WO2001036214A1

WO2001036214A1 - Method for preparing a precious stone report

Info

Publication number: WO2001036214A1
Application number: PCT/US2000/031875
Authority: WO
Inventors: Stephen Cohen; Sean J. Cohen; Leon N. Cohen
Original assignee: Codiam Inc.
Priority date: 1999-11-18
Filing date: 2000-11-20
Publication date: 2001-05-25

Abstract

Lineage reports, known as 'Provenience Reports' or 'Provenience Certificates', that include the history (16) of how a specific precious or semi-precious stone, such as a diamond, has been handled and processed, images of the stone, and security measures such as a holograph, seal or bar code (28) certifying the authencity of the report. Also disclosed herein is a method for compiling a Provenience Report, informing an interested party of how a stone has been handled at each step, what steps were taken, and the authencity of the report. A Provenience Report may also set forth the temporal and visual history of a stone by means of images and text.

Description

METHOD FOR PREPARING A PRECIOUS STONE REPORT

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to lineage reports, known as "Provenience Reports." or "Provenience Certificates," for precious or semi-precious stones (e.g., diamonds) that describe the history of how a specific stone has been handled and/or processed, and a method of compiling the same.

The beauty and sparkle of precious or semi-precious stones have been highly prized for centuries. However, the beauty of a stone, such as a rough diamond obtained from mining sites or from concerns such as DeBeers (the world's largest diamond mining organization), is not readily apparent until the dull stone is cut and processed in a proper manner to give it life and sparkle. The steps involved in creating a finished diamond are well-known in the industry, and can be found in reference texts such as Diamond Cutting by Basil Watermeyer and The History of Diamond Production and The Diamond Trade by Godehard Lenzen, as well as in U.S. Pats. Nos. 5,970.744 (Greeff), 5,761,929 (Freilich), 5.190,024 (Senanayake). 5,072,549 (Johnston) and 4,1 18,950/949 (Grossbard), which are incorporated herein by reference. An example of the processing of a rough diamond is taught in Watermeyer' s Diamond Cutting, as follows:

In the steps of diamond polishing, which occur after a diamond has been mined, the stone is first marked. Marking typically involves drawing indicia on a stone which is to be pared, so that a cleaver or sawyer will know where to cut the stone for a desired design. There are a variety of ways to cut a stone, which are well known to those skilled in the art and industry, and include such designs as four-point, three-point and two-point tables. Factors to be considered in cutting a diamond include maximizing utility and value, as well as being concerned about color changes or exacerbating or accentuating faults or flaws in the stone. After the stone is marked, it then is sawed. Sawing is typically conducted by placing the rough diamond in a clamp and cutting it with a specialized blade or saw. Once sawed, the diamond is subjected to brutting. (Brutting is sometimes referred to as cutting, although the use of the term cutting for this step can be confusing. Most all diamond workers are known as "diamond cutters," but cut diamonds or stones which have been fully faceted have not necessarily been brutted.) "Brutting^" is a term used to refer to the first step of shaping the rough stone to form a girdle, such as by making the diamond round at its widest circumference.

After the brutting step, the diamond is subjected to cross- working where the facets of a stone are formed to conform to particular accepted cut standards. Typically, a cross-worker will conform the stone to a Modern Ideal Cut, or in some instances a particular factory has its own ideal cut. Often, this is done by polishing. During cross-working, not only the shape of the stone and the cuts desired are considered, but also the grain of the stone and the angle and depth of the various corners.

Finally, after cross- working, the stone is subjected to brillianteering where the diamond cutter places the final or finishing facets on all brilliant stone cuts, such as the round, marquis, oval and pendeloque cuts. For the round brilliant cut, for instance, there are forty finishing facets and it is these which make the stone shine brilliantly — hence the name brillianteering. It is in this final step that not only is the stone finished, but the brillianteer tries to do so with speed, accuracy and to eliminate a fault and not expose it.

Although the steps necessary to process a diamond as described above are well known, in recent years technology has been developed to chemically or artificially alter the color, texture or composition of a stone. This has led to concern over the authenticity and lineage of precious or semi-precious stones (e g.. diamonds), including their origin, processing and handling. It would be of great advantage to a customer to be able to confirm that a given stone is natural, from a legitimate source, and has not been subjected to anything other than natural polishing (including cutting) steps, since artificial alteration of a diamond impacts its value. In addition, diamonds are difficult, if not impossible, to trace once re-cut.

Accordingly, if a stolen diamond is re-cut, or if a diamond is processed to alter its color, texture or composition, then an unsuspecting buyer would be unaware of these aspects of the stone's history and origin.

