Pear Cut Lab Grown Diamond Halo and Pave Ring in Silver, 10K, 14K and 18K Gold

A pear cut laboratory grown diamond ringed by a halo of small round diamonds, with more of them running down both shoulders. The halo widens the stone, the pave carries the light along the band, and the point of the pear is left to do what it does best, which is draw the eye down the finger.

At a glance

• Centre stone: Pear cut laboratory grown diamond
• Carat options: 2, 3, 4 and 5 carat
• Colour and clarity: E colour, VVS2 clarity
• Certificate: IGI, included free
• Setting: Full halo with pave set shoulders
• Accent stones: Round brilliant laboratory grown diamonds, E colour, VVS2
• Metals: 925 silver, 10K, 14K and 18K gold in yellow, rose and white
• Made: To order in Surat, India

What the halo is actually doing

A halo is not only decoration. A ring of small diamonds set tight around a centre stone adds roughly two to three millimetres to the outline of the head, and because the accents sit at the same height as the girdle, your eye reads the whole disc as one stone. The practical effect is that a 2 carat pear in a halo looks closer to a 3 carat pear set on its own.

On a pear specifically the halo has a second job. It follows the teardrop outline, which means the widest part of the halo sits at the shoulder of the stone and the narrowest at the point. That taper is what keeps the ring from looking like a round halo with a bump on one end, and getting it right is the difference between a pear halo that works and one that does not.

Pave down the shoulders

The shoulders carry small round diamonds set into beads raised from the metal itself. It is fiddly, slow work done under a microscope, and it is the part of a ring that most reveals whether it was made by hand or bought in as a cast setting. Done properly the beads are even, the stones sit level, and the line of light runs unbroken from the halo down to where the plain part of the shank begins.

We stop the pave partway down deliberately. The lower half of the shank stays plain so the ring can be resized later without heat going anywhere near the small stones.

The point needs protecting

The tip of a pear is its weak spot, the same as the ends of a marquise. It is held in a V shaped claw that wraps the point from both sides rather than a round claw that would leave the very end exposed. On this ring the halo gives the tip a second layer of protection, because the accent stones and their metal sit around the point rather than leaving it standing out alone.

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. On a halo and pave design the metal is visible mostly as thin lines between stones, so white metal lets the whole head read as continuous diamond, while yellow and rose gold draw the outline of the halo and the two shoulder lines as distinct shapes. 10K is the hardest of the gold alloys, 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.

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 E colour grade, the VVS2 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, lay out the halo to follow its exact teardrop outline, then set the pave, file and polish it by hand for your carat weight and your finger size. A halo cannot be made before the centre stone exists, because every accent seat is positioned from the girdle of that particular pear. 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. Halo and pave rings hold more soap than plain ones, so give it a proper brush once a fortnight, working around the halo and along both shoulders. Pay attention underneath the head as well. 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

What colour and clarity is the diamond? Every centre stone is E colour and VVS2 clarity, on every metal and every carat weight. The halo and pave diamonds are matched to the same grade. The IGI report in the box states both grades for the centre.

How much bigger does the halo make it look? Roughly one carat's worth of apparent size. A 2 carat pear in this setting reads close to a 3 carat pear set alone, because the eye reads the halo and the centre as a single outline.

Will a wedding band sit flush? A straight band leaves a small gap near the point, because the halo is wider than the shank. A curved or chevron band follows the taper of the pear and 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.

Which way does the point face? Almost everyone wears a pear with the point towards the fingernail, which is what lengthens the finger. It is your ring, and we will set it either way if you ask.

Can it be resized? Yes. The pave stops partway down and the lower shank is plain, specifically so it can be.

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