Special receptacle or package – Convertible to or from display configuration – With cover convertible to display card
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-11
2002-03-05
Gehman, Bryon P. (Department: 3728)
Special receptacle or package
Convertible to or from display configuration
With cover convertible to display card
C206S006100, C206S566000, C206S768000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06352151
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates to jewelry boxes and, more particularly, to a jewelry box having an attached segmented lid member which is both easily hidden from view and suitable for use as part of a display.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Jewelry has long been a traditional gift, particularly within the family or between those, while not members of the immediate family, who share a significant personal relationship. For example, wedding and engagement rings are oftentimes highly prized family possessions. Typically, an item of jewelry includes one or more jewels, for example, diamonds, sapphires, emeralds or the like, mounted in a setting formed of a precious metal such as gold or silver. Depending on the type, size and quality of the jewels used, the cost of a jewelry item may range from hundreds to thousands of dollars.
Simply put, the jewelry box is a container used to hold an article of jewelry which typically includes a precious gemstone. When purchased, the precious gemstone-type article of jewelry is placed in a jewelry box for storage, transport and, if purchased as a gift, presentation to the ultimate recipient. The most common jewelry box includes a body member having a slot or other aperture for receiving the precious gemstone-type article of jewelry and a lid member, pivotably hinged to the body member and movable between a closed position in which the precious gemstone-type article of jewelry is protectively covered by the lid member and an open position in which the precious gemstone-type article of jewelry is readily accessible. In the open position, the lid member is typically generally orthogonal to the body member and cannot be pivoted further without damaging the hinge mounting the lid member to the hinge member. One such jewelry box may be seen by reference to U.S. Pat. No. 3,930,576 to Stephens.
Like many other jewelry box designers, Stephens further contemplates that the disclosed jewelry box may also be used for displaying a diamond ring or other item of jewelry. When used for display purposes, the jewelry box disclosed in Sanders would be placed on a counter, shelf or other display structure with the lid member pivoted into the open position to reveal the diamond ring or other item of jewelry. Other hinged boxes used to display jewelry or other items are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,043,450 to Rielly, 5,547,072 to Kaiser and Des. 385,781 to Levine et al.
Of the various gemstones used in precious gemstone-type articles of jewelry, the most popular is the diamond. Diamonds are measured in carats. While diamonds having a wide variety of carat weights are commercially available, diamonds which weigh a full carat or a simple fraction thereof, typically, ¼, ½ or ¾ carat tend to be more popular with consumers. For example, an “irregular” weight diamond, for example, a 0.60 carat diamond, is often harder to sell than a “regular” weight diamond, for example, a ½ carat diamond of equal quality. In an attempt to increase the popularity of irregular weight diamonds, many such diamonds now come with a “Certificate of Authenticity” issued by a gemological institute, such as the International Gemological Institute (or “IGI”) or the Gemological Institute of America (or “GIA”). The Certificate of Authenticity often includes a description of the diamond ring or other jewelry item which includes one or more of the diamond's carat weight, estimated retail replacement value and a photograph of the diamond ring or other jewelry item itself. While receiving such a certificate with each diamond ring or other jewelry item purchased has considerable appeal to consumers, some complications have arisen in this practice.
One such complication relates to how the certificate should be provided to the purchaser. The various authenticating institutions have standardized the certificates to have a length of approximately 3⅜ inches and a height of approximately 2⅛ inches. The certificates are formed of a flexible plastic material that resists folding. While the dimensions of jewelry boxes have never been standardized, a common set of dimensions for a jewelry box designed to hold a diamond ring are approximately 2⅛ inches by 1⅞ inches. Since the certificate is larger than a typical jewelry box and cannot be folded, most certificates are provided to the consumer in a separate envelope. However, diamond rings and other jewelry items may spend several months “on-the-shelf” with hundreds of other jewelry items before being sold. Maintaining the certificate for each of the jewelry items in a common file quickly becomes a time-intensive task. If, however, considerable time is not spent to keep the certificates in order, locating a specific certificate could take hours. Further complicating the task is that, unlike most other consumer goods, jewelry items are rarely marked with the name of the manufacture or a model or serial number. Thus, designing a filing system for the jewelry items which will enable any specified certificate to be readily located remains a difficult task.
The easiest solution has been to place the envelope containing the certificate describing a jewelry item under the jewelry box which holds the jewelry item being displayed. However, this solution has its own drawbacks. While the retailer can easily locate the certificate related to a specific item of jewelry, the certificate may easily be lost or otherwise disassociated from the diamond ring or other item of jewelry, particularly after a number of years have elapsed since the retail store initially took possession of the certificate. Furthermore, while being displayed, the placement of an envelope under the jewelry box for each item of jewelry offered for sale detracts tremendously from the otherwise elegant display case that typically holds such items when offered for sale.
Another solution has been to enlarge the jewelry box such that the certificate may be mounted in a lid member thereof. Rather than being hinged to the body member, for such jewelry boxes, the lid member is attached to the body member by a pair of arms, each of which is fixedly secured, on opposite ends thereof, to the body and lid members, respectively. To enhance the display of a diamond ring or other item of jewelry placed in the jewelry box, the arms are rotatable on both ends, thereby enabling the lid member to be opened and then pivoted underneath the body member into a display position. However, a drawback to such jewelry boxes is that the lid member tends to raise the body member an inch or so above the display surface, a feature that again tends to distract from the item of jewelry being displayed in the jewelry box. Thus, while functional, these rather cumbersome jewelry boxes are particularly inelegant. Furthermore, the certificate is not visible to the retail customer and, as a result, does not serve its intended function, that of contributing to the sale of the associated merchandise.
Finally, while not directed to jewelry boxes for simultaneously storing and/or displaying diamond rings or other items of jewelry and carrying a certificate of authenticity, the art has disclosed a variety of display cases having a lid member mounted to a body member thereof. U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,259 to Beaulieu discloses a portable display case formed in three sections and including hinging strips interconnecting the respective sections. Similar teachings may be found by reference to U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,120,394 to Soltes and 5,069,332 to Williams et al. In U.S. Pat. Nos. Des. 275,530 and Des. 395,755, the respective interconnecting strips appear to sit across a rear side wall of the body member when the jewelry container and cosmetic case, respectively, are closed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, the object of this invention to provide a jewelry box configured to carry a certificate of authenticity while enhancing the display of an item of jewelry carried thereby by enabling an attached segmented lid member thereof to selectively be hidden from view or incorporated into the display of
Gehman Bryon P.
Haynes and Boone LLP
Spirit International, Inc.
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