Jewelry article

Abstract

A jewelry article includes an elongated support and a multiplicity of beads strung along the support. At least one of the beads constitutes a stopping bead consisting of a substantially closed hollow metal shell with a pair of holes sized to slideably receive the support. A heat shrink tube is positioned inside the shell with its opposite ends captured by portions of said shell around the holes. When heated, the tube shrinks radially into conformance with the support so as to permanently anchor the bead to the support.

1 . A jewelry article comprising an elongated slender support and at least one locking bead strung on the support, each locking bead including a substantially closed hollow metal shell having a pair of holes therein sized to readily receive the support, and a heat shrink tube positioned inside the shell between the holes, said tube having opposite ends captured by portions of said shell around the holes and heat shrunk radially into substantial conformance with said support thereby permanently anchoring said locking bead to the support.  
   
   
       2 . The jewelry article defined in  claim 1  wherein the support comprises a metal chain.  
   
   
       3 . A jewelry article comprising a substantially closed hollow metal shell having a pair of holes therein, and a heat shrink tube inside the shell in alignment with the holes, said tube having opposite ends captured by portions of said shell around the holes and a passage extending between said ends whose cross section is no smaller than that of said holes so that an elongated support may be threaded easily through the holes and said passage, said tube having a crystalline melting point and an elastic memory that may be retrieved by heating the tube above said crystalline melting point causing it to shrink radially until it substantially conforms to the support.  
   
   
       4 . A jewelry article comprising a substantially closed hollow metal shell having a pair of holes therein and a heat-shrinkable crosslinked irradiated thermoplastic tube positioned inside the shell in alignment with the holes, said tube having a stressed inner diameter comparable to that of the holes but which possesses a heat-retrievable elastic memory of in inherent unstressed inner diameter that is at least 50% smaller than that of the holes.