FIG. 4A shows a case where the piece of jewelry stands vertically in the jewelry holder, FIG. 4B shows a case where the piece of jewelry swings leftwardly, and FIG. 4C shows a case where the piece of jewelry swings rightwardly;

[0026] FIG. 5 is a front view showing another embodiment of the adornment according to the present invention;

[0027] FIG. 6 is a front view showing another embodiment of the adornment according to the present invention;

[0028] FIG. 7 is a front view showing another embodiment of the adornment according to the present invention;

[0029] FIG. 8 is a front view showing another embodiment of the adornment according to the present invention;

[0030] FIG. 9 is a front view showing another embodiment of the adornment according to the present invention;

[0031] FIG. 10 is a front view showing another embodiment of the adornment according to the present invention;

[0032] FIGS. 11A and 11B are plan and front views showing another embodiment of the adornment according to the present invention respectively; and

[0033] FIG. 12 is a front view showing another embodiment of the adornment according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0034] Preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be described hereunder with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0035] In this specification, the term of “jewelry” is used in such a broader sense as to contain all the adorning (decorative) materials for adornments. For example, it covers not only gems (jewels) such as diamond, emerald, sapphire, ruby, semiprecious stone, green jadeite, etc., but also other adorning materials such as agate, crystalline quartz, coral, imitation jewels, synthetic jewels, glass pieces (for example, glass beads), etc. However, it is preferable to use transparent or semi-transparent materials as jewelry from the viewpoint of adornment. Further, the term of “adornment” is also used in such a broader sense as to contain all the adorning or decorative materials to make someone or something more beautiful, attractive or interesting. For example, it contains necklaces, pendants, pierced earrings, earrings, bracelets, broaches (containing pin broaches, hatpins, etc.), lockets, rings, scarf pins, tie tacks, cuff buttons, badges, buckles, anklets, hair combs, hairpins, straps, belts, etc.

[0036] FIG. 1 is a front view showing an adornment using a jewelry holder according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of the adornment shown in FIG. 1.

[0037] The embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is particularly directed to a case where the present invention is applied to a ring, and a diamond is used as a piece of jewelry. However, it is needless to say that the adornment and the jewelry to which the present invention is applied are not limited to a ring and a diamond.

[0038] In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 represents a ring (adornment). The ring 1 comprises a ring portion 2 and a jewelry holder (serving as a setting) 3 which is fixed to the ring 2 by brazing. The jewelry holder 3 of this embodiment serves as a main part of the present invention, and it functions to hold a piece of jewelry (for example, diamond) therein so that the piece of jewelry can make a minute motion such as a swinging motion, a precession movement or the like. In this case, the swinging motion is not limited to that in one direction (on one plane), and it may be made in any direction while varying its swinging direction. That is, the piece of jewelry held in the jewelry holder may be freely swung in any direction with the culet (tip) of the piece of jewelry as the center point of the swing motion.

[0039] Here, it is assumed that the diamond 4 is a brilliant cut diamond having 58 facets, for example, and it has a culet 4A, a pavilion 4B, a girdle 4C, a crown 4D, a table 4E, etc.

[0040] According to this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the jewelry holder (setting) 3 comprises a jewelry mount base 5 on which the diamond 4 makes a minute motion (particularly, a swing motion), and plural frames 7 which extend from the jewelry mount base 5 upwardly and surround the diamond 4 so as to define a swing space for the diamond 4 between each frame 7 and the diamond 4. The frames 7 are grouped into a lower frame group containing lower frames 7A which are joined to the jewelry mount base 5 at one ends thereof and extend upwardly, and an upper frame group containing upper frames 7B each of which is bridged between the neighboring lower frames 7B and joined to both the upper ends of the lower frames 7B at both the ends thereof.

[0041] In this specification, the term “frame” is used in a broader sense to contain a slender plate, a pole, a wire, a pillar, a post and other elongated members which have suitable mechanical strength.

[0042] FIGS. 3A to 3C are cross-sectional views of the jewelry holder 3 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, which is taken along one-dotted chain line A-A of FIG. 2. Specifically, FIG. 3A shows a case where a piece of jewelry held in the jewelry older stands vertically in the jewelry holder, FIG. 3B shows a case where the piece of jewelry swings leftwardly, and FIG. 3C shows a case where the piece of jewelry swings rightwardly.

