Search

EP-4055374-B1 - JEWELRY ITEM GRADING SYSTEM AND METHOD

EP4055374B1EP 4055374 B1EP4055374 B1EP 4055374B1EP-4055374-B1

Inventors

  • Parikh, Aniket Bharat

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20201029

Claims (17)

  1. A method for grading a jewelry item, the method comprising: capturing, using an image capturing device, an image of the jewelry item, wherein the jewelry item includes a gem; analyzing, using a processing unit, the image of the jewelry item to identify, within the image, one or more inclusions in the jewelry item and at least one of: one or more colors of the one or more inclusions, respective light transmission characteristics of the one or more inclusions, and one or more dimensions of the one or more inclusions; evaluating, using the processing unit, a quality of the jewelry item based on features of the one or more inclusions identified from the image including: one or more sizes of the one or more inclusions, one or more placements of the one or more inclusions relative to another portion of the jewelry item, one or more color characteristics of the one or more inclusions, and the respective light transmission characteristics of the one or more inclusions, respectively, wherein the evaluating step includes: representing at least a portion of the jewelry item within a grid having a total number of subsections, wherein the representing step includes mapping the one or more inclusions within a subset of the subsections of the grid and representing the one or more sizes, the one or more placements, the respective light transmission characteristics, and the one or more color characteristics of the one or more inclusions, respectively, within the grid; and determining a percentage associated with the subsections that correspond to the inclusions relative to the total number of subsections; and determining, using the processing unit, a grading of the jewelry item in which the quality of the jewelry item is quantified by the percentage corresponding to the inclusions of the jewelry item in relation to a plurality of additional gradings concerning a corresponding plurality of additional jewelry items, wherein the quantified grading is calculated with regard to differences in the evaluated quality of the subset of features of the one or more inclusions of each respective jewelry item.
  2. The method of claim 1, wherein the evaluating step takes into account the one or more color characteristics of the one or more inclusions and the respective light transmission characteristics of the one or more inclusions including assigning a weight to each inclusion, wherein the weighting of each inclusion is determined from the light blockage of each inclusion, an edge proximity multiplier of each inclusion, a distance of each inclusion from another inclusion, placements of the inclusions, colors inside the inclusions, light transparency inside the inclusions, and proximities of the inclusions to one another; and determining a composite weighting of a plurality of inclusions from the weighting of each inclusion, wherein the composite weighting reflects a combined impact of multiple inclusions on the quality and grading of the jewelry item.
  3. The method of claim 1, wherein the evaluating step includes removing or evaluating, from the image, at least one of a shadow, a lighting variation, a reflection, or a flash emitted from the jewelry item.
  4. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining step includes: determining a first grading of a first jewelry item using a first grading technique; determining a second grading of a second jewelry item using a second grading technique different from the first grading technique; and modifying the second grading to be a modified grading adhering to the first grading technique, wherein the modified grading is within a threshold difference from the first grading of the first jewelry item.
  5. The method of claim 1, wherein the evaluating step takes into account the one or more placements of the one or more inclusions by taking into account the following: a proximity of a first one of the one or more inclusions to a second one of the one or more inclusions, a proximity of at least one of the first inclusion or the second inclusion to an edge of the jewelry item, and a proximity of at least one of the first inclusion or the second inclusion to a portion of the jewelry item that will be obscured during use of the jewelry item.
  6. The method of claim 1, wherein the evaluating step includes: determining, using the grid including the information mapped and represented therein, at least one of the one or more sizes of the one or more inclusions or the one or more placements of the one or more inclusions based on at least one of a number of subsections of the grid covered by the one or more inclusions or a proximity of subsections of the grid covered by the one or more inclusions.
  7. The method of claim 1, wherein the evaluating step includes: representing one or more characteristics of each of at least two of the one or more inclusions using a first numerical string and a second numerical string, respectively; and performing calculations using the first numerical string and the second numerical string as part of the step of evaluating the quality of the jewelry item.
  8. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining step includes updating at least one of the plurality of additional gradings concerning the plurality of additional jewelry items based on the grading of the jewelry item.
  9. The method of claim 1, wherein the jewelry item is a first jewelry item, the method further comprising analyzing the plurality of additional gradings to identify a second jewelry item from among the plurality of additional jewelry items as being a jewelry item that is similar to the first jewelry item.
