Round Brilliant Moissanite Classic Halo Engagement Ring with Pave Shoulders in Silver, 10K, 14K and 18K Gold

A round brilliant moissanite framed by a tight halo of smaller rounds, with pave running down the shoulders of the band. It is the traditional halo engagement ring, bright and balanced, and it looks generous at any carat. The four claws are small and neat inside the halo.

At a glance

• Center stone: Round brilliant cut moissanite, colorless, VVS clarity
• Carat options: 2, 3, 4 and 5 carat center stone
• Certificate: IGI grading report for the center stone, included free
• Setting: Four claws inside a halo of round moissanite
• Side stones: Round brilliant moissanite, colorless, VVS, in the halo and pave set along the shoulders
• Band: Pave band, approximately 2 mm
• 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

The traditional round halo, with pave shoulders

The round halo with pave shoulders has been a favorite for years because it simply works. The round brilliant is the most fiery cut there is, and a tight frame of small rounds around it multiplies that sparkle and makes the center look larger than it is.

In this design the halo stones sit shoulder to shoulder, held by tiny shared prongs, so from above you see a continuous circle of light with very little metal. The center moissanite is held in four claws inside that circle. The claws are small and tucked in against the halo, so they do not break up the outline.

From the halo, a line of round moissanite runs down each side of the band. These shoulder stones are slightly larger than the halo stones and carry the sparkle outward, so the ring glints along its length and not only at the top. The back of the shank is plain, which keeps it comfortable.

The photographs show the ring in yellow, white and rose gold, and worn in white gold, where the halo and shoulders merge into one bright line across the finger.

Why the round cut

The round cut is the classic 57 or 58 facet brilliant, the most studied cut in jewelry and the one that returns the most light straight back to the eye. It is one of the shapes we are asked for most often, and it is cut here to the same proportions we would use for a diamond of the same outline.

How this ring differs from our other round moissanite rings

This is the same round halo and pave band design as our other round halo pave listings, photographed with a different center stone size. The halo grows with the center stone, so the number of halo stones changes with the carat you choose, but the design is the same. Compared with our hidden halo and plain band rounds, this one shows the halo from above and has pave on the shoulders.

What moissanite actually is

Moissanite is silicon carbide, a crystal first identified by the French chemist Henri Moissan in 1893 in fragments of the Canyon Diablo meteorite in Arizona. He won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1906, and the mineral was named after him. Natural moissanite is vanishingly rare, so every moissanite sold as a gemstone today is grown in a laboratory.

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

• Hardness 9.25 on the Mohs scale. Only diamond and a handful of laboratory materials are harder. It will not scratch from ordinary wear, and it is well suited to a ring worn daily for decades.
• Refractive index of 2.65 to 2.69, higher than diamond at 2.42. More light is bent back to the eye, which is why a moissanite reads noticeably brighter than a diamond of the same size under the same light.
• Dispersion of 0.104, against 0.044 for diamond. Dispersion is the splitting of white light into spectral colors. This is the origin of the rainbow fire that moissanite is known for, most visible in direct sun or under spotlights.
• Doubly refractive. Under strong magnification a gemologist can see facet edges doubled. To the naked eye it looks like extra brilliance.

Moissanite is not cubic zirconia and it is not glass. Cubic zirconia is far softer at 8 to 8.5 on the Mohs scale, it clouds and abrades within a few years of daily wear, and it has little resale value. Moissanite keeps its polish and its brightness indefinitely. It is also not a diamond, laboratory grown or mined, and we never describe it as one. It is its own gemstone with its own optical signature, and it is chosen by people who want maximum presence on the hand for a fraction of the cost of a diamond of the same size.

Every stone we set is graded colorless, the top color band for moissanite, and VVS clarity, which means any inclusions are extremely difficult to find even under ten times magnification. Nothing is visible to the naked eye.

IGI certificate included free

The center moissanite in this ring comes with a grading report from IGI, the International Gemological Institute, one of the largest independent gem laboratories in the world, with offices 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 cut, the measurements, the carat weight, the color and the clarity of the center stone, and it identifies the stone in writing as moissanite, so you know exactly what you are buying and you have an independent document to keep with the ring for insurance and for valuation.

We include it because a stone this bright is sometimes mistaken for a diamond, and we would rather you had the laboratory's word than only ours. The report arrives in the box with the ring.

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 in 2, 3, 4 and 5 carat center stones. Carat is a unit of weight, not of width. Moissanite is lighter than diamond, so it is cut and sold to the size of the equivalent diamond, which means a 2 carat round moissanite measures across the face the same as a 2 carat round diamond would. The photographs may show a different size from the one you choose, and the version you select is the one we make.

• 2 carat is the most chosen size. It is unmistakably a statement stone 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 stone. It is the size people ask about across a room.

If you are between sizes, order the smaller center stone in a richer metal rather than the larger stone in the cheapest one. A well made ring in 14K or 18K gold ages far better than an oversized stone on a thin shank.

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 the bench skills that grew up around that trade are what this ring is built on. 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 stone by hand under a microscope, and the piece is polished, checked 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

Moissanite attracts skin oil and hand cream the same way diamond does, and a film of it 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 stone 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 rather than loose in a box with other pieces. 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

Are the halo and shoulder stones moissanite too?

Yes. Every stone on the ring is colorless VVS moissanite, so the halo and pave match the center stone in color and brilliance.

Does the halo change size with the carat?

Yes. The halo is built around the center stone, so a larger center gets a wider halo with a few more stones. The look stays in proportion.

Will a straight wedding band sit flush?

A straight band sits beside it neatly. Because the halo is wider than the band, there may be a small gap at the top, and many people choose a slightly curved band for a closer fit.

Does this ring come with a certificate?

Yes. The center moissanite comes with an IGI grading report, included free with every order. It records the shape, measurements, carat weight, color and clarity of the stone and identifies it as moissanite. It is useful for insurance and for peace of mind, and it arrives in the box with the ring.

What color and clarity is the moissanite in this ring?

Every center stone is graded colorless with VVS clarity. Colorless is the top color band for moissanite, and VVS means inclusions are extremely difficult to see even under ten times magnification. The grades are the same on every metal and every carat weight, and on every ring we cut and set in our own workshop.

Will people be able to tell it is not a diamond?

Not by looking. Both stones are colorless and brilliantly cut, and at arm length they read the same. In direct sunlight moissanite throws more rainbow colored fire than a diamond does, which some people love and which is the only tell most people would ever notice. Telling the two apart with any certainty needs a thermal or electrical conductivity tester, or a loupe and the training to read facet doubling.

Does moissanite get cloudy or lose its sparkle over time?

No. At 9.25 on the Mohs scale it is one of the hardest gem materials there is, and it does not abrade, cloud or dull with wear the way cubic zirconia does. What makes any ring look dull is a film of skin oil, soap and hand cream on the underside of the stone. A few minutes in warm soapy water with a soft brush restores it completely.

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 in either direction is better done by remaking the shank. Contact us first and we will tell you exactly what is possible for your ring.

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 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 rhodium finish on the surface, which is standard for all white gold everywhere and is refreshed every year or two.

Do you offer engraving?

Yes, and there is no charge for it. Tell us the wording when you order and we will engrave the inside of the shank. Most people choose a date, a set of initials or a short phrase. Allow 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. Because every piece is cut, cast and set to order, engraved rings and rings made to a non standard specification are handled case by case. Write to us and we will sort it out.

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