Abstract:
A setting for a diamond or diamond shaped stone is disclosed which can be used for setting any sized diamond or diamond shaped stone. The setting consists of a series of prongs that are angled to match the most common and preferred culet angle of all diamonds or diamond shaped stones, which is approximately 98°. The prongs are of a length longer than the length of the sidewall of the pavilion of the diamond or diamond shaped stone and the portion of the prongs beyond the size needed is cut off and their ends deformed to hold the diamond or diamond shaped stone.

Description:
[0001]     This is a regular patent application based on U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/534,585 filed on Jan. 5, 2004. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention is directed a setting for diamonds or diamond shaped stones that has extended prongs for holding a diamond or diamond shaped stone and is adapted for use with various sized diamonds or diamond shaped stones, where the excess length of the prong is cut off to form a holding end to hold the diamond or diamond shaped stone.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     Settings with extended prongs for mounting diamonds or diamond shaped stores have been used in the past, which typically have several metal prongs upwardly and outwardly extending from a bottom joint or base. The prongs are generally symmetrically arranged about a central symmetric axis of the setting.  
         [0006]     One example of the prior art settings for diamonds or diamond shaped stones is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,038,751 issued to Butler on Mar. 21, 2000 (hereafter “Butler”), which disclosed a method of setting stones by using a setting adopted for accommodating various sized stones, where each prong is disposed at an angle with respect to the axis of the setting in a range between about 20°-30° with the preferred range being between 24°-26°. The problem with the Butler setting, however, is that the oblique angle of the prongs does not match the most common and preferred culet angle of diamonds or diamond shaped stones.  
         [0007]     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a diamond or diamond shaped stone  10  typically has a crown  12  with a table  14 , a girdle  16 , and a pavilion  16  with a culet  18 . The “culet angle” is the planar angle C between the opposite pavilion sidewalls  22  as shown in the side view of  FIG. 2 .  
         [0008]     In diamonds or diamond shaped stones of good or fine make, the preferred culet angle C is in the range of approximately 97°-99°. Usually, an “ideal cut” diamond or diamond shaped stone has a culet angle of approximately 98°.  
         [0009]     When a diamond or diamond shaped stone with a preferred culet angle of approximately 98° is set in a Butler setting, the diamond or diamond shaped stone is held in a position that is raised from and above the base or bottom joint of the prongs, because of the mismatch of the oblique angle of the prongs of the Butler setting with the most common and preferred culet angle of the diamonds or diamond shaped stones. As a result, a visible empty space is left between the culet of the diamond or diamond shaped stone and the base or bottom joint of the prongs, no matter what is the size of the diamond or diamond shaped stone, as shown in  FIGS. 3, 5 ,  7 ,  9 ,  12 ,  14 ,  16 , and  18  of Butler. The appearance of such empty space is often undesirable.  
         [0010]     In addition, because the oblique angle of the prongs in the Butler setting does not match the oblique angle of the sidewall of the pavilion of most diamonds or diamond shaped stones, the prongs of the setting do not abut or support the pavilion of the diamond or diamond shaped stone held by setting, which increases the risk that the diamond or diamond shaped stones is not set straight but with a tilted angle relative to the symmetric axis of the setting, which also results in an undesirable appearance.  
         [0011]     Therefore, there exists a need to provide a setting for diamonds or diamond shaped stones that, while can adopt to different sized diamonds or diamond shaped stones, fits the preferred culet angle of diamonds or diamond shaped stones of good and fine make, which is in the range of approximately 97°-99° and preferably to be approximately 98°, so that no visible space is left between the culet of the diamonds or diamond shaped stones and the base or bottom joint of the prongs, and the diamond or diamond shaped stone are always held at the right orientation.  
       SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION  
       [0012]     The present invention discloses a setting for a diamond or a diamond shaped stone which can be used for setting any sized diamond or diamond shaped stone of good or fine make that has the most common and preferred culet angle. The present invention setting consists of a series of prongs that are angled in a correct angle so as to match the most common and preferred culet angle of all diamonds or diamond shaped stones.  
         [0013]     In the present invention setting for diamonds or diamond shaped stones, the prongs are of a length longer than the length of the sidewall of the pavilion of the diamond or diamond shaped stone held thereby and the portion of three prongs beyond the size needed is cut off and holding means are formed at the end thereof to hold the diamond or diamond shaped stone. The diamond or diamond shaped stone is held in the same orientation to the base or bottom joint of the prongs regardless of the size of the diamond or diamond shaped stone held by the setting.  
         [0014]     More importantly, because the prongs of the present invention setting for diamond or diamond shaped stone are angled in an angle chosen to match the most common and preferred culet angle of diamonds or diamond shaped stones, when a diamond or diamond shaped stone is held by the setting, the bottom joint of the setting fittingly abuts the culet and the prongs of the setting fully abut the pavilion of the diamond or diamond shaped stone.  
