JEWELRY HAVING FLUORESCENT DIAMONDS WHICH PRODUCE AN IMAGE UNDER ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT

Abstract

An article of jewelry includes a first group of non-fluorescent gemstones and a first group of fluorescent diamonds. The first group of non-fluorescent gemstones and the first group of fluorescent diamonds are arranged on a mounting to form a composite image when illuminated with ambient light. The first group of non-fluorescent gemstones forms a first sub-image of the composite image and the first group of fluorescent diamonds forms a second sub-image of the composite image. Illumination of the article of jewelry with ultraviolet light, causes the first group of fluorescent diamonds to glow so that the second sub-image is visible to a human eye in an absence or substantial absence of ambient light.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/562,196, filed Sep. 22, 2017. The entire disclosure of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/562,196 is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present invention relates to articles generally having precious metals and stones that are intended to be worn upon the person as ornaments. More particularly, the present invention relates to jewelry that includes diamonds, which emit fluorescent light when the jewelry is illuminated with ultraviolet light.

BACKGROUND

Jewelry, such as rings, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, pendants and the like, are ornaments worn by men and women for personal adornment. Men and women wear jewelry for many reasons. For example, jewelry can be worn to express oneself, complement one's clothing, show wealth, and/or to show affiliation with a certain group.

They are also incorporated into their emails, Twitter and Instagram, as well being so important to their identity the numbers are incorporated into later business ventures.

A wide range of materials can be used to make Jewelry. Precious metals and gemstones, however, are most often used. One of the most popular gemstones used for making jewelry are diamonds.

A significant percentage of diamonds exhibit fluorescence. Fluorescence in diamonds is a diamond's tendency to emit visible light when the diamond is illuminated with ultraviolet (UV) light, commonly known as “black light.” Fluorescent diamonds (diamonds that exhibit fluorescence) commonly emit a blue color light when exposed to UV light. Some fluorescent diamonds, however, can emit light of various shades of green, yellow, white or red, when illuminated with UV light. The intensity of the fluorescence can be negligible, faint, medium, strong, or very strong as per the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) rating scale.

Fluorescent diamonds have a negative image because the strong fluorescence in some diamonds may reduce their clarity. Fortunately, the fluorescence in most diamonds does not reduce their brilliance and clarity, which should make them useful in personalized Jewelry.

Professional athletes are provided with jersey numbers. These numbers are a means of memory, pride and identification. They go hand and hand. Many jersey number associations start in high school or college and then into professional sports. Many athletes have custom jewelry that includes their jersey number.

SUMMARY

Disclosed herein is an article of jewelry. The article of jewelry comprises at least one non-fluorescent gemstone and at least one fluorescent diamond. The at least one non-fluorescent gemstone and the at least one fluorescent diamond are arranged to form a composite image when illuminated with ambient light. The at least one non-fluorescent gemstone forms a first sub-image of the composite image and the at least one fluorescent diamond forms a second sub-image of the composite image. Illumination of the article of jewelry with ultraviolet light, causes the at least one fluorescent diamond to glow so that the second sub-image is visible to a human eye in an absence or substantial absence of ambient light.

In some embodiments, the at least one non-fluorescent gemstone comprises at least one precious or semi-precious gemstone.

In some embodiments, the at least one precious or semi-precious gemstone is naturally occurring, man-made, or treated.

In some embodiments, the at least one non-fluorescent gemstone comprises at least one common gemstone.

In some embodiments, the at least one common gemstone is naturally occurring, man-made, or treated.

In some embodiments, the at least one fluorescent diamond is naturally occurring, man-made, or treated.

In some embodiments, the article of jewelry further comprises a mounting, the at least one non-fluorescent gemstone and the at least one fluorescent diamond arranged in or on the mounting.

