Pear Cut Lab Grown Diamond Hidden Halo Engagement Ring with a Raised Basket in Silver, 10K, 14K and 18K Gold

This is a ring designed to be looked at from the side. A pear cut laboratory grown diamond sits on a basket lifted clear of the finger, and every outward face of that basket is set with small round diamonds. From above, a plain pear solitaire on a fine band. In profile, a band of light with a diamond balanced on top of it.

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: Claw set pear on a raised hidden halo basket, on a plain thin band
• Accent stones: Round laboratory grown diamonds in the hidden halo, E colour, VVS2
• Metals: 925 silver, 10K, 14K and 18K gold in yellow, rose and white
• Made: To order in Surat, India

The profile is the design

Most rings are drawn from above and the side view is whatever the construction happens to produce. Here it is the other way round. The basket is built taller than it needs to be, and the extra height is given over to diamonds facing outward. The result is that the part of the ring most people never think about is the part that catches the eye when you reach for something.

Why raised rather than flush

Lifting the stone does three things. Light enters the pear from below as well as from above, which a stone sitting flat on the finger never gets. The outline of the pear is clear of the skin, so the shape reads sharply. And the hidden halo has somewhere to live where it can be seen from every angle except directly overhead.

The pear on top

Set with the point towards the wrist, which lengthens the finger. The tip is the most fragile part of any pear, so it sits inside a v claw that wraps both edges of the point rather than pressing on it. The rounded end is held by two further claws, kept narrow so they interrupt the outline as little as possible.

The plain band

No pave on the shoulders. With a diamond set basket doing the work, a pave shank would simply be noise. A polished band also resizes easily and takes a wedding ring flat against it.

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 mined stone. Ours are grown by chemical vapour deposition and high pressure high temperature methods, then cut and polished by hand. This is not moissanite, not cubic zirconia and not a simulant. 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. Yellow gold is photographed here, and the contrast between the warm basket and the colourless halo stones is exactly what makes the side view work. In white gold the halo blends into the metal and the effect is quieter. White gold is rhodium plated and will want replating every one to two years.

Every centre stone arrives IGI certified

The centre diamond is graded by IGI, the International Gemological Institute, and the certificate comes with the ring at no extra charge. It states the carat weight, the E colour grade, the VVS2 clarity grade, the measurements and the girdle inscription, and confirms in writing that the stone is laboratory grown. The halo diamonds are matched to the same E and VVS2 grade.

About the bow tie

Every pear has the potential for a bow tie, a dark band across the centre produced by the proportions of the cut rather than by colour or clarity. No certificate grades it. We check each pear by eye and reject those that show it, because it is the difference between a stone that looks alive and one that looks flat.

Made to order in our own workshop

Mapple Gems is a family run workshop in Surat, India, where most of the world's diamonds are cut and polished. The basket is laid out to the footprint of your individual pear so the halo stays completely out of sight from above, and every accent is set by hand under a microscope. Allow two to three weeks for making, plus shipping.

Looking after it

Warm water, mild washing up liquid and a soft toothbrush. Brush upward into the basket from underneath. A raised setting collects less on the top than a flush one but more underneath, so that is where to concentrate.

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 stones are matched to the same grade.

Will a raised setting catch on things? More than a bezel, less than a tall claw solitaire. The basket is wide rather than tall, and the claws sit close to the stone.

Is the certificate really free? Yes. The IGI report for the centre stone is included in the price on every variant.

Will a wedding band sit flush against it? Yes. Because the head is lifted, a straight band tucks underneath the basket and sits flat against the shank.

Can it be resized? Yes. The band carries no stones, so resizing does not touch the basket or the halo.

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