Displaying watchstraps

Abstract

 A watchstrap display stand assembly comprises a display stand, a plurality of first watchstrap halves mounted in a holder (3A) of the stand and a plurality of second watchstrap halves mounted in a holder (3B) of the stand. The watchstrap halves are arranged such that each of the first watchstrap halves is positioned in spaced relationship to a respective one of the second watchstrap halves in a manner similar to or substantially the same as when the watchstrap halves are fastened to a watch (W). Each first watchstrap half together with its respective second watchstrap half defines a pair of watchstrap halves for forming respective parts of the same watchstrap. A user can place a watch (W) in the gap between a pair of watchstrap halves and thereby see how the watch (W) looks with that pair of watchstrap halves.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates generally to the subject of displaying watchstraps. More particularly the invention relates to a watchstrap display stand assembly including watchstraps, to a watchstrap display stand for receiving watchstraps to be displayed and to a method of displaying watchstraps. The invention is concerned especially with displaying watchstraps which are displayed in two "halves": a first "half", sometimes referred to as a buckle strap, is fastenable to a watch at one end of the strap "half" and normally has a buckle at the other end; the second "half", sometimes referred to as a long strap, is fastenable to a watch at one end and is normally insertable into a buckle at the other end.

[0002] It is common practice for watchstraps to be displayed at a point of sale in individual cases which are at least partly transparent. The strap halves are usually placed on top of one another and can be viewed through the transparent part of the case. Such a method of presentation allows the colour and design of the strap to be viewed but it is often difficult to envisage how a particular strap would look when on a particular watch. To assess how the strap would look when on a watch, the strap halves need to be removed from the case and held in position adjacent to the watch. Such an exercise is time consuming and cumbersome.

[0003] It is an object of the invention to provide an improved display stand assembly including watchstraps, an improved watchstrap display stand for receiving watchstraps to be displayed and an improved method of displaying watchstraps.

[0004] According to the invention there is provided a watchstrap display stand assembly compris-ing a display stand, a plurality of first watchstrap halves mounted on the stand and a plurality of second watchstrap halves mounted on the stand, the watchstrap halves being arranged such that each of the first watchstrap halves is positioned in spaced relationship to a respective one of the second watchstrap halves in a manner similar to or substantially the same as when the watchstrap halves are fastened to a watch, each first watchstrap half together with its respective second watchstrap half defining a pair of watchstrap halves for forming respective parts of the same watchstrap.

[0005] By positioning the watchstrap halves in accordance with the invention, it becomes possible to position a watch between a selected one of the pairs of watchstrap halves in approximately the position it would take if fastened to the watchstrap halves. It is then possible to see how the watch would look in combination with a variety of straps without having to remove the straps from their mounts.

[0006] Preferably five or more pairs of watchstrap halves are provided so that a reasonable variety of watchstrap designs can be viewed.

[0007] Whilst reference is made above to watchstrap halves it will be understood that the two halves of a pair are not usually identical to one another in size or other respects.

[0008] Preferably the plurality of first watchstrap halves are arranged in a first row with their longitudinal axes generally aligned with one another and transverse to the direction along which the first row extends and the plurality of second watchstrap halves are arranged in a second row with their longitudinal axes generally aligned with one another and transverse to the direction along which the second row extends. Such an arrangement facilitates the positioning of a watch between a selected pair of watchstrap halves and movement of the watch to another position between another respective pair of watchstrap halves.

[0009] Although it is possible for the space between the watchstrap halves of each pair to be filled in and for a watch to be positioned above that space, it is preferable that empty spaces are provided between the first and second watchstrap halves of each pair of watchstrap halves. Such an arrangement enables a watch to be placed in a very similar position to that which it would occupy if fastened to the watchstrap halves.

[0010] The display stand preferably includes one or more separate surfaces on which the first and second watchstrap halves lie. In an embodiment of the invention described below with reference to the drawings, the first watchstrap halves lie on a first support surface and the second watchstrap halves lie on a second support surface inclined to the first surface. Said one or more support surfaces are preferably interrupted along a path extending between the first watchstrap halves and the second watchstrap halves. The interruption preferably comprises a slot. Such an arrangement enables a watch with an existing strap fastened to it to be positioned next to a selected pair of watchstrap halves with the existing strap halves passing through the slot.
Preferably the slot has a width greater than 3 mm for the purposes of accommodating an existing watchstrap.

[0011] It may be desired to place a watch without a strap adjacent to the strap halves and accordingly the assembly preferably further includes a watch carrier suitable for carrying a strapless watch, the watch carrier being placeable in a plurality of positions between respective pairs of watchstrap halves. The watch carrier may be slideably mounted on the stand for movement along a path extending between the first watchstrap halves and the second watchstrap halves.