  10. A system for grading a jewelry item, the system comprising: an image capturing device configured to capture an image of the jewelry item including a gem; an external storage component configured to store data corresponding to the image of the jewelry item and of a plurality of additional jewelry items; and a processing unit configured to: analyze the image of the jewelry item to identify, within the image, one or more inclusions in the jewelry item and at least one of a color of the one or more inclusions, a respective light transmission characteristics of the one or more inclusions, and one or more dimensions of the one or more inclusions; evaluate a quality of the jewelry item based on features of the one or more inclusions identified from the image including: one or more sizes of the one or more inclusions, one or more placements of the one or more inclusions relative to another portion of the jewelry item, one or more color characteristics of the one or more inclusions, and the respective light transmission characteristics of the one or more inclusions, respectively, wherein evaluating includes: representing at least a portion of the jewelry item within a grid having a total number of subsections, wherein the representing step includes mapping the one or more inclusions within a subset of the subsections of the grid and representing the one or more sizes, the one or more placements, the respective light transmission characteristics, and the one or more color characteristics of the one or more inclusions, respectively, within the grid; and determining a percentage associated with the subsections that correspond to the inclusions relative to the total number of subsections; access, from the external storage component, data indicative of at least one of: one or more inclusions in the plurality of additional jewelry items, one or more colors of the plurality of additional jewelry items, and one or more dimensions of the plurality of additional jewelry items in order to determine a plurality of additional gradings of the plurality of additional jewelry items; and determine a grading of the jewelry item that quantifies the evaluated quality of the jewelry item by the percentage corresponding to the inclusions of the jewelry item in relation to the plurality of additional gradings each concerning the plurality of additional jewelry items, wherein the quantified grading is calculated with regard to differences in the evaluated quality of the subset of features of the one or more inclusions of each respective jewelry item.
  11. The system of claim 10, wherein the processing unit is configured to take into account the one or more color characteristics of the one or more inclusions and the respective light transmission characteristic of the one or more inclusions to evaluate the quality of the jewelry item by assigning a weight to each inclusion, wherein the processing unit determines the weighting of each inclusion from the light blockage of each inclusion, an edge proximity multiplier of each inclusion, and a distance of each inclusion from another inclusion; and wherein the processing unit determines a composite weighting of a plurality of inclusions from the weighting of each inclusion, wherein the composite weighting reflects a combined impact of multiple inclusions on the quality and grading of the jewelry item.
  12. The system of claim 11, further comprising: a trained neural network configured to remove or evaluate, from the image, at least one of a shadow, a lighting variation, a reflection, or a flash emitted from the jewelry item.
  13. The system of claim 11, wherein the processing unit is configured to: determine a first grading of a first jewelry item using a first grading technique; determine a second grading of a second jewelry item using a second grading technique different from the first grading technique; and modify the second grading to be a modified grading adhering to the first grading technique, wherein the modified grading is within a threshold difference from the first grading of the first jewelry item.
  14. The system of claim 11, wherein the processing unit is configured to take into account at least one of the following so as to take into account the one or more placements of the one or more inclusions: a proximity of a first one of the one or more inclusions to a second one of the one or more inclusions, a proximity of at least one of the first inclusion or the second inclusion to an edge of the jewelry item, and a proximity of at least one of the first inclusion or the second inclusion to a portion of the jewelry item that will be obscured during use of the jewelry item.
  15. The system of claim 11, wherein the processing unit is configured to: determine at least one of the one or more sizes of the one or more inclusions or the one or more placements of the one or more inclusions based on at least one of a number of subsections of the grid covered by the one or more inclusions or a proximity of subsections of the grid covered by the one or more inclusions.
  16. The system of claim 10, wherein the processing unit is configured to update at least one of the plurality of additional gradings concerning the plurality of additional jewelry items based on the grading of the jewelry item.
  17. The system of claim 10, wherein the jewelry item is a first jewelry item, and wherein the processing unit is configured to analyze the plurality of additional gradings to identify a second jewelry item from among the plurality of additional jewelry items as being a jewelry item that is similar to the first jewelry item.

