ENCRUSTED DIAMOND

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to gemstones, in particular to encrusted gemstones where one gemstone is inserted into another gemstone.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Different concepts and combinations have been used to enhance jewelry. Where small diamonds are involved, it is common to set them in a large metal setting having colors or designs that tend to cause the diamond or other precious stone to appear larger. In other instances, semiprecious stones of relatively large size have contrasting precious stones of relatively smaller size mounted thereon or associated therewith. The contrast may be not only in size, cut and shape, but also in kind and/or color.

US 5,090,216 discloses enhancing a large man-made gemstone such as a zirconia by bonding thereto a precious gemstone such as a diamond. The diamond is selected with a girdle diameter that is slightly, less than the width of the crown table of the cubic zirconia. The cubic zirconia has a conical seat ground in its table to match the angle of the diamond pavilion. The conical seat is ground deep enough so that the diamond girdle is just below the crown table surface of the cubic zirconia. The diamond is then glued or cemented into the conical seat with enough glue to slightly cover the crown girdle facets of the diamond.

In the present application and claims the term 'color' will be used in association with naturally or artificially colored diamonds with distinct, attractive tints, and particularly with diamonds having fancy colors, where the grade and value of diamonds increase with color intensity. Among colored diamonds, diamonds with very low transparency (from nearly semitransparent to opaque) are known as 'dark diamonds'. These are considered not to return light and are normally dark gray, very dark green or truly black.

The above use of the term "color" should be distinguished from a very special use of this term in the diamond industry with respect to diamonds returning light (hereinafter 'light color' diamonds), where diamonds are graded by how closely they approach colorless so that a diamond being said to have 'fine color', frequently has no visible color at all. hi such 'light' diamonds, the amount of light returned to the eye from a light cut diamond, depends on how well the diamond in question reflects and refracts light including dispersed rays of different wavelengths, which are reflected from the internal surfaces of the diamond.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an encrusted gemstone comprising a base diamond having a crown with a table surface, a pavilion, and a recessed seat in the table surface; and an insert diamond having a pavilion matching said recessed seat and set therein. The base diamond and the insert diamond may be of different colors with the difference readily distinguishable by the eye. The base diamond and the insert diamond may be of different shapes. There may be more than one insert diamonds.

In particular, the base and insert diamonds may be of contrasting colors. In one embodiment of the present invention, the base diamond is of more intensive color than the insert diamond. For example, the base diamond may be of dark color and the insert diamond may be of a light color. In this case, it is preferable that the recessed seat is deeper than the level of the base diamond pavilion, hi another embodiment of the present invention, the insert diamond is of more intensive color than the base diamond. For example, the base diamond may be of light color and the insert diamond may be of dark color. In this case, it is preferable that the recessed seat is shallow, i.e. is not deeper than the level of the pavilion of the base diamond. With such a seat, it may be advantageous that the insert diamond pavilion and the seat are frustum-shaped.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, both the base diamond and the insert diamond are of light color, i.e. return light, the insert diamond pavilion and the recessed seat being spherically shaped. In this case, the insert diamond may be set deeper that the level of the pavilion of the base diamond.

The insert diamond may be set by means of a metal setting, for example invisible setting or bezel setting. Alternatively, the insert diamond may be set by means of clear glue. Preferably, the clear glue is UV setting glue.

The encrusted gemstone of the present invention combines a base diamond with one or more insert diamonds in a unique way providing original contrast patterns between diamond colors. Natural light color diamonds may be combined with dark diamonds or with natural or treated fancy diamonds. In particular, dark diamonds may be combined with light color (including colorless) diamonds in an unexpected way creating a new kind of jewels. The contrast pattern may be enhanced by using different shapes of the base diamond and the insert diamond. The shapes may be selected from such popular shapes as round or square or fancy shapes such as, for example, oval, pear, princess, emerald, marquise, cushion, heart, etc.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order to understand the invention and to see how it may be carried out in practice, a preferred embodiment will now be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. IA is a schematic side view of an encrusted gemstone in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; Fig. IB is a schematic exploded view of the gemstone of Fig. IA;

Fig. 2 is a schematic side view of an encrusted gemstone with frustum-shaped insert diamond;

Fig. 3 is a schematic side view of an encrusted gemstone with dark base diamond and deeply set insert diamond; and Figs. 4A and 4B are schematic side views of an encrusted gemstone with spherically shaped interface between the base and the insert diamonds, at different depth.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

With reference to Fig. IA and IB, there is shown in schematic side view and in exploded view an encrusted (enhanced) gemstone 10 comprising a base diamond 12 and an insert diamond 14, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

- A -

The base diamond 12 has crown 16 with a table surface 18, a pavilion 20 and girdle 22. The table surface 18 has a recessed seat 24 carved therein. The recessed seat is drilled by means of a laser drill known in the art of diamond processing. After that, final polishing of the diamond facets may be made as necessary. The insert diamond 14 has a pavilion 26 matching the recessed seat 24. The insert diamond is set in the seat by means of special glue, but may be mounted in metallic setting (see below). Preferably, the base diamond and the insert diamond are of different colors.

For example, the insert diamond 14 may be of more intensive color than the base diamond 12. When the base diamond 12 is of light color, the recessed seat 24 preferably does not go deeper than the higher level of the base pavilion 20; else the brilliancy may be lost.

Fig. 2 shows an encrusted gemstone 30 with a light color base diamond 32 and dark color insert diamond 34. The pavilion 36 of the insert diamond 34 and the recessed seat 38 of the base diamond in such case may be frustum-shaped, for the insert diamond to be fully disposed above the pavilion of the base diamond 32. This allows the insert diamond 34 with such a disposition to have a greater area than it could have were its pavilion in the form of a cone with an apex.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 3, an encrusted gemstone 40 comprises a base diamond 42 which is of more intensive color than the insert diamond 44. If the base diamond 42 is of dark color, its recessed seat 46 may be deeper than the higher level of the base diamond pavilion 48. As an example, the insert diamond 44 is shown mounted in metallic bezel setting 50 accommodated in the base diamond 42.

Fig. 4A shows a further embodiment of the present invention, encrusted gemstone 60, comprising a base diamond 62 and an insert diamond 64. Both diamonds are of light but of different, preferably contrasting colors. The insert diamond pavilion

66 and the recessed seat 68 are spherically shaped and the insert is set by means of clear glue, for example UV setting glue. This arrangement allows light to pass the interface between the diamonds substantially without reflection at the interface, and the difference in the color shades creates original contrasts and play of light.

With both the insert and base diamonds being of light color, the insert may be set deeper than the level of the base pavilion 20, as shown in the encrusted gemstone 70 in Fig. 4B.

The base diamond and the insert diamond may be of different shapes, for example a heart-shaped light color diamond encrusted in a dark base diamond of round or emerald shape.