Jewelry clasp

Claim 1

A jewelry clasp comprising: a male member having parallel side edges and a generally oblong planar form, with a groove formed in one of its side edges; a planar female member receiving said male member, said female member having integrally formed parallel planar side walls spaced apart a distance only slightly greater than the thickness of said male member and a bottom wall, defining a generally U-shaped compartment open at its upper end; and a top member sandwiched between said parallel side walls of said generally U-shaped female member and extending from said bottom wall to the top edges of said side walls, said top member including a support member portion on its inner end that is fixed to the inner ends of said side walls, said top member having a pull-up lever portion integrally formed with said support member portion and extending forwardly therefrom in spaced relation from said bottom wall, said pull-up lever portion being resiliently moveable relative to said side walls, and together with said side walls and said bottom wall defining a chamber for receiving said male member, the outer end of said pull-up lever projecting upwardly from said female member, and the underside of the outer end of said pull-up lever portion having a stop member integrally formed thereon, for engaging said groove of said male member to lock said jewelry clasp, said male member being released from said female member by grasping said outwardly projecting portion of said pull-up lever and deflecting it away from said female member to release said stop member.