Pear Cut Lab Grown Diamond Sculptural Swirl Engagement Ring in Silver, 10K, 14K and 18K Gold

A pear cut laboratory grown diamond held inside a band that leaves the shank, rises into an S curve, closes over the stone at its point and its base, and drops away again. No claws cross the face of the diamond and there are no accent stones. The metal is the setting, and the ring reads as a single line with a stone caught in the turn 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: Sculptural swirl, the band curving up to hold the stone at both ends
• Accent stones: None, the centre stone stands alone
• Metals: 925 silver, 10K, 14K and 18K gold in yellow, rose and white
• Made: To order in Surat, India

How it holds the stone

One end of the swirl wraps the point of the pear, the other closes over its rounded base. Both are the strongest places to grip this shape, and between them the long flanks of the stone are left entirely clear. Nothing sits on the table, which is why the diamond looks suspended in the loop rather than mounted onto a shank.

The point is inside the metal

The tip of a pear is the thinnest part of the stone and the first thing to chip on a badly made ring. Here it is enclosed by the curve rather than left standing proud at the end of a claw, so the metal takes any knock first. On a design this sculptural, that protection is a by product of the shape rather than something added on.

A ring with three faces

From above the swirl passes through the stone as one asymmetric line. From the side it lifts and falls. From behind it closes into a rounded shank. Few rings change this much as the hand turns, and that is the reason to choose one over a conventional solitaire.

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. On a design that lives or dies by the line of the metal, the alloy matters: 10K holds a polish hardest, 14K is the everyday balance, 18K gives the deepest colour. 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.

About the bow tie

Every pear can show a bow tie, a dark band across the widest part of the stone caused by the proportions of the cut rather than by colour or clarity. No certificate grades it, and with no pave on this ring nothing distracts from it. We check every pear by eye and reject the ones that show it.

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 swirl is formed and finished before the stone goes anywhere near it, since a curve like this cannot be corrected afterwards, and both ends are closed over your particular pear by hand. Allow two to three weeks for making, plus shipping.

Looking after it

Warm water, mild washing up liquid and a soft toothbrush. Follow the inside of the curve where it passes behind the stone, which is the part you never see. With no pave the rest is straightforward. Take it off for the gym, gardening and swimming.

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.

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? No, not flat. The swirl crosses the band at an angle. A curved or open band nests against it, or wear this ring alone.

Can it be resized? Only slightly, because the curve is formed to a specific finger size. Please measure carefully and we will build to your size.

Is the stone secure without claws? Yes. The metal closes over the point and the base rather than resting on the surface of the stone, which grips it at its two strongest positions. It is more work to make than claws and at least as secure.

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