[0012] Usually the first watchstrap halves include buckles and the second watchstrap halves are longer than the first watchstrap halves. The second watchstrap halves may include holes for receiving fastening pins of buckles.

[0013] The watchstrap halves are preferably detachably mounted on the stand. That enables the particular watchstrap halves that are displayed to be changed easily.

[0014] Preferably a first detachable transparent cover is provided over the first watchstrap halves and a second detachable transparent cover is provided over the second watchstrap halves.

[0015] It will be appreciated that the sizes and shapes of watches vary to some extent and that the watchstrap display stand is preferably designed to accommodate watches of most ordinary sizes. Consequently, when a watch is placed between a pair of watchstrap halves, there may be gaps between the adjacent ends of the watchstrap halves; whilst that means that the spaced relationship of the watchstrap halves is not the same as when they are fastened to the watch, the visual effect is nonetheless sufficiently similar for a realistic appraisal of the appearance of the combination to be made. The assembly preferably further includes a plurality of third watchstrap halves mounted on the stand, a plurality of fourth watchstrap halves mounted on the stand, the third and fourth watchstrap halves being arranged such that each of the third watchstrap halves is positioned in spaced relationship to a respective one of the fourth watchstrap halves in a manner similar to or substantially the same as when the watchstrap halves are fastened to a watch, each third watchstrap half together with its respective fourth watchstrap half defining a pair of watchstrap halves for forming respective parts of the same watchstrap. Preferably the first and second watchstrap halves are parts of men's watchstraps and the third and fourth watchstrap halves are parts of women's watchstraps. With such an arrangement, the first and second watchstrap halves can be spaced by a distance chosen having regard to a typical man's watch whilst the third and fourth watchstrap halves can be spaced by a distance chosen having regard to a typical woman's watch.

[0016] The arrangement of the third and fourth watchstrap halves may be substantially the same as any of the arrangements referred to above for the first and second watchstrap halves.

[0017] During use of the invention, watchstraps will be mounted on the display stand and displayed. The display stand without the watchstraps may however be supplied independently.

[0018] Accordingly, the invention further provides a watchstrap display stand comprising a first holder for holding a plurality of first watchstrap halves, a second holder for holding a plurality of second watchstrap halves, the watchstrap halves being arranged to be held such that each of the first watchstrap halves is positioned in spaced relationship to a respective one of the second watchstrap halves in a manner similar to or substantially the same as when the watchstrap halves are fastened to a watch.

[0019] The display stand may of course incorporate any of the features described above when referring to the display stand assembly.

[0020] The invention further provides a method of displaying watchstraps in which a plurality of first watchstrap halves are positioned in spaced relationship to a plurality of second watchstrap halves, each of the first watchstrap halves being positioned in spaced relationship to a respective one of the second watchstrap halves in a manner similar to or substantially the same as when the watchstrap halves are fastened to a watch, each first watchstrap half together with its respective second watchstrap half defining a pair of watchstrap halves for forming respective parts of the same watchstrap, and positioning a watch between a selected one of the pairs of watchstrap halves in approximately the position it would assume if fastened to the watchstrap halves.

[0021] The method may further include the step of moving the watch from the position between the selected pair of watchstrap halves and positioning the watch between another selected pair of watchstrap halves.

[0022] The method may be carried out using a watchstrap display assembly having any of the features defined above.

[0023] By way of example an embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a watchstrap display stand,

Fig. 2 is an exploded view showing parts of the stand, and

Figs. 3A to 3M are views of many of the parts shown in Fig. 2, to substantially the same scale, that being a larger scale than in Fig. 2.

[0024] Referring first to Fig. 1, the watchstrap display stand generally comprises a base 1, lower and upper plate assemblies 2A, 2B mounted in the base 1 at different levels, watchstrap holders 3A, 4A mounted on the lower plate assembly 2A, watchstrap holders 3B, 4B mounted on the upper plate assembly 2B and a header plate 5.

[0025] The lower plate assembly 2A comprises a plate 12A of transparent material heat bent into the shape shown in Fig. 3A and an opaque (in this example, dark grey) surround 13A to the plate 12A of the same shape as the plate 12A and extending around three sides (not the top side) of the plate 12A. The surround 13A is shown in Fig. 3B. The plate 12A has a lower part 14A, a central part 15A and an upper part 16A inclined to one another. Slots 17 are provided in the lower and upper parts 14A, 16A of the plate 12A and a larger slot 18 is provided along most of the length of the central part 15A.

