VINTAGE COSTUME JEWELRY PATENTS
United States patents are a valuable resource for jewelry collectors.
Design patents protected the designers of costume jewelry and assured
them that their ideas would not be used by other makers without their
permission. Utility patents were issued for the mechanisms that allowed
the jewelry to be worn. These patents were frequently issued for clips,
hinges, safety catches, and other findings.
Patents allow us to assign dates to jewelry. They also help to identify
the designers and/or manufacturers of the pieces. Design patents let us
see how the artist envisioned the piece, which is often interesting when
compared to the actual item after manufacture.
We will be adding United States Patent Office images to our website on
an ongoing basis. We want this section of our website to be a resource
for jewelry collectors everywhere. If you have images you would like to
share with us we would love to include them. Please contact Rocky and he
will tell you how to format the images so we can
use them. All contributors will be acknowledged. We believe that open
sharing of information benefits us all - collectors, dealers, and
scholars.