[0043] The jewelry mount base 5 is designed to be compact to the extent that the culet 4A of the diamond 4 and a portion of the pavilion 4B in the neighborhood of the culet 4A can be supported. The jewelry mount base 5 has a further compact recess portion 11. The culet 4A of the diamond 4 abuts against the bottom portion 11A of the recess portion 11 at a contact point P1. Further, when the diamond 4 makes a minute motion (for example, a swing motion), an downwardly-inclined site (ridgeline) of the pavilion 4B of the diamond 4 leans on the peripheral edge 11B of the recess portion 11 (at a contact point P2 for the leftward swing motion in FIG. 3B or at a contact point P3 for the rightward swing motion in FIG. 3C).

[0044] The contact between the peripheral edge 11B of the recess portion 11 and the downwardly-inclined site of the pavilion 4B which is located in the neighborhood of the culet 4A is needed to make the swing motion of the jewelry smoother, and thus the recess portion 11 is designed in shape and dimension so that the swing motion of the jewelry is made smoother. Further, the distance between the contact point P1 of the culet 4A and each of the contact points P2 and P3 of the pavilion 4B (i.e., the downwardly-inclined site of the pavilion 4B) is set to a short distance in order to make the swing motion of the jewelry smoother.

[0045] In the above case, it is needless to say that the swing direction of the diamond 4 is not limited to one direction, that is, the diamond 4 is swung in any direction in the jewelry holder. When the diamond 4 makes another minute motion, for example, makes a precession movement, the diamond 4 makes a rotational motion around the culet 4A while the downwardly-inclined site of the pavilion 4B of the diamond 4 leans on and slides along the peripheral edge 11B of the recess portion 11 (hereinafter, the downwardly-inclined site of the pavilion which is brought into contact with the peripheral edge of the recess portion 11 will be referred to as “contact site”). In this case, the contact between the peripheral edge 11B of the recess portion 11 and the contact site of the pavilion 4B makes the swing motion of the jewelry smoother.

[0046] In FIGS. 3A to 3C, a one-dotted line OP1 represents the center line of the minute motion (swing motion or the like) of the jewelry. The diamond 4 makes the swing motion symmetrically in the right-and-left direction (FIGS. 3A to 3C) with respect to the center line OP1.

[0047] The shape of the tip portion of the diamond 4 which extends from the culet 4A to the contact site of the pavilion 4B is expected to be generally substantially coincident between various types of cut diamonds although they are different in size from one another because the recess portion 11 is designed so that the contact site of the pavilion 4B is located in the neighborhood of the culet 4A and thus the distance between the contact site and the culet is short.

[0048] According to this embodiment, the recess portion 11 is designed so that the tip portion extending from the culet 4A to the contact site of the pavilion 4B located in the neighborhood of the culet 4A (which can be expected to be substantially coincident among various pieces of jewelry each having pavilion) is held in the small recess portion 11 of the jewelry mount base 5. Accordingly, by determining the shape of the small recess portion 11, the contact points P1 to P3 (or the point P1 and the peripheral edge of the recess portion along which the piece of jewelry swings) can be accurately settled. Therefore, by mounting the tip portion of the diamond 4 in the recess portion 11, the diamond 4 can make a more stable minute motion such as a swing motion, a precession movement or the like.

[0049] That is, according to the structure of the jewelry holder of this embodiment, the recess portion 11 of the jewelry mount base 5 may be designed to be small in size to the extent that the processing precision can be neglected, and thus it is little affected by the processing precision. Therefore, the jewelry mount base 5 can be mass-produced, and the diamond 4 can be stably swung by merely mounting the culet 4A of the diamond 4 in the recess portion 11 of each jewelry mount base 5 thus mass-produced.

[0050] Further, according to this embodiment, the jewelry holder is constructed by plural frames, and a piece of jewelry is freely movably (swingably) held in the space defined by these frames as if a bird moves in a cage. As compared with the bowl-like jewel mount portion described above, the adjustment of the depth (height) dimension of the jewelry holder in the manufacturing process can be more easily performed because it is sufficient to merely adjust the length of each frame.

[0051] Accordingly, the jewelry mount bases 5 having the same shape are manufactured, and pieces of jewelry such as diamonds or the like are mounted on the jewelry mount bases 5 thus mass-produced, whereby each of the pieces of jewelry can surely make a stable minute motion such as a swing motion, a procession movement or the like. Accordingly, the jewelry holder of this embodiment can be easily manufactured with no processing skill and in low cost unlike the bowl-like (cup-shaped) jewel holder as described above.

