Old Mine Cut Lab Grown Diamond Pave Cross Basket Solitaire Ring in Silver, 10K, 14K and 18K Gold

An elongated old mine cut laboratory grown diamond in four claws, where the claws themselves are set with tiny diamonds and the basket underneath is built as a pave set cross. It is a solitaire from the front and a piece of jewellery in its own right from underneath.

At a glance

• Centre stone: Elongated old mine cut laboratory grown diamond
• Carat options: 2, 3, 4 and 5 carat
• Colour and clarity: D to F colorless, VS1 to VS2
• Certificate: IGI, included free
• Setting: Diamond set claws over a pave cross basket
• Accent stones: Round brilliant laboratory grown diamonds
• Metals: 925 silver, 10K, 14K and 18K gold in yellow, rose and white
• Made: To order in Surat, India

The cross basket

Turn the ring over and the basket is not the usual pair of plain rails. Two pave set bars cross under the stone in an X, meeting at the centre, with diamonds running along both arms and down onto the shoulders. It is the part of a ring almost nobody photographs and almost nobody bothers to finish properly, which is exactly why we did it.

There is a practical effect as well as a decorative one. The crossed bars hold the pavilion from four directions rather than two, so a deep old mine cut sits more securely and cannot rock in its seat. The open spaces between the arms let light in from below, which a deep antique cut needs more than a shallow modern one does.

Diamond set claws

Each of the four claws carries small diamonds set into its outer face. It is fiddly work, because the stones have to be seated in a curved surface that is only a couple of millimetres across and then the claw still has to bend over the centre stone without disturbing them. Done well, the claws stop reading as metal holding a diamond and start reading as part of the sparkle.

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 stone pulled out of the ground. The only difference is where it grew. Ours are produced by chemical vapour deposition and high pressure high temperature growth, then cut and polished by hand. This is not moissanite, not cubic zirconia and not a simulant of any kind. 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. It is shown here in 14K yellow gold, which makes the pave read as bright points against warm metal. 10K gold is the hardest of the three alloys and the most resistant to knocks, 14K is the balance most people choose for daily wear, and 18K is the richest colour but the softest metal. White gold is rhodium plated and will want replating every one to two years to stay bright. Sterling silver is the most affordable route into the design and takes the same certified centre stone.

Every centre stone arrives IGI certified

The centre diamond in this ring is graded by IGI, the International Gemological Institute, and the certificate travels with the ring at no extra charge. The report states the carat weight, the colour grade, the clarity grade, the measurements and the laser inscription on the girdle, and it confirms in writing that the stone is laboratory grown. You are not asked to take our word for any of it. Every certificate is included free with every metal and every carat weight, and it is the same document an independent appraiser or an insurer will ask to see.

Made to order in our own workshop

Mapple Gems is a family run workshop in Surat, India, the city where the majority of the world's diamonds are cut and polished. Nothing here is pulled off a shelf. When your order arrives we cut the seat for your centre stone, build the setting in the metal you chose, then file, set and polish it by hand for your carat weight and your finger size. That is how we can offer twenty one ring sizes across ten metals and four carat weights without holding a warehouse of stock. Allow two to three weeks for making, plus shipping.

Looking after it

Warm water, a drop of mild washing up liquid and a soft toothbrush will keep it bright. Pay attention underneath the stone, because that is where hand cream and soap collect and dull the light coming back through the pavilion. Rinse well and dry with a soft cloth. Take it off for the gym, for gardening and before swimming, and keep it away from bleach and chlorine, which attack the alloys in gold rather than the diamond itself.

Questions we are asked

Is all that detail visible when worn? The claw diamonds are, from every angle. The cross basket is mostly yours alone, which is how people who own rings like this tend to prefer it.

Does the pave make it harder to clean? A little. Pave has more places for soap to sit. A soft toothbrush and warm soapy water once a fortnight is genuinely all it needs.

Will a wedding band sit flush? A straight band will leave a small gap because the basket sits proud. A curved or notched band fits neatly.

Can small pave stones fall out? It is uncommon when the beads are raised properly, which is a hand operation and the reason we do it in house rather than buying in cast settings.

Can it be resized? Yes. We keep the lower half of the shank plain specifically so it can be, without heat going anywhere near the pave.

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