         [0015]     The present invention presents a novel, unique and improved setting for diamonds or diamond shaped stones that not only can hold diamonds or diamond shaped stones of different sizes, but also fits the most common and preferred culet angle of diamonds or diamond shaped stones, so that no undesirable space is visible under the culet of the diamonds or diamond shaped stones, and the diamond or diamond shaped stone is always held in a right orientation.  
       OBJECTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION  
       [0016]     It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved and better setting for diamonds or diamond shaped stones.  
         [0017]     It is also an object of the present invention to provide a setting with a more pleasing and better appearance than previous settings.  
         [0018]     It is another object of the present invention to provide a setting of diamonds or diamond shaped stones that matches the most common and preferred culet angle of all diamonds or diamond shaped stones.  
         [0019]     It is also another object of the present invention to provide a setting of diamonds or diamond shaped stones that matches the 98° culet angle of ideal cut diamonds or diamond shaped stones.  
         [0020]     It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a setting of diamonds or diamond shaped stones that eliminate the undesirable empty space under the culet of the diamond or diamond shaped stone held by the setting.  
         [0021]     It is still another object of the present invention to provide a setting of diamonds or diamond shaped stones that ensures that the diamond or diamond shaped stone held by the setting is always symmetrically oriented.  
         [0022]     It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a setting that can be used for setting any commonly sized diamonds or diamond shaped stones.  
         [0023]     It is also an additional object of the present invention to provide a setting that holds a diamond or diamond shaped stone in the same orientation with regard to the bottom joint of the prongs regardless of the size of the diamond or diamond shaped stone held by the setting.  
         [0024]     It is a further object of the present invention to provide a setting that allows jewelers to quickly set diamonds or diamond shaped stones of various sizes.  
         [0025]     It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a setting that can be easily used by jewelers for setting diamonds or diamond shaped stones.  
         [0026]     These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent from a review of the accompanying drawings and the detailed description of the drawings.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0027]      FIG. 1  is a prospective view of a diamond or diamond shaped stone of good or fine make;  
         [0028]      FIG. 2  is a side elevation view of the diamond or diamond shaped stone shown in  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0029]      FIG. 3  is a prospective view of one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention setting for diamonds or diamond shaped stones having three prongs;  
         [0030]      FIG. 4  is a top plane view of the present invention setting shown in  FIG. 3 ;  
         [0031]      FIG. 5  is a front elevation view of the present invention setting shown in  FIG. 3  with dotted lines illustrating a diamond or diamond shaped stone held by the setting;  
         [0032]      FIG. 6  is a rear elevation view of the present invention setting shown in  FIG. 3  with dotted lines illustrating the diamond or diamond shaped stone held by the setting;  
         [0033]      FIG. 7  is a side elevation view of the present invention setting shown in  FIG. 3  with dotted lines illustrating the diamond or diamond shaped stone held by the setting;  
         [0034]      FIG. 8  is a side elevation view of the present invention setting shown in  FIG. 3  with dotted lines illustrating a smaller diamond or diamond shaped stone held by the setting;  
         [0035]      FIG. 9  is a prospective view of another one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention setting for diamonds or diamond shaped stones having four prongs;  
         [0036]      FIG. 10  is a top plane view of the present invention setting shown in  FIG. 9 ;  
         [0037]      FIG. 11  is a side elevation view of the present invention setting shown in  FIG. 9  with dotted lines illustrating a diamond or diamond shaped stone held by the setting; and  
         [0038]      FIG. 12  is a side elevation view of the present invention setting shown in  FIG. 9  with dotted lines illustrating a smaller diamond or diamond shaped stone held by the setting.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0039]     Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention setting for diamonds or diamond shaped stones is shown and generally referred to by the numeral  30 . In the following descriptions, the word “diamond(s)” will be used to indicate both diamond(s) and diamond shaped stone(s).  
         [0040]     The setting  30  has three prongs  32  generally made of metal or other similar materials. The prongs  32  are joined at their bottom ends to form bottom joint  34  which serves as the base of the setting  30 . The prongs  32  extend upwardly and outwardly from the bottom joint  34 , and are disposed spaced apart symmetrically about a symmetric axis X of the setting  30 , i.e., the angle A between each prong  32  and the axis X is the same, and the angle B between any two adjacent prongs  32  is also the same for all three prongs  32 .  
         [0041]     One of the most important novel and unique features of the present invention setting  30  is the oblique angle A of its prongs  32 . As discussed earlier and shown in  FIG. 2 , the most common and preferred culet angle C for diamonds is in the range of approximately 97°-99° for diamonds of good and fine make, or more preferably to be approximately 98° for ideal cut diamonds. This means that the angle A′ between a symmetric axis Z of the diamond  10  and its pavilion sidewall  22 , which is half of the culet angle C, is in the range of approximately 48.5-49.5° for diamonds of good and fine make, or approximately 49° for ideal cut diamonds. In the present invention setting  30 , the oblique angle A of its prongs matches this angle A′, i.e., to be in the range of approximately 48.5°-49.5° and preferably 49°. In other words, the oblique angle A of the prongs  32  of the present invention setting  30  matches the oblique angle A′ of the pavilion sidewall  22  of the diamond  10  of good and fine make or ideal cut diamonds.  