Further disclosed herein is an article of jewelry comprising a first group of non-fluorescent gemstones and a first group of fluorescent diamonds. The first group of non-fluorescent gemstones and the first group of fluorescent diamonds are arranged to form a composite image when illuminated with ambient light. The first group of non-fluorescent gemstones forms a first sub-image of the composite image and the first group of fluorescent diamonds forms a second sub-image of the composite image. Illumination of the article of jewelry with ultraviolet light, causes the first group of fluorescent diamonds to glow so that the second sub-image is visible to a human eye in an absence or substantial absence of ambient light.

In some embodiments, the article of jewelry further comprises at least a second group of non-fluorescent gemstones.

In some embodiments, the second group of non-fluorescent gemstones forms a third sub-image of the composite image.

In some embodiments, the article of jewelry further comprises at least a second group of fluorescent diamonds.

In some embodiments, the second group of fluorescent diamonds forms a third sub-image of the composite image.

In some embodiments, the first group of non-fluorescent gemstones comprises precious gemstones, semi-precious gemstones, common gemstones or any combination thereof.

In some embodiments, gemstones of the first group of non-fluorescent gemstones are naturally occurring, man-made, treated or any combination thereof.

In some embodiments, diamonds of the first group of fluorescent diamonds are naturally occurring, man-made, treated or any combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the article of jewelry further comprises a mounting, the first group of non-fluorescent gemstones and the first group of fluorescent diamonds are arranged in or on the mounting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure is best understood from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is emphasized that, according to common practice, the various features of the drawings are not necessarily to scale. On the contrary, the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily expanded or reduced for clarity. Like numerals denote like features throughout the specification and the drawings.

FIGS. 1A-1C are front views of an article of jewelry according to an embodiment of the disclosure where FIG. 1A depicts the article of jewelry in ambient light, FIG. 1B depicts the article of jewelry in ambient light/low level ambient light and ultraviolet light, and FIG. 1C depicts the article of jewelry in ultraviolet light.

FIG. 2A is a front view of an article of jewelry according to another embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2B is a front view of an article of jewelry according to another embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a front view of an article of jewelry according to another embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a front view of an article of jewelry according to another embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5A is a front view of an article of jewelry according to another embodiment of the disclosure depicted in ambient light.

FIG. 5B is a front view of the article of jewelry of FIG. 5A depicted in ultraviolet light.

FIG. 6A is a front view of an article of jewelry according to another embodiment of the disclosure depicted in ambient light.

FIG. 6B is a front view of the article of jewelry of FIG. 6A depicted in ultraviolet light.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For the purposes of the specification and the claims, the below terms have the following definitions.

The term “non-fluorescent gemstone” is defined herein as a naturally occurring, man-made or treated precious gemstone or semi-precious gemstone, (a diamond, a ruby, a sapphire, or an emerald), or a naturally occurring, man-made or treated common gemstone (e.g, apatite, beryl, coral, jade, topaz), which does not emit light visible to the human eye when illuminated with ultraviolet light.

The term “treated” is defined herein as a precious, semi-precious gemstone or common gemstone that is bleached, surface coated, dyed, fracture or cavity filled, heat treated, high pressure high temperature treated, impregnated, irradiated, laser drilled, lattice diffused, other well known gemstone treatments or any combination thereof.

The term “fluorescent diamond” is defined herein as a naturally occurring, man-made, or treated diamond that emits light visible to the human eye when illuminated with ultraviolet light.

The term “ambient light” is defined herein as light visible to the human eye, which is generated by the sun, moon, other natural light sources, man-made lamps, or any combination thereof.

The term “ultraviolet light” is defined herein as light that has a wavelength which is not visible to the human eye.

