Many traditional jewellery boxes feature a miniature ballerina figure who twirls around slowly to some musical accompaniment when the lid is opened. (see link)

I see an opportunity here for madame ballerina to do something much more useful, that being to assist in the cleaning of the items in the box. Here's how this can be achieved:

On removing an item to be worn and finding it perhaps a little dulled through neglect, the prospective wearer presses the discrete "cleaning" button on the box. A protective curtain rises around the little ballerina covering her up, apart from a slot at the front through which the ring or other item to be cleaned can be inserted and held in place.

The normally demure ballerina now accelerates to full operating speed, her tutu dress rising up to become a polishing disk, against which the jewellery is held until it's buffed to a sparkling shine once again. She is now in full Rapid-Rina mode. A simple knob controls the rotational velocity.

A range of the tutu dresses that double up as cleaning disks are held in a storage area under the box, along with protective gloves and a jar of jeweller's rouge. (note cleaning disks are technically called "mops" in the world of jewellery)

On completion of the cleaning process, the protective screen retracts into its slot, revealing the ballerina again, who's dress may be changed to that of a more decorative one for display purposes.
-- xenzag, Dec 01 2017

Rapid-Rina https://i.pinimg.co...s-jewellery-box.jpg
a strobe capture freeze frame of Rapid-Rina operating at 5,000 rpm (with protective screen retracted to reveal greater detail) [xenzag, Dec 01 2017]

(+) if only for the link alone. The sensible idea is also not bad, but you can be forgiven for that.
-- normzone, Dec 01 2017


So if the rapid-rina cleans jewellery, what exactly does the ball-erina clean?
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Dec 01 2017


The Family Jewel Box, shirley ?

Explain again what useful function jewelry performs.

Spanners tighten and loosen nuts and bolts.

Clothing protects from environmental factors.

Saucepans allow solids and liquids to be contained and heated.

This we understand.

But what does jewelry actually do ?
-- 8th of 7, Dec 01 2017


You need to look at the root words to fully grasp the function.

While the word starts with "jew", actually there is no connection between the people/religion and jewelry.

The primary subset is welry, which originated as "well re". This was the term used to describe the process of widening and deepening a well that was producing less water due to sedimentary buildup - well refurbishing.

And the person who went into the wells to dig, shore up the walls, and otherwise maintain them, had to be braver than most, since it was dark, cold, wet, and caveins were not unheard of. Actually, they were not unknown, but rarely heard, except for the splash at the beginning.

So the person doing the work needed a method to motivate potential rescuers in the event of such a collapse of the well sidewalls. Wearing jewelry at least insured that somebody would come down and attempt to retrieve your body, if only for the saleable metals and gems you were wearing. If you were fortunate, that happened before you expired.

The "je" at the front of the word is just a french prefix appended to insinuate that they invented it.
-- normzone, Dec 01 2017


At last, the mists clear a little ...

Hmmmm ...
-- 8th of 7, Dec 01 2017


Jewellery is highly functional. It is a highly portable form of wealth; it can serve as an indicator of social status and/or personal wealth; by virtue of its expense, presenting it to a female of the species acts as an indicator of your fitness as a potential, or ongoing, mate; and, depending on your policy for the depreciation of capital assets, it can act as a form of bail for your continued good behaviour. Its appearance is secondary but, given that it must be displayed to fulfil many of its functions, it tends to be made attractive rather than ugly.

If you come into contact with any female borg, you might care to solicit her opinion on the matter.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Dec 01 2017


Wouldn't the ballerina rather change with the curtain up?
-- notexactly, Dec 09 2018



random, halfbakery