[0052] According to this embodiment, the ring 1 having the jewelry holder as described above can be easily manufactured as follows.

[0053] First, the jewelry mount base 5 and the lower frames 7A are formed with each other by press molding. Thereafter, the diamond 4 is mounted in the space defined by the jewelry mount base 5 and the lower frames 7A while the culet 4A of the diamond 4 is mounted in the recess portion 11, and then the respective ends of the upper frames 7B are fixed to the upper ends of the lower frames 7A by brazing, thereby manufacturing the jewelry holder 3. Finally, the jewelry holder 3 thus manufactured is fixed to a ring portion 2 by brazing, thereby completing the manufacturing of the ring 1. In this process, the recess portion 11 may be simultaneously formed in the jewelry mount base 5 in the press molding step for the jewelry mount base 5 and the lower frames 7A, or it may be formed after the press molding step.

[0054] Here, in the step of fixing the upper frames 7B to the lower frames 7A, the lower frames 7B may be fixed to the lower frames 7B one by one by brazing. Alternatively, before the upper frames 7B are fixed to the lower frames 7A, the upper frames 7B may be fixedly assembled into one body having such a cross-shape as shown in FIG. 2 in advance by brazing or the like, and then fixed to the lower frames 7A by brazing. Further, the upper frames 7B and 7A may be formed of the same material or different materials. The constituent material of the upper and lower frames is not limited to a specific material, however, it is preferable that they are formed of metal material such as platinum, gold, silver or the like, ceramic material, metal alloy, glass, synthetic material such as plastic or the like. The jewelry mount base 5 may be formed of the same materials as the upper and lower frames.

[0055] According to this embodiment, the culet 4A of the diamond 4 and the pavilion portion in the neighborhood of the culet 4A (i.e., the tip portion of the jewelry) are hidden in the recess portion 11 of the jewelry mount base 5 from the external view. However, the other overall portion containing the other pavilion site, the girdle site, the crown site and the table site can be exposed to the external view except that they are partially hidden by the upper and lower frames 7. That is, this embodiment uses a so-called cage (frame) structure, and thus the exposure degree of a piece of jewelry (or example, diamond) is more remarkably increased as compared with the cup-shaped type jewel holder as described above.

[0056] In order to increase the exposure degree of the jewelry more and more, the frames 7 may be designed to be still smaller in width and still smaller in number of frames. However, the smaller the width of the frames is (the smaller the number of the frames is), the mechanical strength of the jewelry holder itself is weaker. Therefore, the width of each frame and the number of frames may be suitably determined in accordance with the relationship of the design of the ring 1, the strength required for the frames 7A and 7B, etc.

[0057] Accordingly, the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3C uses four upper frames 7B and four lower frames 7A, however, it is needless to say that the number of the upper (lower) frames are not limited to these values.

[0058] FIGS. 4A to 4C are cross-sectional views showing another embodiment of the jewel holder shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C, and they corresponds to FIGS. 3A to 3C, respectively. The same or corresponding constituent elements as or to those of FIGS. 3A to 3C are represented by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

[0059] According to the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C, a reception groove 11C in which the culet 4A of the diamond 4 is stably mounted is formed in the bottom portion 11A of the recess portion 11 of the jewel mount base 5. In the first embodiment, the diamond 4 makes a minute motion such as a swing motion or the like in the recess portion 11 while the culet 4A of the diamond 4 merely abuts against the bottom portion 11A of the recess portion 11. Therefore, the position of the culet 4A of the diamond 4 is not necessarily settled to a specific one during the minute motion of the diamond 4, so that there may occur such a case that the diamond 4 does not necessarily make a stable minute motion. In order to enable a piece of jewelry such as a diamond or the like to make a more stable minute motion, the reception groove 11C for the culet of the jewelry (for example, diamond) is formed in the bottom portion 11A of the recess portion 11. With formation of the reception groove 11C, the position of the culet 4A is settled to the reception groove 11C, and thus the jewelry (diamond 4) can be make a more stable minute motion such as a swing motion or the like.

[0060] The jewelry holder according to the present invention can be applied to various types of adornments such as decorative articles, jewelry accessories, ornaments, etc. Some jewelry accessories of these adornments to which the present invention is applied are shown in FIGS. 5 to 12, however, it is needless to say that the objects to which the present invention is applied are not limited to these jewelry accessories.

