Elongated Cushion Lab Grown Diamond Vintage Milgrain Engagement Ring with Engraved Band in Silver, 10K, 14K and 18K Gold

This is a vintage style engagement ring with an elongated cushion lab grown diamond set inside a beaded milgrain frame and held by four claws. The band is hand engraved with a wheat like pattern and finished with milgrain edges and small diamond accents on the shoulders.

At a glance

• Center stone: Elongated cushion lab grown diamond
• Carat options: 2, 3, 4 and 5 carat center diamond
• Color and clarity: E color, VVS2 clarity, excellent cut
• Certificate: IGI report for the center diamond, included free
• Setting: Four claws inside a raised milgrain frame
• Accent stones: Small round brilliant lab grown diamonds set into the engraved shoulders
• Band: Engraved wheat pattern shoulders with milgrain edges, plain at the back
• 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

Milgrain frame and an engraved heirloom band

The elongated cushion is a rectangle with softly rounded corners, longer than it is wide, and on this ring it sits inside a milgrain frame. The frame is a thin wall of metal that follows the outline of the stone, and its top edge is worked into a row of tiny beads. From the front it draws a fine dotted line around the diamond, the detail most people associate with antique jewelry.

Inside that frame, four claws hold the diamond at its corners. The frame is not a bezel, since it does not close over the stone, so the full face of the cushion stays open and bright.

The shoulders are where the ring shows its handwork. Each side carries an engraved pattern of angled lines that meet like the ears of wheat, bordered above and below by more milgrain. Tiny round lab grown diamonds are set into the engraving close to the head, adding a small flash of light on each side. Toward the back the band becomes plain and smooth for comfort.

The photographs show the ring in yellow, white and rose gold, and two images on the hand show how long and elegant the elongated cushion looks across the finger. It is a substantial ring with real presence, suited to anyone who loves the look of a family heirloom.

Why the elongated cushion cut

The elongated cushion cut is a cushion drawn out into a rectangle with rounded corners. It keeps the soft antique feel of a cushion while flattering the finger the way an oval does. It is one of the shapes we are asked for most often, and every elongated cushion we set is cut to excellent proportions and graded by IGI.

How this ring differs from our other elongated cushion lab grown diamond rings

Among our elongated cushion lab grown diamond rings, this is the one with a vintage milgrain frame and engraved shoulders rather than a plain or pave band. The decorative band makes it the most ornate of our elongated cushion designs. If you prefer a cleaner modern look, our plain claw solitaires are a better match.

What a lab grown diamond is

A lab grown diamond is a real diamond. It is pure crystallized carbon with the same cubic crystal structure as a mined diamond, grown above ground by one of two methods: chemical vapor deposition, known as CVD, or high pressure high temperature growth, known as HPHT. The Federal Trade Commission in the United States recognizes it as a diamond, and the gem laboratories grade it on the same color, clarity and cut scales used for mined stones.

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

• Hardness 10 on the Mohs scale. Nothing natural is harder. It will not scratch from ordinary wear and it keeps its polish for a lifetime.
• Refractive index of 2.42 and dispersion of 0.044, identical to a mined diamond. The brilliance and fire are those of diamond because the stone is diamond.
• It tests as diamond. A standard diamond tester reads it as diamond. Only a gem laboratory with spectroscopic equipment can tell whether a diamond grew in the earth or in a laboratory, and that origin is written on the IGI report and laser inscribed on the girdle.
• Traceable origin. A lab grown diamond comes from a known production run rather than a mine, with no mining footprint and a clear chain of custody.

It is not moissanite, not cubic zirconia and not a simulant. Those are different materials that only imitate the look of diamond. The difference between a lab grown diamond and a mined diamond is origin and price, not chemistry, optics or durability.

E color and VVS2 clarity

Every center diamond we set is graded E color and VVS2 clarity, on every metal and every carat weight. E sits in the colorless range, one step below D, and looks icy white to the eye in any metal, including yellow and rose gold. VVS2 means very very slightly included: any inclusions are so small that a trained grader has difficulty finding them under ten times magnification, and nothing can be seen with the naked eye. Cut, polish and symmetry are graded excellent. Accent diamonds are matched to the same E color and VVS2 clarity, so the whole ring reads as one even white.

