A solitaire sets one diamond on a band with nothing competing for attention, which is why it is still the most chosen engagement ring in the UK. At Luma our solitaire settings start at £670 and a finished ring starts from around £820, because you choose your certified lab grown diamond separately and we price it when you select it. We make every solitaire to order in our Hatton Garden workshop, set only IGI certified stones, and hallmark each ring in the UK. The format suits a lab grown diamond better than any other: with no halo and no side stones to pay for, the whole budget goes into the centre, so the saving on the stone shows up directly as size or quality rather than disappearing into the mount.
Solitaire settings at Luma
ClioBezel setSetting from £680
AmarisSix claw, plain bandSetting from £690
OdileFour claw, clean shankSetting from £710
CaiaSplit shank, pavéSetting from £820
Each price is for the setting. You choose your certified lab grown diamond separately and we price it live when you select it, so the total depends on the stone. See all solitaire engagement rings.
Why the solitaire suits a lab grown diamond
Every other setting spends part of your money on diamonds that are not the centre stone. A halo adds a ring of small stones, a trilogy adds two more shoulders, pavé runs diamonds down the band. Those all have their place, but they take budget away from the middle.
A solitaire does the opposite. Because the mount is simple, almost everything you spend lands on the one stone people actually look at. Pair that with a lab grown diamond, which costs far less than a mined stone of the same carat, colour and clarity, and the effect compounds. A budget that would have bought a modest mined solitaire reaches a considerably larger or cleaner lab grown one.
Claws, bezels and shoulders
Within the solitaire family the setting still changes the look a great deal.
A four claw setting is the classic. It holds the stone with the least metal covering it, so more light reaches the diamond and the outline reads clearly. Six claws hold the stone more securely and suit a rounder, softer look, which is why the Amaris uses them.
A bezel wraps a rim of metal fully around the stone. It is the most protective option and the least likely to catch, which makes it the sensible choice for anyone with a hands on job. The Clio is our bezel set solitaire.
Then there is the band. A plain shank keeps the focus entirely on the diamond and costs less. A pavé or split shank, like the Caia, runs small diamonds along the shoulders and adds brightness across the whole ring rather than concentrating it in one place. Technically that is still a solitaire, since there is one centre stone, but it reads richer.
Which diamond shape works in a solitaire
All of them, and that is part of the appeal. Every Luma setting is made to order, so you choose the shape when you choose the stone.
Round brilliant returns the most light and is the safest choice in a plain setting, because there is nothing else on the ring to distract from a well cut stone. Oval reads larger than a round of the same carat weight because it covers more of the finger, which makes it a strong solitaire choice on a budget. Pear and marquise both elongate the finger and suit a four claw or five claw mount. Emerald and Asscher cuts show clarity rather than sparkle, so they reward spending on a cleaner stone and look particularly composed in a bezel.
What a solitaire costs at Luma
Settings start at £670 and most of the range sits between £670 and £1,200. A setting built to hold a larger stone uses more metal, so the figure climbs with the carat it carries. Your diamond is priced on top when you choose it, which is why a finished solitaire starts from around £820 and most land between roughly £820 and £3,000 depending on the stone.
Two choices move the number most. Metal comes first: the same design costs less in 9k gold than in 18k gold or platinum. Then cut quality, which is where a solitaire is least forgiving. With no halo to add sparkle and no side stones to distract, a poorly cut centre has nowhere to hide. Spending on cut before carat is almost always the better call in this setting.
Common questions
How much does a solitaire lab grown engagement ring cost in the UK?
At Luma solitaire settings start at £670 and we price your IGI certified lab grown diamond separately when you choose it, so a finished solitaire starts from around £820. Most land between roughly £820 and £3,000 depending on the carat, colour and clarity you pick. A comparable mined solitaire of the same specification typically costs several times that.
Is a solitaire still the most popular engagement ring?
Yes. It remains the most chosen setting in the UK, and it has held that position for decades because it does not date. A halo or a trilogy places the ring in a particular moment of taste. A single stone on a clean band does not.
What is the best setting for a solitaire?
It depends on how the ring will be worn. Four claws show the most diamond and suit someone who wants maximum light. Six claws hold the stone more securely. A bezel protects the stone completely and rarely catches, which makes it the practical choice for hands on work. We will show you all three on a consultation so you can see the difference rather than guess at it.
Does a solitaire make the diamond look smaller?
Compared with a halo, yes, because a halo borrows scale from the stones around the centre. But a solitaire puts the whole budget into the centre stone, so you can usually buy a genuinely larger diamond for the same money. An elongated shape such as oval, pear or marquise also covers more of the finger than a round of equal weight, which recovers much of that visual size.
See the full range on our solitaire engagement rings collection, or book a studio consultation at our Hatton Garden workshop and we will build to your budget.
Shop by setting: solitaire, halo and trilogy lab grown engagement rings.