Various attempts have been made in the prior art to overcome these problems. Some have taught engraving indicia on the outside of a stone as a means of identification and certifying its lineage, such as that being done for the "Millennium® Diamond" from DeBeers. Others have suggested laser etching of a permanent identification mark at or below the surface, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,467,172 (Ehrenwald et al.). However, these methods do not tell a purchaser what a stone's history is, nor do they indicate whether the stone has been subjected to artificial alterations (as opposed to just natural polishing).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a lineage report, known as a "Provenience Report," or "Provenience Certificate." and a method for compiling such a report, in which information is provided regarding the history of how a specific precious or semi-precious stone has been handled and processed, thereby informing an interested party about the origin of the stone and it's authenticity. A report in accordance with the present invention preferably includes information regarding: (1) the identification of the party certif ing the report; (2) some identifier of the stone, such as a sequential index number or an etched control number similar to that taught by U.S. Pat No. 4,467,172 (Ehrenwald et al.); (3) a description of the steps taken in preparing or polishing the stone, including information such as the date each step was taken, identification of the operator or inspector at each step, and certification by the operator or inspector that the step was completed; (4) images of the stone at some or all of the steps taken in preparing or polishing it; (5) some form of security and/or authentication measure for the Provenience Report such as a holographic certificate or seal; and/or (6) the source of the raw material.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method for compiling a lineage report, known as a "Provenience Report," or "Provenience Certificateø which tells the history of how a specific article, e.g., a specific semi-precious or precious stone, has been handled and/or processed, thereby informing an interested party of the origin and authenticity of a stone.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide for a Provenience Report which sets out the history of how a specific article, e.g., a specific semi-precious or precious stone, has been handled and/or processed, thereby informing an interested party of the origin and authenticity of a stone. It also is an object of the present invention to allow an interested party to trace the processing of an article, e.g., a semi-precious or precious stone, such as, by way of

- example, from mining to brillianteering or even to setting, and to be aware of how the stone has been handled and/or processed at each listed step.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide both a temporal and a visual history of an article, e.g., a semi-precious or precious stone, in a Provenience Report, such as by means of including both imagery and text if desired.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.l is an illustration of a first section of a preferred embodiment of a provenience report describing the rough diamond. FIG.2 is an illustration of a second section of a preferred embodiment of a provenience report describing the blueprinting of a diamond.

FIG.3 is an illustration of a third section of a preferred embodiment of a provenience report describing the cutting of a diamond.

FIG.4 is an illustration of a fourth section of a preferred embodiment of a provenience report describing the final inspection and approval of a diamond.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a Provenience Report (which may also be spelled "Provenance Report") is used to trace the lineage of a particular precious or semiprecious stone, e.g., a diamond, through the steps from mining to marking to brillianteering to final placement in a setting, or some subset of those steps or other processing steps, as desired. A Report can include imagery (photographic, holographic or even video) showing the lineage of the stone during each step of processing. The Report is subject to certain rigors and/or security measures to avoid counterfeiting and to certify the accuracy of the Report, such as use of holograms, signatures, seals, stamps, bar codes, magnetic strips and other security devices that are known in a variety of arts including, without limitation, printing, minting and credit cards. Although the Report is preferably implemented in the form of a document, such as a certificate, pamphlet or card, the Report can also be implemented in other forms, including, but not limited to, cards, plaques, identifier tags, visual forms such as videocassettes and DVDs, and software forms such as CD-ROM or web page documents. It would be readily appreciated that a Report need not cover a stone during all steps of its preparation. This is particularly true when multiple vendors handle a stone during its life, and one vendor does not wish to vouch for the Report from another vendor. (In such an instance, there possibly could be two or more Reports, each covering a different segment in a stone^'s processing.) Nonetheless, a Report may be the subject of any of the known steps of a diamond^'s preparation.

A typical Provenience Report can include: (1) the identification of the party certifying the report; (2) some identifier of the stone, such as a sequential index number or an etched control number similar to that taught by U.S. Patent No. 4,467,172 (Ehrenwald et al.); (3) a descriptive listing of the steps taken in preparing or polishing the stone, along with the date each step was taken and an indicator of the operator or inspector at each step; (4) images of the stone at some or all of the steps taken in preparing or polishing it; and/or (5) some form of security and/or authentication measure for the Provenience Report such as a holographic certificate or seal. Of course, the preparer of a Provenience Report can choose what information to include, and it may include some or all of these items, and may also include additional items.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 1-4. one embodiment of the invention preferably is in the form of a document. The face of the document preferably contains a hologram 28 (FIG.4) or seal for the purpose of security and authentication of the document. The Report also preferably contains a "Provenance Number" 27, found on the face of the

Report that uniquely identifies the stone, e.g. diamond, described in the Report, and/or uniquely identifies the Report itself. The Report is also preferably divided into separate sections, for example as shown in FIGS. 1-4. The different sections may be joined into a single report. Each section preferably describes a step (or steps) in the process used to prepare the finished diamond. The sections in the Report can include descriptions of: (a) the rough diamond; (b) the inspection and/or blueprinting of the rough diamond; (c) the cutting and/or polishing of the diamond; and (d) the final inspection and approval of the finished diamond.