[0061] FIG. 5 shows a pendant to which the jewelry holder of the present invention is applied, FIG. 6 shows a petty necklace to which the jewelry holder of the present invention is applied, FIG. 7 shows a pierced earring to which the jewelry holder of the present invention is applied, FIG. 8 shows an earring to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 9 shows a broach to which the jewelry holder of the present invention is applied, FIG. 10 is a tie tack or scarf pin to which the present invention is applied, FIGS. 11A and 11B are front and side views of a cuff link (bottom) to which the jewelry holder of the present invention is applied, and FIG. 12 shows a bracelet, necklace or anklet to which the jewelry holder of the present invention is applied. In FIG. 12, plural jewelry holders 3 are linked to one another by a chain.

[0062] In the jewelry accessories shown in FIGS. 5 to 12, the front face of each piece of jewelry (for example, the table 4E of the diamond 4) in each jewelry accessory faces forwardly (i.e., the center line OP1 of the minute motion (swing motion) is substantially vertical to the gravitational direction) when a user wears each jewelry accessory, and thus the minute motion (swing motion) is unstable, so that the enhancement effect of the glitter of the jewelry by the minute motion (swinging motion) is not excellent. Accordingly, the jewelry accessories of FIGS. 5 to 12 may be modified so that the front face of each piece of jewelry (for example, the table and crown of the diamond) in each jewelry accessory faces upwardly (i.e., the center line OP1 of the minute motion (swing motion) is substantially parallel to the gravitational direction) when a user wears each jewelry accessory and thus the minute motion (swing motion) is more stable, so that the enhancement effect of the glitter of the jewelry by the minute motion (swing motion) is excellent as in the case of the ring 1 shown in FIG. 1.

[0063] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications may be made.

[0064] That is, the above embodiments are described by using a brilliant cut diamond as a piece of jewelry. However, the piece of jewelry of the present invention is not limited to a brilliant cut diamond, and it may be a piece of jewelry having a culet and a pavilion such as a round cut type (containing a brilliant cut type of 82 facets, 144 facets or the like), a princess cut type, an old European cut type, a single cut type, a zircon cut type, a heat cut type, a radiant cut type, an oval cut type, a pear cut type or the like.

[0065] Further, in the above-described embodiments, a piece of jewelry to be mounted in the jewelry holder has a pavilion and a culet which is formed at the tip portion of the pavilion (it corresponds to the apex portion of the ridge line of the pavilion when the jewelry is viewed from the side direction). However, the present invention may be applied to other pieces of jewelry which are originally cut to have no culet such as a marquise cut type or an emerald cut type, or are cut to have no culet although it may be cut to have a culet such as an oval cut type or a pear-shape cut type. With respect to these types of jewelry, each jewelry may be mounted in the jewelry holder so that the tip portion of the pavilion itself abuts against the bottom portion (or the reception groove formed in the bottom portion) of the recess portion in place of the culet (to be formed at the tip portion of the pavilion). Further, the present invention may be applied to pieces of jewelry each of which has a tapered portion. In this case, the recess portion is designed so that the tip portion of the tapered portion of the jewelry can be mounted in the recess portion and the minute motion can be smoothly made.

[0066] As described above, the present invention is applicable to the adornments containing the jewelry accessories, decorative articles, etc. In the present invention, the term “adornment” may further contain a watch (clock) having a jewelry holder(s) holding a piece(s) of jewelry therein which is(are) secured to a case or band, glasses having a jewelry holder(s) holding a piece(s) of jewelry which is(are) secured to the frame portion thereof, or a writing material such as a pen, a pencil, a fountain pen or the like which has a jewelry holder(s) holding a piece(s) of jewelry therein which is(are) secured to (the tip or peripheral surface of) the cap portion or the pocket clip portion thereof

[0067] Further, in the above-described embodiments shown in FIGS. 2, 5 to 12, the upper frames are arranged to be substantially rectangular (cross) in shape when viewed from the upper side of the table 4E, however, the arrangement of the upper frames is not limited to this shape. For example, they may be arranged substantially in a polygonal shape such as a triangular shape, a hexagonal shape or the like, in a circular shape, in the shape of a three-leaf or four-leaf clover or in a heat-like shape.

