 A
spiral is one of the oldest shapes made out of wire and used as a jewelry
component. About a year ago,
 we
heard of a lawsuit in Great Britain where one British jewelry designer was
suing another because the second designer used a spiral in a jewelry item
and the first designer believe that he or she had the copyright on the
spiral. We were asked to comment in the lawsuit and we responded by
sending pictures of jewelry from the collection in the British Museum of
spirals as jewelry components in jewelry that was about 8,000 years old.
We weren't asked to testify and somehow we believe that this lawsuit was
dropped as being frivolous. We haven't obtained permission to use a
spiral in these designs, but we do believe that the
 original
8,000 year old copyright does not currently apply in the US. ;-)
One of the more difficult things to do with a spiral wire component is
to use it as a link in a chain or as the middle component in an earring
body. Here is a design that modifies a spiral so that it can be used
as a link in a chain or as the body of an earring. Our step-by-step
instructions for making these jewelry designs begin on the following page. |