US2907187A - Jewel mounting - Google Patents

Description

United States Patent JEWEL MOUNTING David Karp, Riverdale, Hubert Ham, JacksonHeights, Jack Reckson, Brooklyn, and William Hoffman, Bronx, N.Y.; said Ham, said Reckson, and said Hoffman, assignors to said Karp Application June -6, 1956, Serial No. 589,628 2 Claims. (Cl. 63-28) expense. Since several smaller diamonds cost less than a single diamond of the same total weight, attempts have been made to group several of the smaller diamonds in a manner which presents a larger viewable area. Because of the conventional manner of mounting, however, the lines of demarcation between adjacent stones are readily visible and the surface of the composite diamond is broken up by greater or lesser visible amounts of the metal which holds the individual stones in place.

lt is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an improved mounting for receiving a plurality of precious stones and for holdin-g said stones securely, but in direct lateral contact with each other.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an article of jewelry including a plurality Vof precious stones held together in such a manner that the lines of demarcation between the individual stones are not readily discernible.

Another object of the invention is to provide an article of jewelry, such as a ring, including a plurality of stones held together by the spaced prongs of a setting in such a manner that a maximum surface area of all of the stones is visible while all of the prongs, which are visible to a minimum extent, do not break up the continuity of the ornamental jeweled surface.

Still another object of the invention is to arrange and securely hold together a plurality of precious stones in a manner which presents an unimpaired, continuous jeweled surface heretofore obtainable only with single stones of considerably greater weight.

Yet another object of the present invention is to hold a plurality of precious stones together in a secure mounting in such manner that each individual stone is shown to its best advantage and all of the stones, considered as a group, are shown in a manner wherein an integrated and overall eect of a single large stone of increased size and brilliance is achieved.

These and other objects and advantages are realized in accordance with the present invention, a preferred embodiment of which will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a ring carrying a plurality of precious stones in a setting` according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a portion of the ring of Fig. 1 with the setting and precious stones shown separated from each other;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary top plan view of a corner portion of the setting and precious stones of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view in side elevation of the setting without the stones, taken along line 4 4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 4 with the stones mounted in the setting;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view in elevation taken along the line 6 6 of Fig. 1 and Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view in elevation taken along the oblique line 7 7 of Fig. 3.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 2 and 4, the ring comprises a finger encircling or ring portion 11 which may be ornamented in conventional manner either with cut-out work, baguets, etc. A gem mounting designated generally as 12 for holding precious stones is formed integrally with or otherwise secured to the ring portion 11.

The mounting 12 comprises a plurality, i.e., four in the present embodiment, of mutually upwardly and outwardly divergent uprights 13 which, when viewed in transverse section, define the corners of a rectangle. The uprights 13 are connected to each other at their inner or lower ends and to the ring portion 11 by lateral walls 14 in conventional manner. The top portions of the uprights 13 are joined to each other by four pairs 15, 16, 17 and 18 of spaced parallel bars. As seen in Fig. 4 the tops of the bars of each set, e.g., 15a, 15b and 17a, 17b

' are flat and dene a plane which is inclined downwardly and outwardly with respect to the horizontal at an acute angle a. At the four locations where the pairs of bars 1S-18 meet the uprights 13 prong-forming elements 19 are provided, these elements extending somewhat above the horizontal plane dened by the tops of the inner bars 15a, 16a, 17a, 18a. The inner portion of each element 19 is provided with a right-angled corner for receiving a respective corner'of the central or substantially rectangular stone or baguet 20.

The` elongated substantially rod-shaped stones or side baguets 21, 22, 23, 24 are cut in conventional manner so that they are provided with bevelled projecting end portions by means of which they may be clamped. The side baguets 21-24 are initially seated on the setting shown in Figs. 2 and 4 so that they rest loosely on the pairs of bars 15-18 of the mounting 12. When so seated the edges of the central baguet 20 will directly abut an edge of each of the peripheral baguets 21-24 so that, when viewed from the top only the live diamonds will be Visible, as seen in Fig. l, together with the small top end surfaces of the uprights 13.

