Like so many designers who migrate from Eastern Europe to America, Christopher Slowinski came from his homeland of Poland in pursuit of a dream to establish hid on mark on the jewelry industry. And, that he has certainly done. Having learned his trade from the master craftsmen of the "Old World," this innovative young jeweler wanted to do more.

Over the years, I have always tried to combine my classic jewelry training with the revolutionary technological advantages of the day," Slowinski explains. "My work has been rewarded with the granting of three United States patents. Two of these are technological patents. The first one is for invisibly-set diamond jewelry and the second is for our machine-set, closed-end channel anniversary or wedding bands."

Slowinski's third U.S. patent is, of course, for the Crisscut®. Ironically, the term did not come from his name, but describes the "crisscrossed" facets that give the diamond its superior brilliance and fire. Just this past year, his company launched a new version of the Crisscut® called the Crisscut® Cushion. Using a cushion-shaped diamond, this spectacular version of the original emerald cut also utilizes 77 facets and has inspired an entire new collection called the "Cushion Collection."

Slowinski has also utilized this cut on sapphires and the result is nothing short of "brilliant!" While the Crisscut® may have happened by accident, Slowinski's amazing invisible setting took years to develop. Even as a young designer, Christopher was enthralled with the almost magical look of invisible-set diamonds. But it was his talent as a master jeweler and skilled lapidary, along with many painstaking years of research that finally enabled him to develop and patent this new technique.

Today, Christopher Slowinski is one of only two jewelers in the world to hold a patent for this type of setting. Aptly named LaserCut, Slowinski's method uses a special microscopic diagonal cut in the sides of each diamond to hold the stone. The cuts are so small that they are completely invisible when viewed from the top of the setting. He also uses a special alloy of 18K gold to fabricate the invisible settings, which makes them as strong as they are beautiful.