US20210401128A1

US20210401128A1 - Jewelry to journal pregnancy

Info

Publication number: US20210401128A1
Application number: US17/349,670
Authority: US
Inventors: Nancy Ann Phillips
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2020-06-26
Filing date: 2021-06-16
Publication date: 2021-12-30

Abstract

Jewelry and associated commemorative charm(s) are disclosed. Certain embodiments concern a bracelet or necklace configured to receive monthly charms to commemorate each month of a human pregnancy. The charms may be added serially to the bracelet or necklace with exemplary charms including an infinity symbol, a baby symbol, a red heart, a pearl, citrine, baby footprints, a pregnant woman silhouette, a starburst, a book titled “Baby Names,” a circle within a circle, and a heart with “Mom” engraved thereon. Jewelry kits comprising a jewelry box configured to receive a bracelet and/or necklace and plural commemorative charms also are disclosed. The kit may optionally include a journal and/or written information concerning each charm.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of the earlier filing date of U.S. provisional application No. 63/044,636, filed on Jun. 26, 2020, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

The present invention concerns jewelry for recording milestone events, such as a bracelet or necklace configured to receive commemorative charms that are added periodically to the jewelry to commemorate an event, such as the course of a pregnancy where each charm represents a monthly pregnancy milestone or commemorates each month of a human pregnancy experience.

BACKGROUND

Parents-to-be are on the brink of a remarkable, life-changing experience. The time from conception to delivery can seem very long. But no single life event is so permanent and transformative and so filled with emotional and physical changes and challenges.
Unfortunately, there are no suitable products available that can be customized to commemorate each woman's individual pregnancy experience.

SUMMARY

Certain disclosed embodiments concern pregnancy journey jewelry, such as a pregnancy journey bracelet, to help celebrate chosen milestones throughout pregnancy. Disclosed embodiments may include both passive aspects—certain charms for adding to the jewelry, for example—and an active aspect, such as an accompanying journal. This increases not only awareness of the importance of each stage of development, but also adds whimsy and introspection, enhancing the understanding and joy of the journey. Adding charms individually recognizes the importance of every month of pregnancy, and helps add anticipation for each subsequent step. An optional accompanying journal can explain each charm and allows, if so desired, a place to record details and emotions of the moment.
Accordingly, the present disclosure describes jewelry and associated charms and journal for commemorating each individual's pregnancy journey. One disclosed embodiment concerns a bracelet or necklace, typically a bracelet, configured to receive plural charms, where each charm represents a pregnancy milestone or commemorates each month of a human pregnancy experience. Certain embodiments concern a metal or alloy wire bracelet, where the metal or alloy is selected from stainless steel, sterling silver, copper, gold, silver, platinum, palladium, or combinations thereof, with stainless steel and sterling silver being currently preferred materials. The bracelet may include as many charms as desired, but typically comprises 10 monthly charms, added one at time, to commemorate each passing month of a human pregnancy. The charms may come as a preselected group, or an individual can select from a variety of charms, and perhaps in a particular order, to individualize the jewelry. Exemplary charms, by way of example and without limitation, include an infinity symbol, a baby symbol, a red heart, a pearl, citrine, baby footprints, a pregnant woman silhouette, a starburst, a book titled “baby names,” a circle within a circle, a heart with “Mom” engraved thereon, and any and all combinations thereof.
The present invention also concerns a kit comprising a jewelry box, a bracelet or necklace, at least one, and more typically, plural charms, optionally including additional packaging for each individual charm, further optionally including written information concerning the meaning or symbolism associated with each charm, and even further optionally including a journal for recording commemorative thoughts and emotions. More specifically, the kit comprises a box comprising plural compartments, at least two of which have different dimensions; a bracelet configured to receive plural charms and housed in a first compartment; plural pregnancy charms, each charm housed in separate second compartments, wherein each charm represents a monthly pregnancy milestone or commemorates each month of a human pregnancy experience; optionally written information concerning the charms; and optionally a journal. The box typically comprises a base component defining the first and second compartments, and a closeable lid.
An even more particular disclosed exemplary kit comprises a patent leather box comprising a closeable, latchable lid, and a base component that defines a first compartment configured to receive a bracelet and plural second compartments each configured to receive one of plural charms. The box may be lined, such as with crushed velvet, silk, satin, leather, man-made material(s), or combinations thereof. A wire bracelet configured to receive one or more, or all, of the plural charms is housed in the first compartment, wherein the bracelet comprises a metal or alloy selected from stainless steel, sterling silver, copper, gold, silver, platinum, palladium, or combinations thereof. The bracelet may comprise a removable end portion that can be removed to add or remove charms from the first portion. The kit also includes plural pregnancy charms. Each charm may be presented in its own separate packaging that is housed in one of the plural separate second compartments of the jewelry box. The kit also may include additional written information concerning the meaning or symbolism associated with each charm and/or a journal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is perspective view of one embodiment of a bracelet, without charms, according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective cutaway view of one embodiment of a container for housing jewelry, such as a bracelet and charms according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of a base component of a container configured to house jewelry, such as a bracelet and charms according to the present invention, with a tape measure positioned adjacent thereto to illustrate suitable exemplary component dimensions.