A sharp tool is then dug into each prong-forming element 19 and the material of the element is deformed twice along mutually perpendicular lines to form crossed indentations 25 as seen in Fig. 7. Each of these mutually perpendicular lines is substantially an extension of the line defined by the abutting edges 4of the rectangular jewel 20 and one of the rod-shaped jewels 21 to 24. The element 19 is thus transformed into a prong 26 which includes a portion 26a (Fig. 7) holding down a corner of the central baguet 20' and two portions 26]) holding down respective bevelled ends of two side baguets such as 23, 24 (Fig. 3). When all of the elements 19 have been transformed into prongs 26 the mounting will have the finished appearance shown in Fig. l.

Because the inner edge of each baguet 21-24 is in direct contact with an edge of baguet 20, the assembly of ve diamond baguets has the appearance of a single diamond of larger size. The inclination a ensures the required contact and avoids the need for any spacing between the abutting edges of the baguets. Because of this `angular inclination, less care need be taken -in arranging the peripheral baguets since a slight overlap will not be noticeable. Moreover, the inclination gives to the assembly the appearance of a single large stone provided withV a'plurality'ofsquarecut'facets for refraction of light and the depressed zones along the boundary between adjacent baguets adds to this eiect. ln addition, the comparatively small distancebetween the bars of each pair as opposed to the dimensions of the rectangle, i.e., the distance between opposite inner bars, further gives to the baguets the appearance of facets of a single large stone. The factthat it is actually a depressed zone cannot be visually detected except upon extremely close examinationwith a jewelers loupe.

By way of specific. illustration, an assembly of baguets weighing 0.6 carat has the same external visual appearance asV a single diamond weighing about 1.0 carat. Moreover, the cost ofthe smaller baguets is considerably less than that of even an equal weight of a single diamond so that there is an economy factor far in excess of 50%.

The mounting can be made of precious metals such as platinum, gold, silver, or the like, but can also be made of any other materials of sufcient strength to hold the baguets securely. The number of uprights 13 will of course depend upon the number of peripheral baguets to be joined to thecentral diamond. lt is obvious that a greater or lesser number than four may be provided although when more are provided it will be necessary to employ a polygonal central baguet having more than four principal rectilinear edges.

Due to the spacing of the bars of each set, the spacing of the uprights, and the spacing between the bars and the respective members 14, there is defined a window for the lateral passage of light below each side baguet 21 to 24 so that the assembled diamonds or other stones will exhibit a maximum amount of brilliance.

The baguets of course can be precious stones other than diamonds, eg., rubies, emeralds, Sapphires, and the like, and the cuts thereof and number of `facets can be varied. The angle a can also be varied within wide limits and can even be as when it is desired that the table of the peripheral baguets, i.e., the plane of Vthe top, is to be ilat and horizontal. While dilerent stones could be used within a single setting, it follows that the effect of a single stone of increased size cannot be realized except when all stones are of the same material and substantially of the same color and quality.

Various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the annexed claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A mounting for jewels comprising four uprights substantially defining the corners of a rectangle, a pair of spaced bars interconnecting each pair of adjacent uprights, a rectangular jewel' partially receivable in the opening formed by and resting upon the upper edges of the innermost of said bars, four rod-shaped jewels each partially received in each opening formed by each pair of bars and the uprights interconnected by said pair of bars, said rod-shaped jewels resting upon the upper edges of their associated bars, and a prong-forming element affixed to the upper end of each upright and extending above the upper edges of said bars, the inner longitudinal edge of each of said rod-shaped jewels directly abutting one' of the peripheral edges of said rectangular jewel, said prong-forming elements each being deformed along mutually perpendicular lines to form prongs and grooves which prongsV overlie theadjacent corner portion ot said rectangular jewel and the adjacent smaller edge portions of two of' said rodashaped jewels, each of said grooves being' in the top surface of said prong-forming element and being substantially an extension of the line defined by the abutting edges'of said rectangular jewel and one of' said rod-shaped jewels.

2. A' device as defined in claim 1 wherein the upper edge'of the outer'bar of each of said pairs of bars is lowerthan the upper edge of the inner bar of the same pair.v

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 948,774 Strelitz' Feb. 8, 1910 2,207,869 Monnier July 16, 1940 2,749,597 Fns June 12, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 585,940 France Dec. 19, 1924 261,703 Switzerland Sept. 1, 1949

Images