GB2195229A - Patterned articles and their manufacture - Google Patents

Abstract

Items of jewellery such as necklaces, bracelets, earrings are made by applying a liquid hardenable substance, such as a solution of a synthetic silicone rubber, to a fabric such as silk in a desired pattern. While the substance is allowed to harden decorative items such as jewellery stones may be pressed into the rubber. The areas of fabric not covered by the rubber may then be removed by flashing off with a flame from a blow torch.

Description

SPECIFICATION Patterned articles and their manufacture This invention relates to patterned articles such as items of jewellery and to a method of making them.

There are many known forms of jewellery, such as necklaces, bracelets, anklets and earrings, which use a metal such as gold as the primary structural component and which incorporate decorative jewellery stones. The present invention uses quite a different principle of construction to make items of jewellery and other patterned articles.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of making a patterned article, the method comprising applying, in the desired pattern, a liquid hardenable substance to a substrate, allowing the liquid hardenable substance to harden and removing the substrate at least in areas not covered by the substance.

According to a second aspect, there is provided a patterned article made in accordance with the first aspect.

The article may be considered sufficiently decorative without other adornment, but it is preferred to have decorative items incorporated in the hardened substance. The decorative items may be made of metal or may be jewellery stones in glass or plastics material or may be precious or semi-precious stones.

Whatever their nature, the decorative items will usually be capable of being incorporated into the hardened substance by pressing them into the substance as it is hardening.

Patterned articles in accordance with the invention find particular application as items of adornment for the human (or even the animal) body. This preferred class of articles can generally be referred to as jewellery, although it is to be understood that the word "jewellery" does not necessarily imply that precious or semi-precious stones have to be present.

Forms of jewellery which may be made by means of the present invention include earrings, necklaces, bracelets and anklets.

Jewellery is by no means the only application for patterned articles made in accordance with the invention. Patterned articles may be used as applique decorations for suitable substrates such as walls, mirrors, window glass and ornaments such as vases. Alternatively, patterned articles produced in accordance with the invention may be used as table coverings, place mats, drink mats or other surface ornaments.

It is especially preferred for the substrate to be in sheet form and permeable to the liquid hardenable substance. In such a case, the substrate is incorporated into the substance when it is hard, thereby giving added strength to the finished article. In this embodiment, the substrate is only removed in areas where it is not covered by the substance.

The substrate may be a fabric.

The fabric is preferably woven, but it does not have to be; for example, it may be knitted by jersey or other stitch. Although any suitable fabric can be used, it is especially preferred to use silk, which has a particularly high strength/weight ratio. There is a further advantage in the use of silk in the fabric removal step, which will be described later. If woven silk is used, the silk may be, for example, chiffon or organza. It is in general preferred, whatever fabric is used, for the fibres to be so sized and spaced apart for the liquid hardenable substance readily to penetrate between them.

It should be noted that it is quite possible for two layers of fabric or other permeable substrate to be present; this may give further added strength. It is possible for the two layers to be bonded together by the liquid hardenable substance. The two layers of fabric need not be the same; for example, they may be two different types of silk.

The liquid hardenable substance may be a natural or synthetic rubber preparation our a synthetic plastics material, which may be thermoplastic or thermosetting. The hardening may be a physical or chemical process, and the term is used to include curing, where appropriate. Examples of liquid hardenable substances which may be found to be suitable include latex and PVC preparations, but it is preferred that the liquid hardenable substance be a synthetic rubber. The most preferred liquid hardenable substance is a silicone material. One of the most useful readily available sources of a suitable silicone material is Dow Corning's 781 Multi-Purpose Silicone Sealant, high modulus conforming to BS 5889 type B.

The preparation may need to be diluted with appropriate solvent or other diluent to make it sufficiently liquid. In the case of the preferred silicone preparation, benzene is a suitable solvent, as is methylene chloride, which is preferred because of its lesser toxicity. The amount of dilution will vary according to circumstances. The general aim is that the viscosity of the liquid should not be too low, so that the pattern is kept; on the other hand, the viscosity should not be too high, so that the liquid may relatively easily be applied in a linear or other pattern.

