2 Carat Princess Cut Moissanite Halo Engagement Ring with Square Pave Halo and Pave Set Band in Silver, 10K, 14K and 18K Gold

A square colourless princess cut moissanite sits in a four claw head, with a claw at each corner, inside a square halo of small round moissanite stones that follows its outline exactly. The band is slim and set with a line of small round stones down both sides, so there is sparkle from the halo to the base of the shank. The stone is set square to the finger. The photographs show a white metal. The source description lists the main stone as 1.50, 2.0 or 2.50 carat and the round side stones as about 0.20 carat in total, and does not say which main stone is shown.

At a glance

• Centre stone: Princess cut moissanite, colourless, VVS clarity
• Carat options: 2, 3, 4 and 5 carat
• Setting: Princess cut held by four claws, one at each corner, inside a square halo of small round stones
• Accent stones: Square halo and pave band of small round colourless moissanite stones, listed in the source description at about 0.20 carat in total
• Band: Slim pave set band of about 1.5 mm with stones along both sides
• Metals: 925 sterling silver, 10K, 14K and 18K gold in yellow, rose and white
• Ring sizes: 1.5 to 13, including half sizes
• Made: To order by hand in Surat, India

A princess cut in a square halo

A princess cut is a square with sharp corners and a brilliant faceting pattern. It is one of the brightest square shapes, and the four claws at its corners protect the points, which are the most delicate part of the stone.

A halo is a ring of small stones around the centre stone. Here the halo is square, so it echoes the princess cut and frames it evenly, and it makes the centre stone look larger. The pave band continues the sparkle down the shank, which suits anyone who wants a bright, classic look.

Why the princess cut

The princess cut is a square brilliant cut with pointed corners. It has the fire of a round brilliant in a square outline, and it looks larger across the top than a round stone of the same weight. Every stone here, centre and small, is colourless with VVS clarity. It is cut here to the same proportions we would use for a diamond of the same outline.

How this ring differs from our other princess moissanite rings

This is a princess cut moissanite in four claws inside a square halo of small round stones, on a slim pave set band. It differs from our princess pave solitaire (0906) because of the halo around the stone, from our plain four claw princess solitaire (0907) because of the halo and the pave band, and from our princess split shank and cluster rings (0908 and 0909) because the halo is a neat, even square and the stone is set square to the finger. We cannot rule out that some other listings in our range are the same or very close to this design, so we list it separately with its own photographs rather than combining them. The source description lists the main stone as 1.50, 2.0 or 2.50 carat and does not say which is shown, so we cannot say which option matches the ring in the photographs. The 2 carat option sits in the middle of the source sizes, and the 3, 4 and 5 carat options are larger, with the halo and band in proportion. The photographs show a white metal.

What moissanite actually is

Moissanite is silicon carbide, a crystal first identified by the French chemist Henri Moissan in 1893 in fragments of the Canyon Diablo meteorite in Arizona. He won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1906, and the mineral was named after him. Natural moissanite is vanishingly rare, so every moissanite sold as a gemstone today is grown in a laboratory.

Here is what that means for a ring you will wear every day:

• Hardness 9.25 on the Mohs scale. Only diamond and a handful of laboratory materials are harder. It will not scratch from ordinary wear, and it is well suited to a ring worn daily for decades.
• Refractive index of 2.65 to 2.69, higher than diamond at 2.42. More light is bent back to the eye, which is why a moissanite reads noticeably brighter than a diamond of the same size under the same light.
• Dispersion of 0.104, against 0.044 for diamond. Dispersion is the splitting of white light into spectral colours. This is the origin of the rainbow fire that moissanite is known for, most visible in direct sun or under spotlights.
• Doubly refractive. Under strong magnification a gemmologist can see facet edges doubled. To the naked eye it looks like extra brilliance.