The description of the rough diamond, as shown in FIG.l, may include a text description 10, including particulars such as the geographic origin of the diamond, and the supplier of the diamond (such as DeBeers). Also preferably included in the section describing the rough diamond is the carat weight 15 of the rough diamond, a picture of the rough diamond 14, as well as an indication of the date 11 the rough diamond was processed or examined. A preferred embodiment of the Report also includes an identification number 12, used to uniquely identify or track the rough diamond as it is processed, as well as an inspector's signature 13 to identify the initial inspector and to certify the initial inspection of the rough diamond.

The description of the inspection and/or blueprinting of the rough diamond, as shown in FIG.2, may include text 16, photographs or other narrative describing the imaging or blueprinting of the rough diamond, in which the optimum shape and cut of a rough diamond is decided upon. Also preferably included is a blueprint diagram 17 or other pictorial representation of the blueprint. A signature of the inspector or processor blueprinting the diamond can also be included (not shown).

The description of the cutting and/or polishing of the diamond, as shown in FIG.3, may include text 18, photographs or other narrative describing the cutting and/or polishing process of the diamond. Preferably included is the date of cutting 19 of the diamond, a photograph of the finished diamond 21, and the carat weight of the cut diamond 22. Also preferably included is a signature of the diamond cutter 20 showing approval of the cutting step.

The description of the final inspection and approval of the finished diamond, as shown in FIG.4, may include text 23, photographs or other narrative describing the finished diamond, identification of the party certifying or issuing the Report, and/or any other steps undertaken prior to the final certification by the issuer of the Report. Also preferably included is a hologram or seal 28 indicating the authenticity of the Report, the date of completion 24 of the final inspection of the diamond, an inspector's approval 25, constituting a signature by an inspector indicating that the diamond meets various criteria as created by the certifier or issuer of the Report, and/or a diagram 26 that indicates the cut and proportions of the stone, such as the stone's table, depth, culet and girdle. A picture of the finished diamond 21, and the final carat weight of the diamond 22, can also be provided in this section of the report. A Provenance Number 27 is also preferably provided, which may or may not have been inscribed in the diamond through known means, e.g.,. laser inscribed. It will be readily appreciated, by those skilled in the art. that the examples of how to cut and finish a stone and what a Provenience Report might contain, as discussed above, are merely exemplars and are not meant to be limit the applications of this invention. It will further be understood that although the specification has dealt with the diamond industry, this same use of a Provenience Report could be applied to other precious and semiprecious stones, as well as other items of manufacture, such as, for example, automobiles, boats, watches and the like.

While the invention has been described in connection with preferred embodiments, it is understood that this is not intended to limit the invention to those embodiments. To the contraiy, the present invention as described is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the expressed invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

I CLAIM:

1. A method of preparing a report on the lineage of an article, comprising the steps of:

(A) tracing at least some steps in the preparation of the article;

(B) preparing a report of the steps;

(C) including one or more images of the article during its preparation with said report.

2 The method of claim 1. wherein said article is a precious or semi- precious stone.

3. The method of claim 2. wherein the precious or semi-precious stone is a diamond.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of applying security and/or anti-counterfeiting measures to the report.

5. A report on the lineage of an article, which contains information concerning the preparation of the article including a description of at least some of the steps taken in the preparation of the article, and one or more images of the article during its preparation. 6. The report of claim 5, wherein said article is a precious or semi- precious stone.

The report of claim 6, wherein said precious or semi-precious stone is a diamond.

8. The report of claim 7, wherein security and/or anti-counterfeiting measures are applied to the report.

9. A report on the lineage of an article that has been processed or finished, said report comprising:

(A) an identifier for said article; (B) a description of one or more steps in the preparation of said article; (C) one or more images of said article during one or more steps; (D) an authentication measure for the report comprising a signature, holograph, certification, bar code, magnetic strip or seal.

10. The report of claim 9, wherein said article is a semi-precious or precious stone.

1 1. The report of claim 10, wherein the semi-precious or precious stone is a diamond.

12. The report of claim 9, wherein said identifier comprises an index number, a control number etched directly on the article, a text description of the characteristics of the article, or an image of the article.