[0026] The upper plate assembly 12B is substantially the same as the assembly 12A.

[0027] The watchstrap holder 3A comprises a main body 19 (Fig. 3C) and a cover 20 (Fig. 3D). The body 19 is formed with a row of elongate recesses 21 in its top face which are parallel to one another with the longitudinal axes of the recesses perpendicular to the direction along which the row extends. Each of the recesses is of a width and length suitable to accommodate the long strap of a watchstrap. The cover 20 is formed with lugs 22 which, in the assembled stand, engage in the slots 17 in the part 14A. The body 19 is formed of opaque material (in this example, light grey) while the cover 20 is transparent allowing watchstrap halves in the recesses 21 to be readily seen.

[0028] The watchstrap holder 4A is of similar construction, but different dimensions, to the holder 3A just described and corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals with the body 19 and the cover 20 of the holder 4A being shown in Figs 3E and 3F respectively. The recesses 21 of the watchstrap holder 4A are of similar width to those of the holder 3A but are of a reduced length suitable to accommodate the buckle strap of a watchstrap. The holder 4A includes an additional strip 23 (shown in Fig. 3G) which is fixed, for example by glueing, across the underside of the body 19 in the region of its upper end (part of the underside of the body 19 being removed to allow this). The strip 23 is provided with pins 24 arranged such that, when the strip is fixed to the body 19, a pair of pins project into each of the recesses 21 at their upper ends. The pins are positioned so that the buckle of a buckle strap received in a recess can be fitted over the pins and the buckle strap thereby retained in position in the recess.

[0029] The watchstrap holder 3B is of similar construction to the holder 3A and the watchstrap holder 4B is of similar construction to the holder 4A, corresponding parts being referenced by the same reference numerals. The body 19 of the watchstrap holder 3B is shown in Fig. 3H; the body 19 and strip 23 of the watchstrap holder 4B are shown in Figs. 3I and 3J respectively. The holders 4A and 4B differ from the holders 3A and 3B respectively in respect principally of their spacing from one another when mounted on the stand and the sizes of the recesses formed in their bodies 19. The holders 3A and 3B are designed for a man's watch and watchstrap and therefore the sizes of the recesses are chosen to accommodate the appropriate halves of men's watchstraps while the spacing between the recesses is chosen to accommodate a watch of a size typically worn by a man. On the other hand the holders 4A and 4B are designed for a woman's watch and watchstrap and therefore the sizes of the recesses are chosen to accommodate the appropriate halves of women's watchstraps while the spacing between the recesses is chosen to accommodate a watch of a size typically worn by a woman.

[0030] The header plate 5 is shown in Fig. 3K. The plate has a pair of slots 25 by which it is fixed to the back face of the upper plate assembly 12B by appropriate fasteners (not shown).

[0031] A watch tray 26A, shown in Fig. 3L, is provided on a watch carrier for sliding movement along the plate 12A above the slot 18 and a watch tray 26B, shown in Fig. 3M, is provided for sliding movement along the plate 12B above its slot 18. The sizes of the trays 26A and 26B are chosen to accommodate a typical man's watch and a typical woman's watch, respectively, in the tray. In the drawings the trays 26A and 26B are shown with an upright wall around the whole upper perimeter; an alternative arrangement, however, is to provide the upright wall only along two opposite sides of the tray so that the tray can be arranged without any wall at the interfaces of the watch and watchstrap halves.

[0032] The use of the display stand may be inferred from the description of the parts given above, but for the sake of completeness will be described below.

[0033] The display stand is provided with all the parts except the covers 20 and the watch trays 26A, 26B fixed together. The watch trays 26A and 26B may be arranged simply to be placed in position on the stand or they may be permanently, slideably mounted on the stand. The covers 20 are detachable.

[0034] With the covers 20 detached, men's buckle straps are placed in the recesses 21 of the holder 4A, with the buckles located over the pins 24 in the recesses and men's long straps are placed in the recesses Z1 of the holder 3A with the ends of the straps for attachment to a watch adjacent to the gap that exists in the assembled stand between the holders 3A and 4A. As will be understood, each buckle strap in a recess in the holder 4A is aligned with a respective long strap in a recess in the holder 3A to define a pair of watchstrap halves which together form one watchstrap; thus the watchstrap halves of the same pair should match. Women's buckle straps and long straps are similarly placed in the recesses 21 of the holders 4A and 4B, respectively. It will be appreciated that different colours and/or designs of straps can be displayed but that watchstrap halves of the same pair will match and normally be of the same colour and design.