As an example of appropriate proportions, from 30 to 50 parts methylene chloride solvent may be mixed with from 70 to 50 parts (by volume) of Dow Corning 781 silicone material. A 40:60 methylene chloride:silicone preparation is normally preferred, but when using two layers of material it is better to have a lower viscosity liquid to ensure good fabric penetration and hence bonding together; in this instance a 50:50 preparation is preferred.

When only one layer of fabric (for example silk) is used, however, and a high profile pat tern is desired, a 30:70 diluent:silicone mixture is preferred.

The liquid can be applied by any suitable means, such as with a brush, nib or spatula, but it is preferred to use a container with a nozzle. The container will generally have means for expelling liquid in it through the nozzle. The container may be a syringe or a resiliently deformable bottle.

The liquid hardenable substance can incor porate dispersed or discrete decorative material such as colouring, which may be provided by a pigment or a dye. It may be possible to buy appropriate liquid hardenable substance ready coloured. For example, Dow Corning 781 Silicone Sealant is available in black, white and clear preparations. Powdered bronze may be incorporated into the clear pre paration to give a gold effect and powdered aluminium may be incorporated to give a silver effect. Glitter powder or other particulate ma terial may alternatively (or in addition) be in corporated.

The liquid hardenable substance need not harden to an absolutely rigid solid, indeed this may not be desirable. A pliable, rubbery state may be preferred, and this is readily achieva ble with the preferred silicone preparation. The hardening time will depend on the substance used and the amount of solvent or diluent (if any), but for the preferred silicone preparation is in the order of 4 hours.

Once the liquid hardenable substance has hardened, the substrate can be removed, at least in the areas which have not been cov ered. This can be done by peeling the by now hardened substance away or by cutting around the hardened substance with a blade such as may be provided by a knife or a pair of scissors. Preferably, however, the non-cov ered fabric or other substrate may be burnt off. This is a particularly appropriate method for removing silk which can be flashed away with a flame, such as from a blow torch. If chosen appropriately, the hardened substance need not be harmed at all by this operation, -particularly if it is done quickly and carefully.

As a further possibility, it may be possible to remove all or just the non-covered sub strate chemically, such as by dissolution in acid, to which the hardened material may be inert.

The article may subsequently or contempo raneously be fitted with optional attachments, such as fastenings (in the case of necklaces, bracelets and anklets) or earring attachments for passing through or clipping to or gripping the ear-lobe.

The invention will now be illustrated by the following examples. All parts are parts by vol ume.

EXAMPLE 1 A necklace is made as follows. A 12 inch square of chiffon silk is stretched flat on a suitable non-absorbent surface. A preparation of black Dow Corning 781 Multi-Purpose Silicone Sealant is made by diluting the commercially bought sealant (60 parts) with methylene chloride (40 parts). The components are mixed well and poured into a deformable plastics.container with a nozzle. The container is then inverted, and a necklace attern is drawn on the silk. The pattern consists of lines and larger, circular areas, which are all connected.

After the pattern is completed, the silicone preparation is allowed partially to harden, and then hemispherical glass stones are pressed into the circular deposits of silicone. Hardening is allowed to continue until about 4 hours have passed. A blow torch is then played lightly across the silk, thereby causing the silk which is not covered by the silicone to burn away. The article is now in the form of a necklace, and an appropriate clasp is fitted.

EXAMPLE 2 A pair of earrings is made as follows. The procedure of Example 1 is generally followed, except that clear silicone sealant is used di luted 70:30 with methylene chloride. Powdered bronze is incorporated into the mixture.

A pair of earrings are drawn onto the silk, each consisting of a linear portion with a circular end portion, into which a hemispherical glass stone is subsequently pressed, while the silicone is hardening. The surrounding silk is removed from the pair of earrings by the blow torch method of Example 1.

For a better understand of the present invention, and to show how it may be put into effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGURE 1 shows a top perspective view of a necklace prepared in accordance with Example 1 of the present invention; FIGURE 2 shows a partial sectional view taken along the line ll-ll of Figure 1; and FIGURE 3 shows a top perspective view of a pair of earrings produced in accordance with Example 2 of the present invention.