FIG. 4 is an image of an infinity charm with the word “baby” in stylized form.

FIG. 5 is an image of a heart charm.

FIG. 6 is an image of a pearl charm.

FIG. 7 is an image of a citrine charm.

FIG. 8 is an image of a baby footprints charm.

FIG. 9 is an image of a pregnant woman charm.

FIG. 10 is an image of a starburst charm.

FIG. 11 is an image of an open book charm with the title “Baby Names.”

FIG. 12 is an image of a charm illustrating a small gemstone within a larger gemstone.

FIG. 13 is an image of a heart charm engraved with the word “Mom”.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

I. Definitions

The following explanations of terms and abbreviations are provided to better describe the present disclosure and to guide those of ordinary skill in the art in the practice of the present disclosure. As used herein, “comprising” means “including” and the singular forms “a” or “an” or “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The term “or” refers to a single element of stated alternative elements or a combination of two or more elements, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
Unless explained otherwise, all terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood to one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. Although methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used to practice the present disclosure, suitable methods and materials are described below. The materials, methods, and examples are illustrative only and are not intended to be limiting. Other features of the disclosure are apparent from the following detailed description and the claims.
Any disclosure of numerical ranges should be understood as referring to each discrete point within the range, inclusive of endpoints, unless otherwise noted. Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing quantities are understood to be qualified by the term “about.” Accordingly, unless otherwise implicitly or explicitly indicated, or unless the context is properly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art to have a more definitive construction, any stated numerical parameters are approximations that may depend on the desired properties sought.

II. Jewelry

One aspect of the present invention is a jewelry piece to which charms may be connected to memorialize milestones of any important life event. A person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that charms may be connected to various different accouterments, such as a bracelet, necklace, clothing, belts, etc. A person of ordinary skill in the art also will appreciate that various different life events may be commemorated using milestone indicia that represent goals, experiences or time periods associated with an event, including education, marriage, and family. The present disclosure proceeds with particular reference to a bracelet and monthly charms that memorialize pregnancy and childbirth.
One embodiment of a suitable exemplary bracelet is a size-adjustable, hard wire bracelet 10 as illustrated by FIG. 1. Charms of various shapes and sizes can be connected to the bracelet in any suitable manner. Although not directly shown by FIG. 1, one embodiment includes a removable end piece 12, such as a threaded or push-on end piece, that can be removed to allow individual charms to be added or removed from the bracelet. Bracelet 10 also includes a receiving end 14 configured to receive ball end 12 to secure the bracelet around the wearer's wrist.
A person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that bracelet 10 can be constructed out of any suitable material, such as a metal or alloy, and can have any suitable bracelet shape. For example, bracelet 10 may be made from: an alloy, such as stainless steel or sterling silver; a single non-precious metal, such as copper; or a precious metal, such as gold, silver, platinum or palladium; and any and all combinations thereof. Furthermore, bracelet 10 need not be a wire bracelet, and instead can be of any desired shape and/or size, including a solid band or links.

III. Charms

Suitable charms depend on the life event of interest. An important feature of one embodiment of the present invention is to memorialize milestones associated with human pregnancy. A user can select from a variety of charms that she deems most suitable for her individual experience, or can obtain a preselected group of charms. The following is a list of potential charms that have been selected particularly to commemorate each month associated with human pregnancy.

IV. Kit

Certain embodiments of the present invention can be packaged as a kit. For example, a kit may comprise a compartmentalized, jewelry-like box 20 as illustrated by FIG. 2 in partial cutaway. Box 20 has an interior portion defining plural compartments 22, 24, and 26 for housing components of the jewelry and charms. Box 20 also may include a top 28, a base 30 and a latch 32 to secure the box. Box 20 can be covered as desired, such as in patent leather, using any desired color. Box 20 can be re-used as a jewelry box after purchase.
FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of a base 34 suitable for a box, such as box of FIG. 2. Base 34 also includes plural compartments, e.g. 36, 38, 40 and 42, each sized suitably for housing one of 10 charms selected for the pregnancy bracelet. Each compartment 36, 38, 40 and 42, also may include a separate lid (not shown) to hide the contents of each respective compartment until it is time to add the next charm to the bracelet. Base 34 also includes a compartment 44 suitably sized to receive jewelry, such as a bracelet. Solely by way of example, each compartment 36, 38, 40 and 42 may be a 2-inch by 2-inch compartment with a depth of 1 inch to 1.5 inches. Compartment 44 may be 3 inches by 3.5 inches, with a depth of from 1 to 1.5 inches. Box 20, and/or base 34, may be lined as aesthetically desired, such as with crushed velvet, silk, satin, leather, or man-made material.
FIGS. 4-13 show charms 1-10 to be included in the kit.
The bracelet and each charm also may be further packaged in a small container, optionally with a label indicating when it should be opened, and each charm may include an explanation of its meaning. Each charm 1-10 above may be labeled. Exemplary labels are as follows:
1. Open NOW to start the Journey

- Inside: the beginning of an unending love;

2. Landmark: Heartbeat

- Inside: The heart of a new life confirmed;

3. Landmark: 12 weeks

- Inside: A developing baby, even finger and toenails;

4. Landmark: 16 weeks

- Inside: Citrine representing energy and growth;

5. Landmark: Feeling the baby move

- Inside: A daily reminder of continued growth;

6. Landmark: Your pregnancy profile

- Inside: The true meaning of beauty and life;

7. Landmark: 28 weeks

- Inside: You are your baby's universe;

8. Landmark: 32 weeks

- Inside: A name brings on a whole identity;

9. Landmark: 36 weeks

- Inside: You protect the baby as it grows; and

10. Landmark: after birth

- Inside: Forever a Mom.