IGI certificate included free

The center diamond comes with a grading report from IGI, the International Gemological Institute, one of the largest independent diamond grading laboratories in the world, with laboratories 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 cutting style, the measurements, the carat weight, the color grade, the clarity grade, the cut, polish and symmetry, and it states in writing that the stone is laboratory grown. The report number is laser inscribed on the girdle of the diamond, so the certificate and the stone can always be matched, and it can be checked online on the IGI website at any time.

Keep the report with the ring. It is the document your insurer and any future valuer will ask for, and it is independent confirmation of exactly what you bought.

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 with a 2, 3, 4 or 5 carat center diamond. Carat is a unit of weight, 0.2 grams, and the size across the face grows more slowly than the weight, so a 4 carat elongated cushion is noticeably larger than a 2 carat but not twice as wide. The photographs may show a different carat size from the one you choose. The version you select is the one we make.

• 2 carat is the most chosen size. It is unmistakably a statement diamond 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 diamond, the size people ask about across a room, and one that would be out of reach for most people as a mined stone.

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 it is also one of the main centers of lab grown diamond production. 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 diamond by hand under a microscope, and the piece is polished, checked against the IGI report 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

Diamond attracts skin oil and hand cream, and a film of it on the underside of the stone 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 stones 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, because diamond will scratch other jewelry. 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

What is milgrain?

Milgrain is a row of tiny metal beads worked along an edge. On this ring it outlines the frame around the diamond and borders the engraved shoulders, giving an antique finish.

Is the diamond fully enclosed by the frame?

No. Four claws hold the diamond and the milgrain frame sits around it, so the top of the cushion is open to light.

Will the engraving wear away?

The engraving is cut into solid metal and lasts for many years with normal wear. Over a long time the finest edges soften a little, which many people feel adds to the vintage character.

Does a wedding band sit flush with this ring?

A straight band will sit beside it, but the frame and engraved shoulders are wider than a plain shank, so a small gap may show. A slim band with a light curve usually sits closest.

Is a lab grown diamond a real diamond?

Yes. A lab grown diamond is chemically, physically and optically the same as a mined diamond: pure carbon, 10 on the Mohs scale, with the same brilliance and fire. The only difference is where it formed, which is why it is graded by the same laboratories on the same scales.

What color and clarity is the center diamond?

The center diamond is E color and VVS2 clarity on every metal and every carat size. E is in the colorless range and VVS2 means no inclusion is visible to the eye, and very hard to find even under ten times magnification.

Does the ring come with a certificate?

Yes. The center diamond comes with an IGI grading report at no extra charge. It confirms the carat weight, color, clarity and cut, states that the diamond is lab grown, and matches the report number laser inscribed on the girdle.

Will a jeweler or a diamond tester say it is a diamond?

Yes. A lab grown diamond tests as diamond on every standard tester because it is diamond. Telling lab grown from mined needs advanced laboratory equipment, and the IGI report already states the origin.

Is a lab grown diamond the same as moissanite?

No. Moissanite is silicon carbide, a different gemstone with more rainbow fire and a lower hardness. This ring is set with lab grown diamond, which is carbon, grades on the diamond scale and tests as diamond.

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 is better done by remaking the shank. Contact us first and we will tell you what is possible.

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 free 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 standard rhodium finish.

Do you offer engraving?

Yes, free of charge. Tell us the wording when you order and we will engrave the inside of the shank. Most people choose a date, initials or a short phrase of 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, with the IGI report. Because every piece is made to order, engraved rings are handled case by case. Write to us and we will sort it out.

• All payments are processed securely through PayPal, one of the world's most trusted payment gateways
• Pay with your PayPal balance, or with any major credit or debit card through PayPal's secure checkout
• No PayPal account required — guest checkout available
• PayPal Purchase Protection applies to eligible orders