[0035] Once the straps are in position the covers 20 are attached by engaging the lugs 22 in the slots 17. Since the covers are transparent the straps remain clearly visible.

[0036] A person interested in acquiring a new watchstrap is then able to assess the appearance of his/her watch in combination with one of the displayed straps, without removing any of the straps and regardless of whether or not the person's watch has a strap on it. If the watch has a strap, the person positions the two strap halves of the watch at the back of the watch and passes them through the slot 18 formed between the pairs of watchstrap halves (the watch then assuming one of the positions shown in Fig. 1 where the watch is referenced by the letter W). The person then slides the watch along the slot until it is aligned with a pair of watchstrap halves of potential interest. The watch can then be viewed in a manner substantially the same as if it were attached to the pair of watchstraps. The watch can be moved along the slot to bring it into line with a different pair of watchstrap halves and the appearance of the new watch and strap combination viewed. If the person's watch does not have a strap on it, it can be placed in the appropriate one of the trays 26A, 26B and again moved along a path between the watchstrap halves in the manner just described.

[0037] Thus it will be seen that a person is able very quickly and easily to obtain a realistic impression of how a particular watch will look in combination with any of a variety of watchstraps.

[0038] Whilst one particular example of display stand has been described it will be understood that the fundamental features of the invention are not dependent upon any particular design of stand and that a wide variety of stands could be employed with the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A watchstrap display stand assembly comprising a display stand, a plurality of first watchstrap halves mounted on the stand and a plurality of second watchstrap halves mounted on the stand, the watchstrap halves being arranged such that each of the first watchstrap halves is positioned in spaced relationship to a respective one of the second watchstrap halves in a manner similar to or substantially the same as when the watchstrap halves are fastened to a watch, each first watchstrap half together with its respective second watchstrap half defining a pair of watchstrap halves for forming respective parts of the same watchstrap.

2. An assembly according to claim 1, in which the plurality of first watchstrap halves are arranged in a first row with their longitudinal axes generally aligned with one another and transverse to the direction along which the first row extends and the plurality of second watchstrap halves are arranged in a second row with their longitudinal axes generally aligned with one another and transverse to the direction along which the second row extends.

3. An assembly according to claim 1 or 2, in which empty spaces are provided between the first and second watchstrap halves of each pair of watchstrap halves.

4. An assembly according to any preceding claim, in which the display stand includes one or more support surfaces on which the first and second watchstrap halves lie.

5. An assembly according to claim 4, in which said one or more support surfaces are interrupted along a path extending between the first watchstrap halves and the second watchstrap halves.

6. An assembly according to claim 5, in which the interruption comprises a slot.

7. An assembly according to any preceding claim, further including a watch carrier suitable for carrying a strapless watch, the watch carrier being placeable in a plurality of positions between respective pairs of watchstrap halves.

8. An assembly according to claim 7, in which the watch carrier is slideably mounted on the stand for movement along a path extending between the first watchstrap halves and the second watchstrap halves.

9. An assembly according to any preceding claim, further including a plurality of third watchstrap halves mounted on the stand, a plurality of fourth watchstrap halves mounted on the stand, the third and fourth watchstrap halves being arranged such that each of the third watchstrap halves is positioned in spaced relationship to a respective one of the fourth watchstrap halves in a manner similar to or substantially the same as when the watchstrap halves are fastened to a watch, each third watchstrap half together with its respective fourth watchstrap half defining a pair of watchstrap halves for forming respective parts of the same watchstrap.

10. A watchstrap display stand comprising a first holder for holding a plurality of first watchstrap halves, a second holder for holding a plurality of second watchstrap halves, the watchstrap halves being arranged to be held such that each of the first watchstrap halves is positioned in spaced relationship to a respective one of the second watchstrap halves in a manner similar to or substantially the same as when the watchstrap halves are fastened to a watch.

11. A method of displaying watchstraps in which a plurality of first watchstrap halves are positioned in spaced relationship to a plurality of second watchstrap halves, each of the first watchstrap halves being positioned in spaced relationship to a respective one of the second watchstrap halves in a manner similar to or substantially the same as when the watchstrap halves are fastened to a watch, each first watchstrap half together with its respective second watchstrap half defining a pair of watchstrap halves for forming respective parts of the same watchstrap, and positioning a watch between a selected one of the pairs of watchstrap halves in approximately the position it would assume if fastened to the watchstrap halves.

12. A method according to claim 11, further including the step of moving the watch from the position between the selected pair of watchstrap halves and positioning the watch between another selected pair of watchstrap halves.

Drawing