[0068] Still further, in the above-described embodiments, the upper frames 7B and the lower frames 7A are shaped as if they are paired with each other. However, the upper frames 7B may be arranged so that the shape of the upper frames 7B thus arranged when viewed from the upper side of the table 4E of the jewelry 4 is circular, or the upper frames 7B may be replaced by an annular (ring-shaped) frame. In this case, the upper frames (annular frame) 7B may be supported at four points by the lower frames 7A. Here, the upper frames serve as a lid portion which is disposed to cover the upper portion of a piece of jewelry and thus prevent the piece of jewelry from falling off the jewelry holder. Therefore, particularly when an annular upper frame (an upper-frame assembly having an annular shape) is used, the diameter of the annular shape must be smaller than the girdle diameter of the diamond or the like. In this case, the annular upper-frame and each of the ends of the lower frames are joined to each other by a bridge frame or the like

[0069] Still further, in the above embodiments, the upper frames 7B are fixed to the lower frames 7A by brazing. However, the parts of the upper and lower frames 7B and 7A may be provided with engagement structures, so that these frames are fixed to each other through the engagement of these engagement structures to thereby form the frame 7. In this case, the engagement structure may be designed so that each upper frame and each lower frame may be detachably engaged with each other. Accordingly, a user can freely exchange a piece of jewelry with another one.

[0070] In the present invention, the shape of each of the recess portion 11 and the reception groove 11C is not limited to a specific one, and any shape may be adopted insofar as the mount of the culet in the recess portion 11 or the reception groove 11C does not disturb the smooth minute motion (swing motion) of the jewelry. For example, a cylindrical shape, a block-like shape (square or rectangular shape in section) or a semi-spherical shape may be used.

[0071] As described above, according to the present invention, the minute motion (swing motion, precession or the like) of the jewelry can be stabilized with a simple construction, the exposure degree of the jewelry can be enhanced, the manufacturing process can be more easily performed, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Claims

1. A jewelry holder for holding a piece of jewelry having a tapered portion, characterized by comprising:

a jewelry mount base on which the piece of jewelry is mounted; and

a frame portion having plural frames which extend from said jewelry mount base so as to surround the piece of jewelry and form a swing space in which the piece of jewelry is freely swingable, wherein said jewelry mount base has a recess portion in which the tip portion of the tapered portion of the piece of jewelry is mounted, and the piece of jewelry is swingable in any direction with the tip portion thereof as the center of the swing motion.

2. The jewelry holder as claimed in claim 1, wherein the piece of jewelry has a pavilion, and said recess portion is designed so that the piece of jewelry makes the swing motion while the tip portion of the pavilion abuts against the bottom portion of said recess portion and a part of the tapered portion abuts against the peripheral edge of said recess portion.

3. The jewelry holder as claimed in claim 2, wherein the piece of jewelry has a culet, and the piece of jewelry makes the swing motion while the culet of the piece of jewelry abuts against the bottom portion of the said recess portion.

4. The jewelry holder as claimed in claim 1, wherein said frame portion comprises plural lower frames which are linked to said jewelry mount base and extend upwardly, and at least one upper frame linked to one ends of said lower frames so as to cover said piece of jewelry.

5. The jewelry holder as claimed in claim 4, wherein the outline shape of said upper frame is a polygonal shape.

6. The jewelry holder as claimed in claim 1, wherein a reception groove for receiving the tip portion of the piece of jewelry is formed in the bottom portion of said recess portion.

7. The jewelry holder as claimed in claim 6, wherein the piece of jewelry has a pavilion and a culet, and the piece of jewelry makes the swing motion while the culet of the piece of jewelry abuts against said reception groove of the bottom portion of the said recess portion.

8. The jewelry holder as claimed in claim 1, wherein said jewelry mount base and said frame portion are formed integrally with each other.

9. An adornment having at least one piece of jewelry having a tapered portion, characterized by comprising:

at least one jewelry holder having a jewelry mount base on which the piece of jewelry is mounted, and a frame portion comprising plural frames which extend from said jewelry mount base so as to surround the piece of jewelry and form a swing space in which the piece of jewelry is freely swingable; and

at least one adornment supporter which is fixed to said jewelry holder to support said jewelry holder, wherein said jewelry mount base has a recess portion in which the tip portion of the tapered portion of the piece of jewelry is mounted, the piece of jewelry being swingable in any direction with the tip portion thereof as the center of the swing motion.

10. The adornment as claimed in claim 9, wherein said adornment is one selected from the group consisting of a necklace, a pendant, a pierced earring, an earring, a bracelet, a broach, a pin broach, a hatpin, a locket, a ring, a scarf pin, a tie tack, a cuff button, a badge, a buckle, an anklet, a hair comb, and a hairpin.