In view of the many possible embodiments to which the principles of the disclosed invention may be applied, it should be recognized that the illustrated embodiments are only preferred examples of the invention and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention. Rather, the scope of the invention is defined by the following claims. I therefore claim as our invention all that comes within the scope and spirit of these claims.

Claims

I claim:

1. Jewelry configured to receive plural commemorative charms.

2. The jewelry according to claim 1 comprising plural charms, each charm representing a pregnancy milestone or commemorating each month of a human pregnancy experience.

3. The jewelry according to claim 1 comprising a bracelet or necklace.

4. The jewelry according to claim 3 wherein the bracelet is a metal or alloy selected from stainless steel, sterling silver, copper, gold, silver, platinum, palladium, or combinations thereof.

5. The bracelet according to claim 4 wherein the alloy is stainless steel or sterling silver.

6. The bracelet according to 3 further comprising 10 charms, each charm selected to commemorate a human pregnancy.

7. The bracelet according to claim 6 wherein the charms are selected from an infinity symbol, a baby symbol, a red heart, a pearl, citrine, baby footprints, a pregnant woman silhouette, a starburst, a book titled “Baby Names,” a circle within a circle, a heart with “Mom” engraved thereon, and any and all combinations thereof.

8. A pregnancy bracelet and 10 charms selected to memorialize a human pregnancy.

9. The pregnancy bracelet according to claim 8, comprising:

a wire bracelet having a first portion configured to receive plural charms, each charm commemorating a human pregnancy experience, wherein the wire is a metal or alloy selected from stainless steel, sterling silver, copper, gold, silver, platinum, palladium, or combinations thereof, the bracelet comprising a removable end portion that can be removed to add or remove charms from the first portion; and

plural charms selected from an infinity symbol, a baby symbol, a red heart, a pearl, citrine, baby footprints, a pregnant woman silhouette, a starburst, a book titled “Baby Names,” a circle within a circle, a heart with “Mom” engraved thereon, and combinations thereof.

10. A kit, comprising:

a box comprising plural compartments;

jewelry housed in the box and configured to receive plural commemorative charms; and

plural commemorative pregnancy charms housed collectively or separately in the box, wherein each charm represents a monthly pregnancy milestone or commemorates each month of a human pregnancy experience.

11. The kit according to claim 10 wherein the box comprises:

a base defining the first and second compartments; and

a closeable lid.

12. The kit according to claim 10 wherein the box comprises a leather cover.

13. The kit according to any of claim 10 wherein at least a portion of the box is lined with crushed velvet, silk, satin, leather, man-made material, or combinations thereof.

14. The kit according to any of claim 10 wherein each charm is housed in its own separate box compartment that is particularly sized to receive the charm.

15. The kit according to any of claim 10, further comprising instructions providing information concerning each charm, a journal, or both.

16. The kit according to claim 10, comprising:

a wire bracelet having a first portion configured to receive plural charms, wherein the wire is a metal or alloy selected from stainless steel, sterling silver, copper, gold, silver, platinum, palladium, or combinations thereof, the bracelet comprising a removable end portion that can be removed to add or remove charms from the first portion; and

plural charms, each charm representing a human pregnancy experience, selected from an infinity symbol, a baby symbol, a red heart, a pearl, a piece of citrine, baby footprints, pregnant woman silhouette, a starburst, a book titled “baby names,” a circle within a circle, a heart with “Mom” engraved thereon, and combinations thereof.

17. A kit, comprising:

a patent leather box comprising a closeable, latchable lid and a base defining a first compartment configured to receive a bracelet and plural second compartments each configured to receive one of plural charms, wherein at least a portion of the box is lined with crushed velvet, silk, satin, leather, man-made material, or combinations thereof;

a wire bracelet, configured to receive each of the plural charms, and housed in the first compartment, wherein the wire is a metal or alloy selected from stainless steel, sterling silver, copper, gold, silver, platinum, palladium, or combinations thereof, the bracelet being configured to facilitate addition or removal of charms from the bracelet;

plural pregnancy charms, each charm in a separate closed container and housed along with the separate closed container in one of the plural separate second compartments, each charm marking a month of a human pregnancy experience and selected from an infinity symbol, a baby symbol, a red heart, a pearl, citrine, baby footprints, a pregnant woman silhouette, a starburst, a book titled “Baby Names,” a circle within a circle, a heart with “Mom” engraved thereon, and combinations thereof, and

written instructions providing information concerning each charm.

18. The kit according to claim 17 further comprising a pregnancy journal.