         [0042]     This novel and unique feature of the prevent invention has several critical and important advantages. As shown in  FIGS. 5-7 , since the oblique angle A of the prongs  32  of the setting  30  is the same as the oblique angle A′ of the pavilion sidewall  22  of the diamond  10 , diamond  10  is not held at a raised position that leaves an empty space below its culet  20  as seen in Butler but rather is allowed to be held at a position where its culet  20  abuts the bottom joint  34  of the setting  30  which eliminates the undesirable appearance of the empty space between the culet  20  of the diamond  10  and the bottom joint  34  of the setting  30 .  
         [0043]     In addition, since the oblique angle A of the prongs  32  of the setting  30  is the same as the oblique angle A′ of the pavilion sidewall  22  of the diamond  10 , when the diamond  10  is held by the setting  30 , the three prongs  32  of the setting  30  symmetrically and fittingly abut the pavilion sidewall  22  of the diamond  10  which ensures that diamond  10  is correctly oriented, i.e. the symmetric axis Z of the diamond  10  coincides with the symmetric axis X of the setting  30 .  
         [0044]     The present invention setting  30  is adopted to fit diamonds of various sizes. As shown in  FIGS. 3, 7  and  8 , the length of the prongs  32 , prior to setting a diamond  10  in the setting  30 , is greater than that of the pavilion sidewall  22  of the majority of diamonds (e.g., between ¼ carat to 2 carat in weight). After a diamond  10  is set between the prongs  32  and its culet  20  abuts the bottom joint  34  of the setting  32 , the excessive length of the prongs  32  beyond the girdle  16  is cut off and the ends of the prongs  32  can be slightly deformed (or in other conventional ways or by other conventional means) to hold the diamond  10  in the setting  30 .  
         [0045]     As shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8 , regardless of the size of diamond  10 , since the oblique angle A of the prongs  32  of the setting  30  is the same as the oblique angle A′ of the pavilion sidewall  22  of the diamond  10 , the prongs  32  will always abut the pavilion sidewall  22  of the diamond  10 , and the bottom joint  34  of the setting  30  will always abut the culet  20  of the diamond  10 .  
         [0046]     This arrangement of the present invention ensures that regardless of the size of diamond  10 , there will be no space left below the culet  20  of the diamond  10 , and the diamond  10  will always be maintained at an orientation where its symmetric axis Z coincides with the symmetric axis X of the setting  30 .  
         [0047]     Referring to  FIGS. 9-12 , another one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention setting for diamonds is shown and generally referred to by the numeral  40 .  
         [0048]     The structure, function and characteristics of this alternative setting  40  are very similar to the above described setting  30  except setting  40  has four prongs  42  instead of three, therefore the description of this alternative setting  40  below will not unnecessarily duplicate the descriptions of such similar structure, function and characteristics.  
         [0049]     The alternative setting  40  has four prongs  42  generally made of metal or other similar materials. The prongs  42  are joined at their bottom ends to form bottom joint  44  which serves as the base of the setting  40 . The prongs  42  extending upwardly and outwardly from the bottom joint  44 , and are disposed spaced apart symmetrically about a symmetric axis X of the setting  40 , i.e., the angle A between each prong  42  and the axis X is the same, and the angle D between any two adjacent prongs  42  is also the same for all four prongs  42 .  
         [0050]     More importantly, the oblique angle A of the prongs  42  matches the angle A′ of the pavilion sidewall  22  of the diamond  10 , and is in the range of approximately 48.5-49.5E for diamonds of good and fine make and preferably 49E for ideal cut diamonds. As a result, regardless of the size of diamond  10 , the prongs  42  of the setting  40  will always abut the pavilion sidewall  22  of the diamond  10  to ensure proper orientation of the diamond  10 , and the bottom joint  44  of the setting  40  will always abut the culet  20  of the diamond  10  to eliminate any space between the culet  20  of the diamond  10  and the bottom joint  44  of the setting  40 .  
         [0051]     It is appreciated that while a three-prong setting  30  and a four-prong setting  40  are described hereinabove, the present invention setting may have any number of prongs, such as three, four, six or other number of prongs, without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.  
         [0052]     It is also appreciated that the oblique angle A of the prongs of the present invention setting may be in a wider range, e.g., between approximately 40-60°, to accommodate diamonds of imperfect cut.  
         [0053]     It is further appreciated that while a round cut diamond is illustrated in the drawings and described herein, the present invention setting may be adopted to hold diamonds of other types of cut, such as the “princess cut”, without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.  
         [0054]     While the present invention has been described in detail with regards to the preferred embodiments, it is appreciated that other variations of the present invention may be devised which do not depart from the inventive concept of the present invention.