The invention comprises an article of jewelry, such as a ring, a necklaces, earrings, a bracelet, a pendant, a pin, and the like, which has one or more non-fluorescent gemstones and one or more one or more fluorescent diamonds. When the article of jewelry is illuminated with ambient light, the non-fluorescent gemstones and the fluorescent diamonds together reflect the ambient light to form a composite image. The composite image includes a first sub-image formed by the portion of ambient light reflected by the non-fluorescent gemstones and a second sub-image formed by the portion of ambient light reflected by the fluorescent diamonds. When the article of jewelry is illuminated with ultraviolet light in the absence or substantial absence of ambient light, the non-fluorescent gemstones do not reflect the first sub-image and therefore, are substantially invisible to the human eye, while the second sub-image formed by the fluorescent diamonds appears to glow to the human eye. The glowing second sub-image has a certain intensity (faint, medium, strong, or very strong as per the GIA rating scale), and color (blue, green, yellow, white or red), which is due to the absorption of the ultraviolet light by the fluorescent diamonds, which in turn, causes the fluorescent diamonds to emit the glowing light that is visible to the human eye and forms the second sub-image.

Referring now to FIG. 1A, the article of jewelry 10 according to one embodiment includes a mounting 20, which may be made of a metal, such as gold or platinum, and a group of non-fluorescent gemstones 30 set into or on the mounting 20 using one or more well known techniques including prongs, bars, bezel, beads or channels. All the non-fluorescent gemstones 20 can be black or some other dark color, such as but not limited to blue, red, or brown.

Referring still to FIG. 1A, the article of jewelry 10 further includes two groups of fluorescent diamonds 40 set into or on the mounting using one or more well known techniques including prongs, bars, bezel, beads or channels. The fluorescent diamonds 40 can be white or any other available color (e.g., black, red, pink, blue, or yellow), which is different in color from the non-fluorescent gemstones 30, so they are distinguishable from the non-fluorescent gemstones 30 in ambient light. In addition, the fluorescent diamonds 40 can be selected to all be of one color in ambient light, or can be of different colors (e.g., some white and some pink). Further, the fluorescent diamonds, whether they are all of the same color or of one or more different colors, can be selected so that they all fluoresce under ultraviolet light in the same color (e.g., blue), or some can fluoresce in one color (e.g., blue), and others can fluoresce in a different color(s) (e.g., white, yellow, green, or red). In addition, the fluorescent diamonds can be selected so that the light intensity of the fluorescence can be substantially the same for all the diamonds or different.

The two groups of fluorescent diamonds 40 are arranged in the mounting with the group of non-fluorescent gemstones 30, so that together they form a composite image 50 in an environment of ambient light, as shown in FIG. 1A, where the non-fluorescent gemstones 30 form a first sub-image 60 and the two groups of fluorescent diamonds 40 form the second sub-image 70, which may be a number (number 110, as shown, or a message, a phrase, a word, a letter, a name, a symbol, and the like. In some embodiments, the first sub-image 60 formed by non-fluorescent gemstones 30 can also be a phrase, a word, a letter, a number, a name, a symbol, and the like. The first sub-image 60 and the second sub-image 70 are distinguishable from one another in the ambient light because the light-colored fluorescent diamonds 40 contrast in shade or color with the dark-colored non-fluorescent gemstones 30.

FIG. 1B depicts the article of jewelry 10 in an environment where it is illuminated with ambient light or low level ambient light, and ultraviolet light. As can be seen, the mounting 20 and the group of non-fluorescent gemstones 30 of the article of jewelry are still visible to the human eye, while the two groups of fluorescent diamonds 40 glow at a certain intensity and color due to the fluorescent characteristic of the fluorescent diamonds 40. Therefore, under such lighting conditions, the first sub-image 60 (as well as the mounting 20) is still visible to the human eye, while the second sub-image appears to light up in response to the ultraviolet light. The use of dark colored non-fluorescent gemstones 30 enhances or maximizes the glowing effect of the fluorescent diamonds when illuminated with ultraviolet light, particularly when the article of jewelry is still illuminated with low level ambient light, such as in a night club.

