Antique Round Cut Lab Grown Diamond Solitaire Engagement Ring with Decorative Gallery in Silver, 10K, 14K and 18K Gold

An old European style round laboratory grown diamond set low in a scalloped head, with an openwork gallery cut through beneath it, on a thin plain band. The cut has a small table and a high crown, so it flashes in a few large pulses of light rather than the fine even glitter of a modern brilliant.

At a glance

• Centre stone: Antique round cut laboratory grown diamond
• Carat options: 2, 3, 4 and 5 carat
• Colour and clarity: E colour, VVS2 clarity
• Certificate: IGI, included free
• Setting: Low scalloped head with a pierced decorative gallery, on a thin plain shank
• Accent stones: None, the centre stone stands alone
• Metals: 925 silver, 10K, 14K and 18K gold in yellow, rose and white
• Made: To order in Surat, India

The old European cut

Before Tolkowsky published his calculations in 1919, round diamonds were cut by eye for candlelight. The result had a small table, a tall crown, a deep pavilion and a visible open culet at the bottom. Those proportions send light back in fewer, bigger flashes, with far more coloured fire than a modern brilliant. It is a quieter stone in bright daylight and a considerably more interesting one in a restaurant.

The pierced gallery

Underneath, the head is cut through with arches rather than left solid. Openwork like this was standard on Victorian and Edwardian rings. It lets light reach the pavilion from below, which matters on a deep antique cut, and it turns the side of the ring into the part worth looking at.

Set low

The head sits close to the finger instead of raised on a tall basket. That keeps the ring steady, stops it snagging, and lets a wedding band lie flat against it. Antique rings were made this way as a matter of course.

What laboratory grown means here

A laboratory grown diamond is a diamond. It is crystallised carbon with the same cubic structure, the same 10 on the Mohs scale, the same refractive index of 2.42 and the same dispersion as a mined stone. Ours are grown by chemical vapour deposition and high pressure high temperature methods, then cut and polished by hand. This is not moissanite, not cubic zirconia and not a simulant. A gemmologist testing it will read diamond, because it is diamond.

Metals

Choose 925 sterling silver, or 10K, 14K or 18K gold in yellow, rose or white. Yellow gold is photographed here and suits the reference best, since antique rings were rarely white. 10K is the hardest alloy, 14K the everyday balance, 18K the deepest colour. White gold is rhodium plated and will want replating every one to two years.

Every centre stone arrives IGI certified

The centre diamond is graded by IGI, the International Gemological Institute, and the certificate comes with the ring at no extra charge. It states the carat weight, the E colour grade, the VVS2 clarity grade, the measurements and the girdle inscription, and confirms in writing that the stone is laboratory grown. An antique cut shows colour more readily than a modern brilliant because of its shallower crown angles, which is one reason we fix the grade at E.

Made to order in our own workshop

Mapple Gems is a family run workshop in Surat, India, where most of the world's diamonds are cut and polished. The gallery is pierced and filed by hand after the head is formed, so no two are identical under a loupe. Allow two to three weeks for making, plus shipping.

Looking after it

Warm water, mild washing up liquid and a soft toothbrush. Brush up through the pierced gallery from underneath. A deep pavilion collects more than a shallow one, and a dirty antique cut goes dull faster than a modern stone would. Take it off for the gym, gardening and swimming.

Questions we are asked

What colour and clarity is the diamond? Every centre stone is E colour and VVS2 clarity, on every metal and every carat weight.

Is the certificate really free? Yes. The IGI report for the centre stone is included in the price on every variant.

Will a wedding band sit flush against it? Yes, unusually well. The head is low and the shank straight.

Can it be resized? Yes, freely. The band is plain all the way round.

Does it face up smaller than a modern round? Slightly, yes. An antique cut carries more weight in depth than in spread, so at the same carat weight the outline is a little narrower. What you gain is fire and character.

Is the culet visible? On a true antique proportion, yes, as a small dark point when you look straight through the table. It is a feature of the cut, not a flaw.

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