Six Reasons We Love Oval Lab Diamonds
One of the strongest engagement ring trends is oval lab diamonds. Blake Lively, Serena Williams, Hailey Baldwin, Rose Leslie, they all have oval shape engagement rings. We get it: the oval cut is so graceful, with those elegant curves. Ovals are all over our Instagram feed and we couldn't be happier. Here are six reasons why ovals are our current favorite lab diamond fancy shape and should be yours too.
Fancy, but not Too Fancy
Let’s face it, we love trends but maybe not for engagement rings, which should look just as good decades from now as they do today. We don't want the thigh-high boots of engagement rings, we want the Birkin bag. But just because we want something classic doesn't mean we want our engagement rings to be just like everyone else’s either. Enter the oval three-stone engagement ring. As timeless as the round three stone ring but just different enough to make a simple ring have stellar style. Whether you choose a lab grown diamond or a natural diamond, choosing an oval shape engagement ring will make the design stand out with a subtle elegance.
Flatters Your Fingers
There’s something about rings with a taller elongated silhouette that makes your hand look longer and slimmer and so ready for that engagement ring selfie. Oval lab diamonds like the one in our Ellipse Engagement Ring are famously finger flattering. Now if they could only magically fix your manicure too.
Looks Bigger than Other Shapes
Diamonds are sold by weight not by size and each diamond shape has slightly different proportions. Oval diamonds, whether they are lab diamonds or natural diamonds, are shallower than round brilliants so they have a larger face up surface area than a round brilliant. Math! This means that one-carat oval shape engagement rings look larger than one-carat round engagement rings. The elongated silhouette enhances the apparent size too. So more sparkle per carat!
Less Per Carat than a Round
Even though a one-carat oval lab diamond looks larger than a one-carat round, it sells for less per carat. Round brilliants are the most popular diamond cut and so they sell for more per carat than any other shape. Ovals make more efficient use of the rough and can be as much as 20 percent less per carat than a round brilliant, depending on quality. You'll notice how much bigger in an oval lab grown diamond solitaire necklace or oval lab diamond engagement ring. So: looks bigger, costs less, win-win.
Every One is Different
Although we talk about the oval as if it’s one shape, actually it’s many. There are tall skinny ovals and almost round ovals and everything in between. The tips can be more pointed or less. You can pick an oval shape that appeals to you. A round diamond has a length to width ratio of 1. Experts recommend ovals with length to width ratios of 1.3 to 1.6 but really it’s a matter of personal preference. Whatever you love is what you should wear.
Looks Good in Lots of Engagement Ring Styles
Although ovals are elongated, they are similar enough to round brilliants that they work just as well in most engagement ring styles, from solitaire oval engagement rings to oval halo engagement rings to three-stone oval engagement rings to oval pave band engagement rings. Although most people prefer the oval set parallel to the finger, you can also set it east-west for a more unique look. Whatever your favorite engagement ring style, modern to vintage, ovals are a great alternative to a round that will make your ring your own.
