Dancing diamonds from the Japanese “choreographer”
From ancient times to the present day, jewelers have come up with a huge variety of different types of jewellery. It would seem that now it is already impossible to create something fundamentally new. However, the Japanese jeweler Hidetaka Dobashi clearly did not agree with this, who presented special jewellery – “dancing” diamonds at an exhibition in Hong Kong in June 2012.
One of the main properties of diamonds is their unique feature to fully reflect the light inside themselves and return it back, decomposing it into different parts of the spectrum. We say that the stone “plays” or “burns”. This game is manifested when the diamond shifts slightly in relation to our gaze.
Hidetaka Dobashi has created an unusual “sparkling setting” for diamonds, which makes them move intensively, simply by shooting out light. To refer to this movement, he uses the term “dance”, hence the name “dancing” diamonds.
How dancing diamonds work
If we look at the usual ways of fixing diamonds in jewellery, we can distinguish only two main ones. First, the diamond is rigidly attached to the jewellery and moves only with it. This is how stones are fixed in almost all rings and many other types of jewellery. Second, the diamond is located on a pendant with one attachment point. If this pendant, when worn, does not touch the body or clothing, then the stone in the jewellery can move relatively freely with a low frequency, which quickly dies out.
Hidetaka Dobashi came up with a fairly simple but very unusual frame design. It always adheres to two principles.
First, the rimmed stone never touches the garment or body of the wearer. If required, the back is covered with some part of the decoration.
Second: the setting of the stone has a special shape and is attached at two points on the inside of the jewellery. The design of the diamond in the setting is balanced so that the slightest movement of the jewellery causes it to vibrate frequently.
The history of the creation of “dancing” stones
According to Mr. Dobashi himself, published in Jeweler magazine, the idea of such a piece of jewellery came to him in September 2010. Despite the apparent simplicity, it took him more than a year to create the first successful copy. He quietly exhibited the first ten “dancing” diamonds at the June Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair. However, three months later, at the same September exhibition, he presented a complete collection called “Dancing Stones”, consisting of 150 pendants and earrings. The presented jewellery line aroused great interest and Hidetaka Dobashi received a lot of proposals for cooperation.
In 2013, Hidetaka Dobashi received international patents for his frames, which cover all significant regions, including the United States, Europe, India and China. The company Crossfor Co, founded by him, has launched the production of Dancing Stone jewellery in China and Vietnam. In addition, Crossfor Co is considering granting a patent license or making jewelery with customer-supplied loose stones.
It should be noted that Mr. Dobashi himself is a professional gemologist, specializing in rubies and sapphires. Crossfor Co was founded by him after graduation in 1980.
Obviously, Hidetaka Dobashi has long been looking for non-standard solutions that could push the boundaries of the usual types of jewellery. In 1999 he patented a special type of cut of diamonds – Crossfor, which has 46 facets and gives an unusual cross-shaped shine. In 2008-2010, he received a number of patents for types of eyeglass jewellery, which are either attached with magnets on both sides of the lens, or inserted into a hole in the lens.
Other “dancing” diamond pendants
Sometimes the term “dancing” is used to refer to diamonds fixed to a pendant in a standard way. Relatively recently, a method has appeared when a hole is drilled in the stone itself with a laser and the diamond is attached to a rimless piece of jewellery. For all its unusualness, this method is not very common, since it irrevocably spoils the stone.
Is it worth it or not to buy “dancing” jewellery?
Opinions about jewellery with “dancing” stones (diamonds or others) are quite predictably divided. Someone absolutely does not like the too frequent and sharp “trembling” or “twitching” of a diamond. In classic versions of jewellery, the stone shimmers more smoothly with light, following the pace of movement of its owner. Others like the expressiveness and independence of the diamond, which arranges fireworks of light with any movement of the jewellery, always attracting attention.
In any case, “dancing” diamonds are a very unusual idea and will definitely find their buyer.