Dainty Oval Moissanite Crossover Pave Band Engagement Ring, Twisted Solitaire in Silver, 10K, 14K and 18K Gold

A neat oval moissanite on four fine claws, carried by a slender band of two crossing strands. One strand is polished and the other is set with tiny round moissanite, so the band looks braided and catches the light in small flashes. It is a light, feminine ring that stays comfortable all day.

At a glance

• Center stone: Oval brilliant cut moissanite, colorless, VVS clarity
• Carat options: 2, 3, 4 and 5 carat center stone
• Certificate: IGI grading report for the center stone, included free
• Setting: Four fine claws holding the oval lengthwise
• Side stones: Round brilliant moissanite, colorless, VVS, pave set on one strand
• Band: Crossover twisted band, approximately 2 mm
• 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 crossover band with a line of pave

The band is the heart of this design. Two slim strands cross over one another along each shoulder, one left as bright polished metal and the other set with a single line of small round moissanite. Where the strands cross, the pave passes in front of the plain strand, so the band has the look of a fine braid. At this scale the crossover band becomes a real feature of the ring rather than just a support for the stone.

The oval sits at the top in four fine claws, positioned so they hold the stone securely while covering as little of it as possible. The oval faces lengthwise along the finger and sits just above the crossover, so the band appears to curl up toward it.

With the pave limited to one strand, the ring has sparkle along the shoulders but keeps a light, airy feel. The back of the band is plain metal, which is comfortable between fingers and practical for future resizing.

These photographs were taken with a small center stone, so they show the daintiest version of the design. Next to the three studio colors, two photographs against a brown shirt show the twist on a real hand.

Why the oval cut

The oval cut is an elongated brilliant cut with about 56 to 58 facets. It carries roughly 10 percent more face up surface than a round of the same weight, so it reads larger on the finger and lengthens the look of the hand. It is one of the shapes we are asked for most often, and 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 oval moissanite rings

This is the same twisted pave oval as our other listings of this design, photographed here with the smallest center stone of the set, which makes the crossover band more prominent against the oval. The band and claws are the same across all of them. Our bezel ovals and hidden halo ovals do not have a twisted band.

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 colors. 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 gemologist 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 colorless, the top color 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.

IGI certificate included free

The center moissanite in this ring comes with a grading report from IGI, the International Gemological Institute, one of the largest independent gem laboratories in the world, with offices in Antwerp, New York, Mumbai and Surat. There is no extra charge for it on any metal or any carat weight. The report records the shape and cut, the measurements, the carat weight, the color and the clarity of the center stone, and it identifies the stone in writing as moissanite, so you know exactly what you are buying and you have an independent document to keep with the ring for insurance and for valuation.

We include it because a stone this bright is sometimes mistaken for a diamond, and we would rather you had the laboratory's word than only ours. The report arrives in the box with the ring.

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 percent 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 percent 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 color is a little paler than 14K.
• 14K gold is 58.5 percent pure gold and it is what most engagement rings sold in the United States are made from. It balances a warm, convincing color against real everyday durability.
• 18K gold is 75 percent pure gold. It has the deepest, richest color 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 colors. 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 jeweler 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 center stones. Carat is a unit of weight, not of width. Moissanite is lighter than diamond, so it is cut and sold to the size of the equivalent diamond, which means a 2 carat oval moissanite measures across the face the same as a 2 carat oval diamond would. The photographs may show a different size from the one you choose, and the version you select is the one we make.

• 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 center 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 jewelry 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 mild dish soap, brush gently behind and underneath the stone with a soft toothbrush, rinse and pat dry with a lint free cloth. Once every two weeks 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 jeweler 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

Does the crossover band make the ring look busy?

No. Only one strand carries pave, so the band has a fine line of sparkle next to plain polished metal and stays light and delicate.

Is the carat weight for the center oval only?

Yes. The 2, 3, 4 and 5 carat options refer to the center oval, and the small pave stones on the band are in addition to that weight.

Which wedding band suits a twisted engagement ring?

A thin matching twist or a slightly curved band sits closest, while a straight band can still be worn alongside with small gaps where the strands cross.

Does this ring come with a certificate?

Yes. The center moissanite comes with an IGI grading report, included free with every order. It records the shape, measurements, carat weight, color and clarity of the stone and identifies it as moissanite. It is useful for insurance and for peace of mind, and it arrives in the box with the ring.

What color and clarity is the moissanite in this ring?

Every center stone is graded colorless with VVS clarity. Colorless is the top color 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 colorless and brilliantly cut, and at arm length they read the same. In direct sunlight moissanite throws more rainbow colored 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 jeweler 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 jeweler 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 percent 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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