A vine, not a row of stones
Most side stone rings put matching diamonds either side of the centre in a straight line. Alma doesn't. The band splits and twists as it climbs, and the six side diamonds sit in it the way buds sit on a stem, two marquise cut to read as leaves and four round brilliants scattered between them. Nothing is perfectly symmetrical, which is the point. It looks grown rather than assembled.
This is the setting only. You choose the centre diamond yourself from our live inventory, natural or lab grown, GIA or IGI certified, and we set it for you. The side diamonds total 0.40ct across six stones, micro claw set so the metal holding them almost disappears.
The side diamonds come two ways. Natural stones in F to G colour, VS clarity. Or lab grown in D to E, also VS. The lab option takes several hundred dollars off the setting at every metal and nobody is telling them apart on her hand at this size. We sell both and we don't push either.
Available in 14ct or 18ct white, yellow or rose gold, or 950 platinum. 14ct is harder and takes daily wear slightly better. 18ct holds richer colour and is what most of our customers choose. Platinum is heavier on the hand and white the whole way through, so it never needs re-plating.
Every Monroe Yorke ring goes through ten distinct stages over four to eight weeks. Design refinement. Three-dimensional modelling. Casting. Stone sourcing. Cleaning. Polishing. Setting. About eight hours of bench-level finishing. Quality control. And the final approval our master jeweller signs off himself. Made in Australia, ten stages, no shortcuts.
Why the twisted band is harder to make than it looks
A straight pavé shank is set in one plane. Alma's isn't. Every seat has to be cut at its own angle so each side diamond faces up once the band curves away, and the marquise stones have to be oriented by eye rather than by rule or they fight the twist. That is bench work, and it is why this setting takes longer than a plain solitaire. It is also why a cast-and-ship version of this design never looks right.
Rose gold suits it best, if you want an opinion. The warmth sits with the organic shape in a way white metal doesn't. Yellow is the close second. The same design with a lab grown centre diamond already set is on the Alma lab grown page.
