Asscher Cut Moissanite Branching Vine Ring with Marquise Leaves in Silver, 10K, 14K and 18K Gold

An asscher cut moissanite in four claws on a band worked as a branching vine, with marquise accents set as leaves along twisting stems and small rounds scattered between them, the whole arrangement running around most of the band. It is the most elaborate nature inspired ring we make in this shape.

We make it to order in our workshop in Surat, India. Family run, every ring finished and checked by hand.

The vine runs the whole way

Our other botanical designs place a motif at the shoulders and let the band return to plain metal. This one does not stop. The stems continue, branching and crossing, around most of the circumference, carrying leaves and buds with them.

That changes it from a solitaire with a decorated shoulder into a ring where the band is the subject. The centre stone sits within the vine rather than on top of it.

It is also, straightforwardly, a great deal more work: every stem is shaped, every leaf is a separately set marquise, and the pattern has to keep looking unplanned while remaining balanced from both sides.

How this compares with our other nature inspired asscher rings

We make several and they are quite distinct in how much they do.

Delicate Vine a small engraved twig at each shoulder with two or three tiny flush set stones. The lightest touch.

Spaced Leaf Link a few individual rounds set widely apart with twisted metal leaves between them. Sparse and orderly.

Marquise Accent Cluster a tight symmetrical group of three stones beside the centre, plain band beyond.

Marquise Leaf Cluster tilted sprigs of marquise and round at each shoulder, asymmetric, but stopping partway.

This one the full vine, running round most of the band. The most stones, the most metalwork and the most expensive of the group.

If you have looked at the leaf cluster ring and wished it carried on further, this is that ring.

Marquise as leaves

A marquise is a pointed oval, close to the outline of a leaf, which is why it does work here that a round could not. Set at angles along a stem, tilted differently from its neighbours, it reads immediately as foliage rather than as a gemstone in a row.

The small rounds act as buds, filling gaps so the vine looks dense without adding more leaf shapes and becoming cluttered. Each marquise has both points covered by metal, which is the correct way to set one; exposed points chip.

The stone

An asscher is a square step cut with cropped corners, so its outline is an octagon that reads as a square. The facets are cut in concentric squares that draw the eye down into the stone, an effect jewellers call the hall of mirrors. It flashes in broad blocks rather than sparkling.

Setting the most rigidly geometric shape in jewellery inside a band with no straight lines anywhere is the whole idea. The stone looks more precise for its surroundings, and the vine looks more organic for what it encircles.

Every centre stone is Colorless in body colour and VVS in clarity, and every accent, marquise and round alike, is Colorless and VVS too.

Moissanite has a higher refractive index than diamond, which in a step cut shows as depth rather than fire, and at 9.25 on the Mohs scale it stands up to daily wear.

Choose the centre from 2 carat up to 5 carat. The band is busy, so we would lean toward 3 carat or above to keep the centre clearly in charge. At 2 carat the vine and the stone share the ring more evenly, which some people prefer.

Metals

Choose 925 sterling silver, or 10K, 14K or 18K gold in yellow, rose or white. Shown in yellow gold, which this design genuinely needs. The stems and branches are metal, and metal only reads as a stem when it differs in colour from the stones it carries. In yellow gold you see a gold vine set with white leaves. In white gold the structure disappears and you are left with an irregular scatter of stones. Rose gold works as well as yellow and suits the botanical idea particularly. Silver reads between the two. 10K is the hardest, 14K is the everyday balance, 18K is the richest but softest. White gold is rhodium plated and needs replating every one to two years.

Made to order

Nothing is taken off a shelf. We form the branching stems, set every marquise at its own angle, set the rounds between them, balance both sides by eye, then set the centre and polish for your metal, centre size and finger size after your order arrives. None of this can be done to a template, because no two stones sit at the same angle, and polishing between crossing stems has to be done from several directions. This is among the slowest rings we make. That is how we offer twenty one ring sizes and forty combinations.

Care

Warm water, a drop of mild washing up liquid and a soft toothbrush, worked into the vine from above, below and both sides. Stones set at angles among stems trap more than flat settings do, and this ring has a great many places for dirt to sit. It rewards regular cleaning more than any other design we make. Clean under the centre too. Rinse and dry with a soft cloth. Take it off for the gym, gardening and swimming pools, and keep it away from bleach.

Questions we are asked

Will a wedding band sit flush? No, honestly. The vine gives the band an irregular edge the whole way round, so a straight band cannot sit against it cleanly. A contoured band shaped to the vine is the only good answer, and most people wear this ring alone.

Can it be resized? Only within a small range, because the pattern runs around most of the band and any join interrupts a stem. Please take the sizing seriously and we will help.

Do stones set at angles catch on clothing? Somewhat more than a flush setting. The marquise points are covered and the stones sit low, but with this much going on it is not a snag free ring and we would not describe it as one.

Will inclusions show in a step cut? Not at VVS. That grade is what makes a step cut worth doing.

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