1.5ct Round Lab Grown Diamond Ring | 14K Gold

A round is the only stone a setter can turn. Its girdle is a continuous circle, so prongs may grip it at any four points the goldsmith chooses, and the finished ring has no correct way up. Every fancy shape dictates its own setting: prongs must cap the corners of a square, hold the ends of an ellipse, shield the point of a pear. The round leaves that choice open, which is why it is the easiest shape to seat well and the easiest to seat again decades later.

That freedom is worth more as the stone gets heavier. At 1.50 carats there is real mass hanging in four points of metal, and a setter who can place those points wherever the crystal takes them best is working with the stone rather than around it.

The grades on this record are stated as single letters rather than spans: G in color, VS1 in clarity, certified by IGI. A range is a promise about the poorer end of it. One letter is a narrower thing to say and a harder thing to have printed.

The band runs 2mm, which is the sensible width beneath a stone of this weight. It holds its round through years of wear and can be sized more than once without going thin. 2.9 grams of solid 14K gold, white or yellow, lab grown center, covered for life.