Referring now to the drawings, there can be seen in Figure 1 a necklace 1 consisting of a matrix of hardened silicone rubber 3, embedded in which are many hemispherical glass stones 5. From the sectional view in Figure 2, it can be seen that, at the bottom of the silicone matrix 3, a chiffon silk fabric 7 is embedded.

The necklace comprises a conventional screw clasp 9 (Figure 1) which is attached to the silicone matrix 3 by silver wire.

In Figure 3, each of a pair of earrings 11 comprises an elongate portion 13 and a circuiar portion 15, in which is set a glass hemispherical stone 1 7. At the other end of the elongate portion 13 is a hole through which passes a silver wire 17 for attachment to the ear lobe.

Claims (39)

1. A method of making a patterned article, the method comprising applying, in the desired pattern, a liquid hardenable substance to a substrate, allowing the liquid hardenable substance to harden and removing the substrate at least in areas not covered by the substance.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the substrate is in sheet form.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the substrate is permeable to the liquid hardenable substance.

4. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3 wherein the substrate is a fabric.

5. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4 wherein the substrate is a woven fabric.

6. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 5 wherein the substrate is silk.

7. A method as claimed in claim 6 wherein the silk is chiffon or organza.

8. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 7 wherein the substrate comprises two layers.

9. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 8 wherein the substrate comprises two layers of fabric.

10. A method as claimed in claim 9 wherein the two layers are two different types of silk.

11. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 10 wherein the substrate is a wall, mirror, window glass or ornament.

12. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 11 wherein the liquid hardenable substance is a natural or synthetic rubber preparation or a synthetic plastics material.

13. A method as claimed in claim 13 wherein the liquid hardenable substance is thermoplastic or thermosetting.

14. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 13 wherein the liquid hardenable substance is a latex or a PVC preparation.

15. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 13 wherein the liquid. hardenable substance is a silicone composition.

16. A method as claimed in claim 15 wherein the silicone composition comprises a solvent and a silicone material.

17. A method as claimed in claim 16 wherein the solvent is benzene or methylene chloride.

18. A method as claimed in any of claims 15 to 17 wherein the silicone composition comprises from 30 to 50 parts methylene chloride and 70 to 50 parts silicone material by volume.

19. A method as claimed in any of claims 15 to 18 wherein the ratio by volume of me thylenechloride to silicone material is 40:60.

20. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 19 wherein the liquid hardenable substance is applied through a nozzle.

21. A method as claimed in claim 20 wherein a container is provided with means for expelling the liquid hardenable substrate in it through the nozzle.

22. A method as claimed in claim 21 wherein the container is a syringe or a resiliently deformable bottle.

23. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 22 wherein the liquid hardenable substance contains a colouring material.

24. A method as claimed in claim 23 wherein the colouring material is a pigment or a dye.

25. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 24 wherein the liquid hardenable substance contains powdered bronze or powdered aluminium.

26. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 25 wherein the liquid hardenable substance contains glitter powder and/or other particuiate material.

27. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 26 wherein the liquid hardenable substance is allowed to harden for about 4 hours.

28. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 27 wherein the substrate is removed by peeling away the hardened substance or by cutting around the hardened substance using a blade.

29. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 28 wherein the substrate is removed by burning.

30. A method as claimed in claim 29 wherein the substrate is burnt using a blow torch.

31. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 30 wherein the substrate is removed by a chemical composition.

32. A method as claimed in claim 31 wherein the chemical composition is an acid to which the liquid hardenable substance is inert.

33. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 32 wherein the liquid hardenable substance is incorporated with decorative items.

34. A method as claimed in claim 33 wherein the decorative items are jewellery stones made of class or plastics material, precious or semi-precious stones, or made of metal.

35. A method as claimed in claim 33 wherein the decorative items are incorporated into the liquid hardenable substance by pressing them into the substance while it is hardening.

36. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 35 which includes fitting fastenings to the patterned article.

37. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 36 wherein the patterned article is a necklace, anklet, bracelet or earring.

38. A method of making a patterned article substantially as herein described.

39. A patterned article made in accordance with a method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 36.