FIG. 1C depicts the article of jewelry 10 in an environment where it is illuminated with only ultraviolet light and no significant ambient light is illuminating the jewelry 10. As can be seen, the mounting 20 and non-fluorescent gemstones 30 of the article of jewelry 10 fade away and are no longer visible to the human eye, while the fluorescent diamonds 40 glow at the certain intensity and color due to the fluorescent characteristic of the fluorescent diamonds 40. Therefore, under such lighting conditions, the second sub-image of the composite image is only visible to the human eye.

FIG. 2A depicts an article of jewelry 110 according to another embodiment having a mounting 120, a group of non-fluorescent gemstones 130, and a group of fluorescent diamonds 140 disposed around the group of non-fluorescent gemstones 130. Under ultraviolet light and in the substantial absence of ambient light, the mounting 120 and non-fluorescent gemstones 130 of the article of jewelry 110 become substantially invisible to the human eye, while the fluorescent diamonds 140 glow at the certain intensity and color due to the fluorescent characteristic of the fluorescent diamonds 140.

FIG. 2B depicts an article of jewelry 210 according to another embodiment having a mounting 220, a group of non-fluorescent gemstones 230, and a group of fluorescent diamonds 240. In this embodiment, the group of non-fluorescent gemstones 230 are disposed around the group of fluorescent diamonds 240. Under ultraviolet light and in the substantial absence of ambient light, the mounting 220 and non-fluorescent gemstones 230 of the article of jewelry 210 become substantially invisible to the human eye, while the fluorescent diamonds 240 glow at the certain intensity and color due to the fluorescent characteristic of the fluorescent diamonds 240.

FIG. 3 depicts an article of jewelry 310 according to another embodiment including a mounting 320, a group of non-fluorescent gemstones 330, and a group of fluorescent diamonds 340, which is different in color from the group of the non-fluorescent gemstones 330, so they are distinguishable from the group of non-fluorescent gemstones 330 in ambient light. In this embodiment, the group of fluorescent diamonds 340 extends to the inner edge of the mounting 320 so that the group of fluorescent diamonds 340 are not completely surrounded by the group of non-fluorescent gemstones 330. Under ultraviolet light and in the substantial absence of ambient light, the mounting 320 and non-fluorescent gemstones 330 of the article of jewelry 310 become substantially invisible to the human eye, while the fluorescent diamonds 340 glow at the certain intensity and color due to the fluorescent characteristic of the fluorescent diamonds 340.

FIG. 4 depicts an article of jewelry 410 according to another embodiment including a mounting 420, a first group of non-fluorescent gemstones 430a of a first color, a second group of non-fluorescent gemstones 430b of a second color different from the first color, and a group of fluorescent diamonds 440, which are similar in color to the first group of the non-fluorescent gemstones 430a, so they are not distinguishable from the first group of non-fluorescent gemstones 430a in ambient light, and different in color from the second group of the non-fluorescent gemstones 430b, so they are distinguishable from them in ambient light. For example, the first group of non-fluorescent gemstones 430a can be black, the second group of non-fluorescent gemstones 430b can be white, pink, or yellow, and the group of fluorescent diamonds 440 can be black. Under ultraviolet light and in the substantial absence of ambient light, the mounting 420 and the first and second groups of non-fluorescent gemstones 430a, 430b of the article of jewelry 410 become substantially invisible to the human eye, while the fluorescent diamonds 440 glow at the certain intensity and color due to the fluorescent characteristic of the fluorescent diamonds 440.

In each of the above embodiments, the article of jewelry can further include one or more additional groups of fluorescent diamonds, which can form additional sub-images of the composite image.

FIGS. 5A and 5B depict an article of jewelry 510 according to another embodiment including a mounting 520, a group of non-fluorescent gemstones 530, and a group of fluorescent diamonds 540 (not visible in FIG. 5A), which are the same color as the group of the non-fluorescent gemstones 530, so they are not distinguishable from the group of non-fluorescent gemstones 530 in ambient light. In this embodiment, the image formed by the group of fluorescent diamonds 540 would become distinguishable or discernable only when the jewelry is viewed under ultraviolet light, as depicted in FIG. 5B.

