Reconfigurable jewelry

Abstract

In an illustrative embodiment, a reconfigurable jewelry piece such as an earring comprises hinged, articulating segments. Adjacent segments can be “opened” about a hinge, and when fully open the jewelry piece appears to have multiple geometric shapes attached to each other with swinging movement. The adjacent segments can also be “closed” about the hinge, in which case a closed segment fits around (circumscribes) the adjacent, smaller segment, making them appear unitary.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A reconfigurable jewelry piece comprising:
 a central section having a facing side and an outer periphery;   a first annulus comprising a first segment fixed to the central section, and a second segment hinged along a first hinge axis to the first segment, the first hinge axis perpendicular to a normal axis of the facing side, the first annulus configured such that,
 in a first stable configuration, the first annulus appears attached to and suspended below the central section, with free motion of the second segment in a first range about the first hinge axis, and 
 in a second stable configuration, the second segment is rotated about the first hinge axis and secured to the central section such that the first annulus appears circumscribed about the outer periphery of the central section when viewing the facing side; and 
   a second annulus comprising a third segment fixed to the second segment opposite the first segment, and a fourth segment hinged along a second hinge axis to the third segment, the second hinge axis perpendicular to the normal axis of the facing side, the second annulus configured such that,
 in a third stable configuration, the second annulus appears attached to and suspended below the first annulus, with free motion in a second range about the second hinge axis, and 
 in a fourth stable configuration, the fourth section is rotated about the second hinge axis and secured to the first annulus such that the second annulus appears circumscribed about the first annulus when viewing the facing side of the central section. 
   
     
     
         2 . The reconfigurable jewelry piece of  claim 1 , wherein the outer periphery of the central section, an inner periphery of the first annulus, an outer periphery of the first annulus, an inner periphery of the second annulus, and an outer periphery of the second annulus are each polygons. 
     
     
         3 . The reconfigurable jewelry piece of  claim 2 , wherein the polygons are regular polygons having an even number of sides. 
     
     
         4 . The reconfigurable jewelry piece of  claim 3 , wherein the regular polygons are hexagons. 
     
     
         5 . The reconfigurable jewelry piece of  claim 3 , wherein the regular polygons are octagons. 
     
     
         6 . The reconfigurable jewelry piece of  claim 2 , wherein the polygons are hexagons or octagons. 
     
     
         7 . The reconfigurable jewelry piece of  claim 1 , wherein the first annulus and the second annulus each have substantially a same annular width. 
     
     
         8 . The reconfigurable jewelry piece of  claim 7 , the central section comprising a third annulus having an outer periphery that is substantially the outer periphery of the central section, the third annulus having substantially the same annular width as the first and second annuli. 
     
     
         9 . The reconfigurable jewelry piece of  claim 8 , the central section having a back side and further comprising a post affixed to the back side for attaching the earring through a body piercing of the wearer. 
     
     
         10 . The reconfigurable jewelry piece of  claim 9 , the central section comprising an inner body fixed to and lying within an inner periphery of the third annulus. 
     
     
         11 . The reconfigurable jewelry piece of  claim 10 , wherein the inner body, the third annulus, and the first segment are integrally formed. 
     
     
         12 . The reconfigurable jewelry piece of  claim 10 , the post fixed to the back side of the inner body. 
     
     
         13 . The reconfigurable jewelry piece of  claim 10 , the first, second, and third annuli having a first thickness normal to the face of the central section, the inner body having a second thickness less than the first thickness. 
     
     
         14 . The reconfigurable jewelry piece of  claim 1 , wearable in a first overall configuration comprising the first annulus in the first stable configuration and the second annulus in the third stable configuration. 
     
     
         15 . The reconfigurable jewelry piece of  claim 14 , wearable in a second overall configuration comprising the first annulus in the second stable configuration and the second annulus in the fourth stable configuration. 
     
     
         16 . The reconfigurable jewelry piece of  claim 15 , wearable in a third overall configuration comprising the first annulus in the second stable configuration and second annulus in the third stable configuration. 
     
     
         17 . The reconfigurable jewelry piece of  claim 14 , wearable in a third overall configuration comprising the first annulus in the second stable configuration and second annulus in the third stable configuration. 
     
     
         18 . The reconfigurable jewelry piece of  claim 1 , further comprising first complementary engagement features located respectively on the outer periphery of the central section and on an inner periphery of the second segment, the first complementary engagement features releasably engageable in the second stable configuration. 
     
     
         19 . The reconfigurable jewelry piece of  claim 1 , further comprising second complementary engagement features located respectively on the outer periphery of the first annulus and on an inner periphery of the fourth segment, the second complementary engagement features releasably engageable in the fourth stable configuration. 
     
     
         20 . The reconfigurable jewelry piece of  claim 1 , configured as an earring.