Moissanite is not cubic zirconia and it is not glass. Cubic zirconia is far softer at 8 to 8.5 on the Mohs scale, it clouds and abrades within a few years of daily wear, and it has little resale value. Moissanite keeps its polish and its brightness indefinitely. It is also not a diamond, laboratory grown or mined, and we never describe it as one. It is its own gemstone with its own optical signature, and it is chosen by people who want maximum presence on the hand for a fraction of the cost of a diamond of the same size.

Every stone we set is graded colourless, the top colour band for moissanite, and VVS clarity, which means any inclusions are extremely difficult to find even under ten times magnification. Nothing is visible to the naked eye.

Choosing your metal

This ring is made to order in ten metals, so the version you choose is the version we build. There is no plating over a base metal and no filled or bonded gold anywhere in the range.

• 925 sterling silver is the most affordable way to own the design. It is 92.5 per cent pure silver, bright white, and it takes a high polish. Silver is softer than gold and it will pick up fine surface marks with daily wear, which most people come to like. It can also tarnish, and a soft polishing cloth brings it straight back.
• 10K gold is 41.7 per cent pure gold. It is the hardest and the most scratch resistant of the three gold alloys, which makes it a sensible choice for hands that work. The colour is a little paler than 14K.
• 14K gold is 58.5 per cent pure gold and it is what most engagement rings sold in the United States are made from. It balances a warm, convincing colour against real everyday durability.
• 18K gold is 75 per cent pure gold. It has the deepest, richest colour and the most weight in the hand. It is also the softest of the three, so it marks a little more readily.

Yellow gold is gold alloyed with silver and copper. Rose gold takes more copper, which gives the warm pink tone and also makes it the hardest of the three colours. White gold is alloyed with palladium or nickel and then finished with rhodium plating, which is what gives it that bright white face. Rhodium wears thin over time and wants redoing roughly every one to two years, which any jeweller can do quickly and cheaply. Every gold ring is stamped with its karat mark.

Choosing your carat size

This ring is offered in 2, 3, 4 and 5 carat centre stones. Carat is a unit of weight, not of width, so the larger sizes look disproportionately bigger across the face of the stone:

• 2 carat is the most chosen size. It is unmistakably a statement stone and still sits comfortably under a glove or a coat sleeve.
• 3 carat is a clear step up in presence and photographs beautifully. This is where most people land when they want the ring to be the first thing anyone notices.
• 4 carat covers the finger generously and suits longer fingers and larger ring sizes particularly well.
• 5 carat is a red carpet stone. It is the size people ask about across a room.

If you are between sizes, order the smaller centre stone in a richer metal rather than the larger stone in the cheapest one. A well made ring in 14K or 18K gold ages far better than an oversized stone on a thin shank.

Made to order in our own workshop

Mapple Gems is a family run jewellery workshop in Surat, in Gujarat, India. Surat is where roughly nine out of every ten diamonds in the world are cut and polished, and the bench skills that grew up around that trade are what this ring is built on. We are not a dropshipper and we do not hold finished stock. When your order comes in, a goldsmith casts your metal in your size, a setter places every stone by hand under a microscope, and the piece is polished, checked and photographed before it leaves us.

Making takes ten to fourteen working days for most orders. Shipping is free worldwide and fully insured, and it is normally three to seven working days once the ring has left the bench. Buying direct from the bench is the reason a ring like this costs what it does here rather than several times more on a high street.

Caring for your ring

Moissanite attracts skin oil and hand cream the same way diamond does, and a film of it is the single most common reason a ring looks dull. Soak the ring for ten minutes in warm water with a drop of washing up liquid, brush gently behind and underneath the stone with a soft toothbrush, rinse and pat dry with a lint free cloth. Once a fortnight is plenty.

Take the ring off before the gym, gardening, swimming pools and hot tubs, and before using bleach or oven cleaner. Chlorine attacks the alloys in gold over time and it will do nothing good to sterling silver. Store it on its own rather than loose in a box with other pieces. Have the claws checked by a jeweller once a year, which takes two minutes and is usually free. White gold will want its rhodium refreshed every one to two years.