FIGS. 6A and 6B depict an article of jewelry 510 according to another embodiment including a mounting 620, a group of non-fluorescent gemstones 530, and a group of fluorescent diamonds 540, which are a color that is different from the group of the non-fluorescent gemstones 530, so they are distinguishable from the group of non-fluorescent gemstones 530 in ambient light. In this embodiment, the mounting 620 and the sub-image formed by the group of non-fluorescent diamonds fade in low-level ambient light and the sub-image formed by the two groups of fluorescent diamonds 540 glow when view under ultraviolet light, as depicted in FIG. 6B.

Although the article of jewelry has been described in terms of illustrative embodiments, it is not limited thereto. Accordingly, the appended claims should be construed broadly to include other variants and embodiments of the article of jewelry, which may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and range of equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. An article of jewelry comprising:

at least one non-fluorescent gemstone; and

at least one fluorescent diamond;

wherein the at least one non-fluorescent gemstone and the at least one fluorescent diamond are arranged to form a composite image when illuminated with ambient light;

wherein the at least one non-fluorescent gemstone forms a first sub-image of the composite image;

wherein the at least one fluorescent diamond forms a second sub-image of the composite image; and

wherein illumination of the article of jewelry with ultraviolet light, causes the at least one fluorescent diamond to glow so that the second sub-image is visible to a human eye in an absence or substantial absence of ambient light.

2. The article of jewelry of claim 1, wherein the at least one non-fluorescent gemstone comprises at least one precious or semi-precious gemstone.

3. The article of jewelry of claim 2, wherein the at least one precious or semi-precious gemstone is naturally occurring, man-made, or treated.

4. The article of jewelry of claim 1, wherein the at least one non-fluorescent gemstone comprises at least one common gemstone.

5. The article of jewelry of claim 4, wherein the at least one common gemstone is naturally occurring, man-made, or treated.

6. The article of jewelry of claim 1, wherein the at least one fluorescent diamond is naturally occurring, man-made, or treated.

7. The article of jewelry of claim 1, further comprising a mounting, the at least one non-fluorescent gemstone and the at least one fluorescent diamond arranged in or on the mounting.

8. An article of jewelry comprising:

a first group of non-fluorescent gemstones; and

a first group of fluorescent diamonds;

wherein the first group of non-fluorescent gemstones and the first group of fluorescent diamonds are arranged to form a composite image when illuminated with ambient light;

wherein the first group of non-fluorescent gemstones forms a first sub-image of the composite image;

wherein the first group of fluorescent diamonds forms a second sub-image of the composite image; and

wherein illumination of the article of jewelry with ultraviolet light, causes the first group of fluorescent diamonds to glow so that the second sub-image is visible to a human eye in an absence or substantial absence of ambient light.

9. The article of jewelry of claim 8, further comprising at least a second group of non-fluorescent gemstones.

10. The article of jewelry of claim 9 wherein the second group of non-fluorescent gemstones forms a third sub-image of the composite image.

11. The article of jewelry of claim 8, further comprising at least a second group of fluorescent diamonds.

12. The article of jewelry of claim 11, wherein the second group of fluorescent diamonds forms a third sub-image of the composite image.

13. The article of jewelry of claim 8, wherein the first group of non-fluorescent gemstones comprises precious gemstones, semi-precious gemstones, common gemstones or any combination thereof.

14. The article of jewelry of claim 8, wherein gemstones of the first group of non-fluorescent gemstones are naturally occurring, man-made, treated or any combination thereof.

15. The article of jewelry of claim 8, wherein diamonds of the first group of fluorescent diamonds are naturally occurring, man-made, treated or any combination thereof.

16. The article of jewelry of claim 1, further comprising a mounting, the first group of non-fluorescent gemstones and the first group of fluorescent diamonds are arranged in or on the mounting.