Jewelry Designer Celebrates the Journey to Her 1st U.S. Patent

By Karen Dybis | February 18, 2022

There’s a number that is special to jewelry designer Catherine “Katia” Rudnick, and it goes something like this: 11,224,267. That’s her unique number with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which marks her as an inventor.

It all started March 4, 2020, when Rudnick filed that all-important paperwork with her attorney at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Fast- forward to Jan. 18, 2022, when the Florida-based jewelry designer found out she was granted her patent for a customizable necklace system and method—on the first try.

“When my attorney contacted me to say congratulations, he also said it was extremely uncommon that someone would be approved on the first try. I was psyched,” Rudnick says. “Katia Designs as a brand is growing rapidly, and I’m proud that it is successful. Yet this gives me so much credibility. It makes me an inventor. That highlights my work even more, and that’s equally exciting.”

According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, almost 650,000 people applied for a patent in 2020, and 47% of them were turned down. In some ways, the numbers were stacked against Rudnick in that receiving a design-focused patent can be more difficult. Moreover, it is typical for people to try to get a patent approved for years, and some may never get their wish.

Katia Rudnick Katia Designs — *Katia Rudnick created a double-sided magnetic clasp so the people who wear her jewelry can easily change how it looks, and she recently received a patent for that design concept.*

Her patent is for a double-sided magnetic clasp that allows people to wear a necklace in a variety of lengths, moving from a choker to a double strand to a single strand in seconds.

This ability to change a piece of jewelry into multiple looks or uses is a popular trend in the industry, and it also is a hallmark of Katia Designs. Rudnick says her goal is to create a jewelry collection that connects to the wearer, allowing them to create meaning through her charms and their messages as well as beauty through the gemstones and crystals she includes as natural elements.

For Rudnick, receiving approval on her patent is important as a creator. This gives her exclusive rights to the design, which is key to having something unique for her customers. In this case, Katia Designs has the exclusive rights to make, use, and sell her design in the United States for 15 years.

The idea came to her as she was working at home, Rudnick says. It happened quickly, the Soviet Union–born jeweler says.

“I was sitting at the kitchen table, playing with putting different stuff together. The idea popped into my head, and electricity went through my body. I thought, ‘This is something,’ ” Rudnick says. “I was doing events and I showed some women how the necklace worked, and they through it was awesome and asked how I came up with it. That felt like a confirmation.”

Katia Rudnick patent — *Having a patent confirms Rudnick’s feeling that the double-sided magnetic clasp she created while sitting at her kitchen table designing jewelry was truly something special.*

In all, the process of finding an attorney, applying for the patent, and receiving approval took about three years. Although that was a long time to wait without a predictable outcome, Rudnick says she would do it again in a second.

“It puts me and my company into a different category,” Rudnick says. “The future can be even more interesting since I own this concept. I don’t have a clear idea, but I do know there’s a lot of opportunity. For me, it’s really important that I feel creative and find flow. I feel good when I’m able to push myself and I’m able to produce.”

Rudnick says the messages on her work are especially important in her design process and final products. The goal is to create uplifting phrases for the person who wears it, highlighting a goal, mission, or expression the wearer wants to share with the world, whether it is “I am strong,” “Perfectly imperfect,” or “Today I welcome miracles.”

“It’s about being authentic,” Rudnick says. “It’s about going for your dreams. So many dreams die because people might want to share their ideas, but they feel like other people are going to influence them or they might be influenced by what other people say. What you think and what you create is nobody else’s business. It’s your creation, and I encourage everyone to dream big.”

Top: It took about three years from start to finish for Katia Rudnick to think up, apply for, and find out she had received a coveted patent on a double-sided magnetic clasp she created for her jewelry designs (all photos courtesy of Katia Rudnick).

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