Questions people ask about this ring

Are all the stones moissanite?

Yes. The princess cut centre stone and the small round stones in the halo and band are all colourless moissanite with VVS clarity.

Does the halo get bigger with the stone?

Yes. The halo is made to fit the centre stone, so on the larger carat options the halo and the band are in proportion. Please contact us if you would like to know more about how the stone sizes are matched.

What is a princess cut?

A princess cut is a square stone with pointed corners and a brilliant faceting pattern. The four claws sit at the corners to protect the points.

Which carat size matches the ring in the photographs?

The source description lists main stones of 1.50, 2.0 and 2.50 carat and our photographs do not say which is shown, so we cannot say which option matches. The 2 carat option sits in the middle of the source sizes and the 3, 4 and 5 carat options are larger. Please contact us before ordering if you would like a particular size.

Which metal is shown in the photographs?

Our photographs show the ring in a white metal, which looks like white gold or platinum. It is made in white gold, yellow gold, rose gold and sterling silver, and the stones are the same in every metal.

Can this ring be resized?

Resizing is possible for small changes, but the stones along the band limit how far it can go, so please contact us first and we will confirm what is possible.

Is the wedding band in the photographs included?

No. Several of our photographs show the engagement ring worn with a matching or contour band so you can see how it stacks, but the price here is for the engagement ring alone. The bands are sold separately and we are happy to advise which of ours nests best against this design.

What colour and clarity is the moissanite in this ring?

Every centre stone is graded colourless with VVS clarity. Colourless is the top colour band for moissanite, and VVS means inclusions are extremely difficult to see even under ten times magnification. The grades are the same on every metal and every carat weight, and on every ring we cut and set in our own workshop.

Will people be able to tell it is not a diamond?

Not by looking. Both stones are colourless and brilliantly cut, and at arm length they read the same. In direct sunlight moissanite throws more rainbow coloured fire than a diamond does, which some people love and which is the only tell most people would ever notice. Telling the two apart with any certainty needs a thermal or electrical conductivity tester, or a loupe and the training to read facet doubling.

Does moissanite get cloudy or lose its sparkle over time?

No. At 9.25 on the Mohs scale it is one of the hardest gem materials there is, and it does not abrade, cloud or dull with wear the way cubic zirconia does. What makes any ring look dull is a film of skin oil, soap and hand cream on the underside of the stone. A few minutes in warm soapy water with a soft brush restores it completely.

What ring sizes can I order?

We make sizes 1.5 to 13, including every half size. Choose your size at checkout. If you are unsure, measure a ring that already fits the correct finger, or ask a local jeweller to size you, and remember that fingers run slightly larger in hot weather and late in the day.

Can the ring be resized later?

In most cases yes. Any jeweller can work on a plain section of shank. Resizing is harder where the band is set with stones all the way round, and moving more than about two sizes in either direction is better done by remaking the shank. Contact us first and we will tell you exactly what is possible for your ring.

How long will it take to arrive?

Every ring is made to order in our workshop in Surat. Allow ten to fourteen working days for making, plus three to seven working days for insured worldwide shipping. If you have a proposal date, tell us when you order and we will confirm whether we can meet it.

Is the metal solid, or is it plated?

It is solid throughout. 925 sterling silver is 92.5 per cent pure silver, and the gold options are solid 10K, 14K or 18K alloy stamped with the karat mark. Nothing in this range is gold plated, gold filled or gold bonded. White gold carries a rhodium finish on the surface, which is standard for all white gold everywhere and is refreshed every year or two.

Do you offer engraving?

Yes, and there is no charge for it. Tell us the wording when you order and we will engrave the inside of the shank. Most people choose a date, a set of initials or a short phrase. Allow up to about twenty five characters.

What is your returns policy?

Returns are accepted within thirty days of delivery on an unworn ring in its original packaging. Because every piece is cut, cast and set to order, engraved rings and rings made to a non standard specification are handled case by case. Write to us and we will sort it out.

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