Description

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE The present disclosure relates generally to jewelry items, and more particularly to systems and methods for grading a jewelry item. BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE Examples of methods for grading a jewelry item are disclosed in US2010086179A1 and US2012179290A1. Jewelry items, such as diamonds and other gemstones, are often graded in an effort to provide some indication of their quality to interested parties such as buyers and sellers. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) established the International Diamond Grading System and developed grading schemes for clarity, color, cut, and carat weight to standardize grading of diamonds. However, individual laboratories, jewelry stores, and other entities that grade and sell diamonds and other gemstones vary widely in how they apply the GIA's grading schemes, or any other grading scheme in use. One laboratory can assign a color grade of "G" to a diamond, and another laboratory can assign a color grade of "H" or "I" to the same diamond. One laboratory can assign a clarity grade of "SI1" to a diamond, and another laboratory can assign a clarity grade of "SI2" or "SI3" to the same diamond. The differences in grading can be based on subjective interpretations of the GIA schemes, can be motivated by a desire to grade gemstones more or less stringently, or can be attributed to any of a number of other factors. These factors are not only difficult to control, but their influence on the grading process is difficult to detect in the first place. Some laboratories and other grading entities also change the way they apply grading schemes such as the GIA's over time, whether intentionally or otherwise. Laypersons and sellers of gemstones alike can receive different information about the gradings of particular gemstones depending on what entity did the grading. In these situations, laypersons and sellers find themselves without meaningful recourse to control for variations in grading and valuations performed by different entities, or even to know the existence and/or extent of such variations in the first place. It is in regard to these and other problems in the art that the present disclosure is directed to provide a technical solution for an effective grading technique that accounts for the quality of a jewelry item while overcoming the problems inherent to current grading processes. SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention is set out in the appended set of claims. These and other aspects and features can be appreciated from the following description of certain embodiments of the invention and the accompanying drawings and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example system for grading a jewelry item such as a gemstone, according to an embodiment of the present invention.FIG. 2A is a flow chart of an example method for grading a jewelry item, according to an embodiment of the present invention.FIG. 2B is a flow chart of an example method for identifying similarly graded jewelry items, according to an embodiment of the present invention.FIGs. 3A-3B illustrate example grids that can be used to represent inclusions in a jewelry item, according to an embodiment of the present invention.FIGs. 4A-4C illustrate example arrangements for capturing images of jewelry items and inclusions and analyzing colors and color characteristics of jewelry items and inclusions, according to an embodiment of the present invention.FIGs. 5A-5B illustrate differing appearances of a jewelry item and inclusions contained therein when illuminated by differing colors of light, according to an embodiment of the present invention.FIGs. 6A-6D are example screenshots of a mobile app for grading a jewelry item and identifying similarly graded jewelry items, according to an embodiment of the present invention.FIGs. 7A-7C illustrate example slottings of jewelry items relative to one another, according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is noted that the drawings are illustrative and not necessarily to scale. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS OF THE DISCLOSURE Example embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a system and method for grading a jewelry item. The jewelry item can include a gemstone set in an item such as a ring or pendant. In some cases, the jewelry item is or includes a loose gemstone that is not set. In some such embodiments, an image of a jewelry item is captured and analyzed so that quality of the jewelry item can be evaluated based on objective features. For example, quality of the jewelry item can be evaluated based on inclusions contained in the jewelry item and characteristics of those inclusions. Characteristics of the inclusions can include objectively ascertainable criteria such as sizes of inclusions, proximity of inclusions to one another, proximity of inclusions to portions of a jewelry item that are less visible and/or are able to be obscured by a prong, and/or any other suitable characteristics.