Technological innovation is the order of the day in the jewellery industry where big players have been striving to achieve the best in design and wearability. For instance, two family-owned companies received US design patents for their user-friendly design granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) this year. Half decade-old Italian brand Picchiotti has awarded a 20-year patent for its Xpandable technology and the Perfect Fit design by New York-based jewellery manufacturer Just Perfect MSP covers two patents.
Stretchable band
Hidden in Xpandable collection’s rings and bracelets is a mechanism invisible to the eye allowing the bands to stretch and fit wearer’s knuckle with ease. Rings may stretch up to three sizes, allowing wearers to put a ring on any finger and therefore ring resizing is no longer necessary. Picchiotti added: “On the romantic side, a man can surprise his fiancée without knowing her ring size, being sure that the ring will fit her without spoiling the big surprise.” Xpandable bracelets work the same way. Wearers can avoid the cumbersomeness brought by clasp as the technology for bracelets is set all-round. Any popular materials, namely white gold, yellow gold and platinum and any cuts of diamonds, coloured gemstones and semi-precious stones can be mounted on bands featuring the revolutionary technology.
Debuted in 2016 at the Couture show in Las Vegas, Xpandable line merely included 60 designs. The family-owned company enhanced the mechanism for a better snap-back-into-place efficacy after the collection has been sought after. Giuseppe Picchiotti, founder and president of the family-owned company told Hong Kong Jewellery: “From the very beginning, we understood the enormous potential of this technology, and we wanted to make it as perfect as possible. It was, and still is, very labour-intensive and time-consuming, but it was worth every single effort. All the goldsmiths in the Picchiotti workshop have mastered the technique, so that the pieces can be manufactured by all of our highly trained workers.” The collection now comprises over 200 designs.
Picchiotti said the only limitation is that Xpandable does not work for necklaces. The family will couple Xpandable with highest quality stones available and more sophisticated designs. He disclosed: “Some novelties that we will present in due course, and those might turn into another jewellery revolution.”
Centre-stone stays centred
The largest machine-set jewellery manufacturer, Just Perfect MSP obtained two patents for its Perfect Fit technology. Just Perfect told Hong Kong Jewellery that the average size of the centre stone in halo rings has risen 40 percent. The popular trend indicates that the weight of the top of the ring will get heavier than ever. “As today’s rings get heavier on top, women are faced with the dilemma of having their diamond engagement rings ‘focal point’ fall to the side, or alternatively having the rings sized to fit tightly in order to prevent this from occurring,” Just Perfect MSP president Edward Zylka explained his inspiration behind the ring design. He added that wearer may have the rings sized to fit tightly in order to prevent the spinning, which was unpleasant.
The mechanism is an ergonomically sculpted design which places counterbalance weight at the bottom of the shank to prevent top-heavy rings from spinning and falling to the side to keep the centre-stone position on top of the finger and the sides are smoothed for comfortability. Perfect Fit collection is available in seven settings and styles: preconfigured, channel, prong, engagement, bar, multi row and colour stones with nine sub-categories. The wholesale for mounting starts at an appealing US$200 with over 1,200 styles of rings from engagement rings to fashion stack rings. Both large volume orders and individual items are welcome and delivered within five business days.
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