• Born: 8 Sep 1830, Providence RI
• Died: 2 Dec 1881

  General notes:

Jeweler

  Events in his life were:

• He was issued design patent number 183,802 on 31 Oct 1876
  
  ALBEET C. GREENE, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.
  
  IMPROVEMENT IN JEWELRY-SETTINGS.
  
  Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 183,802, dated October 31, 1876; application filed October 11, 1875.
  
  To all whom it may concern:
  Be it known that I, ALBERT C. GREENE, of the city and county of Providence, in the State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Setting Stones in Jewelry; aud I do hereby declare that the following specification, taken in connection with the drawings furnished and forming a part of the same, is a clear, true, and complete description thereof.
  In the manufacture of articles of jewelry any improvement which lessens, even in the slightest degree, the cost of labor in the production thereof yields results in the aggregate which are of great practical importance. It is obvious that such economy in manufacture as may be attained to the detriment of the beauty of the goods detracts from their position in the market, aud practically defeats the object sought. I attain through my improvement a great saving in the cost of manufacturing sleeve-buttons, studs, pins, &c., having stone or analogous settings, and in no manner lessen their beauty and desirability. My invention consists in a novel holder for receiving the stone, composed of a single piece of sheet metal, embodying a border, a backing affording a contact-surface for the rear of the stone, aud the requisite setting-points for securing the setting in position.
  To more particularly describe my invention, I will refer to the accompanying drawings, in which—
  Figure 1 represents, in perspective, on an enlarged scale, a sleeve-button embodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents a holder adapted to receive opaque settings. Fig. 3 represents a holder adapted to receive transparent settings—like moss-agates, for instance.
  The holder at A may be made in any desired style, and cut from sheet metal, and shaped in suitable dies. The border at a, may be plain or ornamented in any desired manner. The backing at b for opaque settings may occupy the entire interior portion of the holder, as shown in Fig. 2. The setting-points at c may be varied in form, and any desired number may be employed. In ordinary rectangular settings, like that shown, two on each side and one at each end will be sufficient. With polygonal or other many-sided settings, a settingpoint for each side will be desirable. With circular settings, a sufficient number of points will be employed to firmly grasp and retain the stone in position. These points are a portion of the solid plate, formed by means of cutting-dies, which cut through the metal on three sides of the points, which, when bent upward, are ready to receive the stone. The backing 6, as in Fig. 2, gives to the stone a firm bearing, aud the points, on being bent inward against the inclined edges thereof, firmly secure it in position. The upper ends of the points may be ornamented, as shown, so as to correspond with the beaded line at d between the points, and thereby contribute to the beauty of the article. It will be seen, when transparent stones like moss-agates are employed as settings, that a full backing, like that in Fig. 2, will not be desirable, and therefore, for such stones, I make the backing, as shown in Fig. 3. In this case the central portion of the metal is wholly removed, leaving between the setting-points bearings for the stone, as at e. This mode of construction affords as many bearings as there are points, and, all of them being in the same plane, they constitute as good a bed for the stone as when made as in Fig. 2.
  The border may be made of any width desired, and in some instances it may be formed so as to be nearly imperceptible to the eye from a front view when a stone has been set, and it is to be distinctly understood that my invention embraces any border which constitutes a base from which the several setting-points are formed, and which has a continuous unbroken outline similar to the outline of the stone. When the holder shown in Fig. 2 is used I prefer to insert at its rear a back plate, to which the button-shank is secured. With the open-backed holder, as in Fig. 3, I prefer to use a rectangular frame instead of a full back plate, and combine therewith a forked buttonshank, the arms of which will be respectively connected with opposite sides of the frame, and thereby leave the rear of the stone unobstructed.
  In the manufacture of breast-pins, similar back plates and frames may be employed, or, as in some of the cheaper grades, the tonguejoint and hook-catch may be respectively applied to opposite ends of the border at its rear side. These methods of connecting the stoneholder with the other portions of the article in which it may be used constitute no portion of my invention. It will be seen that I obviate the necessity heretofore existing of either filing up setting-points from a solid mass of metal, or soldering the several points to a border, and therein lies the prime advantage accruing from my invention.
  I am aware that, in the manufacture of buttons, as heretofore practiced, cup-shaped settings, having a toothed edge, have been made from a single piece of metal, and it is to be distinctly understood that I make no claim to that mode of setting.
  It will be readily seen that the form and number of the setting-points may be extensively varied, and that holders embodying my invention may be arranged to resemble styles of setting other than that herein shown, and I do not therefore limit my invention to any particular style of setting; but
  What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is—
  A holder for receiving a stone or other ornamental jewelry-setting, which consists of a single piece of sheet metal, formed into a border, a backing which affords a foundation for the rear of the stone, and a suitable number of setting-points projecting from the inner line of the border for engaging with the stone, substantially as described.
  
  Albert C. Greene
  
  Witnesses:
  Francis A. Daniels
  Theodore B. Talbot

• He appeared on the 1880 census taken at Providence RI, listed as a manufacturing jeweler.