A solitaire engagement ring holds one diamond and nothing else: no halo, no side stones, no pavé on the band, just the stone, the prongs or rim that hold it, and the band. It is the most-bought engagement ring style because it puts the whole budget into the diamond, shows the stone from every side, takes any wedding band, and never dates. The choices inside the word are what this guide is about: four prongs or six, claw or rounded tips, how high the stone sits, which band, which shape, which metal. Measured on our renders, our classic solitaire holds the stone 6.5 mm above the finger on a 2 mm band, our low profile solitaire 5.9 mm, our cathedral 6.2 and our bypass 4.8, and every one of them starts at $950 to $1,000 in 14k gold. With a lab-grown diamond from our picker, a 1 carat round solitaire was $1,590 complete on September 25, 2026, a 1.5 carat oval $1,850 and a 2 carat round $2,128. Below: what counts as a solitaire, the prong question, every solitaire setting we make with its height and price, the shapes, the metals, how a solitaire compares with a halo, a hidden halo, a cathedral and a pavé band, and what a finished ring costs.
Solitaire engagement rings at a glance
| Definition | One center diamond, no accent stones; the setting can be prongs, a bezel, a cathedral or a bypass and still be a solitaire |
| Prongs | Four is the modern standard and shows the most stone; six is the classic for rounds and holds tighter; V-prongs cap the points of a pear or marquise |
| Height | Our solitaire 6.5 mm above the finger; low profile 5.9; cathedral 6.2; tulip cathedral 6.5; bypass 4.8; flat band 6.9 |
| Why choose one | Every dollar goes to the diamond; the stone shows from every side; any wedding band fits; lowest upkeep; never out of style |
| Trade-offs | Nothing to make the stone look bigger, so the diamond has to carry the ring; a raised head can catch; prongs need a check every year or two |
| Against the alternatives | Hidden halo $1,050 adds sparkle under the stone; cathedral $1,000 adds architecture; pavé band $1,450 adds sparkle on the band; a full halo adds size and we quote it custom |
| Price | Settings $950 to $1,000 in 14k for the plain solitaires; with a lab-grown diamond, a 1 carat round from $1,590, a 2 carat from $2,128 |
| Shapes | All eight we cut; the collection holds 538 rings across ten designs and nine metals |
What a solitaire engagement ring is
Solitaire is the French word for alone, and in jewelry it means a single stone set by itself. A solitaire engagement ring is therefore any ring with one center diamond and no accent stones: no halo around it, no diamonds on the band, no side stones flanking it. The setting is a separate question. A solitaire can hold its stone in prongs, in a bezel rim, on cathedral arches that rise from the band, or between the arms of a bypass, and each of those is still a solitaire so long as the diamond is alone. What stops being a solitaire is a second diamond: a pavé band, a hidden halo under the stone, a three stone, a full halo. Jewelers blur the edges, and you will see hidden halos and pavé bands sold as solitaires, so this guide is precise about it: the plain rings are solitaires, and the rings with small diamonds added are solitaires with something, priced and described on their own.
The look people mean by solitaire is narrower than the definition: a round or oval diamond held in four or six slender prongs above a plain band, the design Tiffany & Co. introduced in 1886 as the six-prong Tiffany setting, which lifted the stone above the band for the first time so light could reach it from the side. Almost every solitaire since is a variation on it, including ours, and the reason it has outlasted every trend is that it makes the ring about the diamond. It is also the cheapest way to own a given stone, because the setting carries no small diamonds and no labor to set them, which is why at Clairamor the solitaire, the low profile solitaire and the flat band solitaire are all $950 in 14k gold, the lowest price of any setting we make.
The anatomy of a solitaire, from the finger up
A solitaire has five parts. The band, or shank, is the ring itself, 2 mm wide on all of our plain solitaires. The shoulders are where the band rises to meet the head; on a plain solitaire they are the band, on a cathedral they are arches, on a bypass they are two arms that pass the stone. The head, or basket, is the cup that holds the stone, with a gallery rail running round beneath the diamond that ties the prongs together; that rail is what makes a modern head strong, and every design we make has one. The prongs are the fingers of metal that rise from the basket and fold over the stone's edge. And the diamond sits in the prongs with its widest part, the girdle, level with their tips and its point, the culet, inside the basket. How high the whole stack rises is the profile, and we measured ours below.
Four prongs or six, claw or rounded
Four prongs is the modern standard and what all of our solitaires use. Four tips cover the least of the stone, so an oval, emerald cut, cushion or radiant, whose corners or ends the prongs sit on, shows its full outline between them, and on a round the four tips make the stone read slightly square and a little larger. Six prongs is the older standard for a round, the Tiffany setting's own count, and it holds tighter: if one prong is damaged the stone stays in, the six tips make the round look rounder, and the head is a touch heavier and taller. Our solitaires are four-prong; if you want six on a round, ask when you order. The honest advice is that four prongs on a gallery rail is secure for daily wear, and six is insurance for a very large round or a hand that is hard on rings. Shapes with points take a different answer: a pear gets a V-prong that caps its point and a marquise gets one at each end, because a point is where a knock lands. Our double claw design, at $1,100, puts a pair of slim prongs at each corner instead of one, which holds like six while showing the stone like four.
Prong tips are the other choice. A claw prong tapers to a point and disappears against the stone; it is the lighter look and what our solitaires use. A rounded or button prong is a small dome of metal, slightly more visible and slightly more robust against wear. A flat tab prong is the widest and the rarest on a solitaire. Whatever the tip, prongs wear: they are the part of the ring that meets the world, and a prong check every year or two, where a jeweler looks for a tip that has thinned or lifted, is the only maintenance a solitaire needs.
Every solitaire setting we make, with its height and price
Measured on our product renders, front view, with the same oval stone in every setting and the 2 mm band as the scale, accurate to about a quarter of a millimetre. Height is from the finger to the top of the stone; prices are the setting in 14k gold without the center stone.
| Setting | What it is | Height | 14k |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solitaire | Four claw prongs, basket and rail, 2 mm rounded band | 6.5 mm | $950 |
| Low profile solitaire | The same head dropped to the band | 5.9 mm | $950 |
| Flat band solitaire | Four prongs on a 2 mm band with a flat face | 6.9 mm | $950 |
| Bezel solitaire | A rim of metal instead of prongs | 6.5 mm | $950 |
| Cathedral | Arches rise from the band to brace the head | 6.2 mm | $1,000 |
| Tulip cathedral | Cathedral arches that wrap the stone like petals | 6.5 mm | $1,000 |
| East-west cathedral | A cathedral with the stone set across the finger | 6.4 mm | $1,000 |
| Double claw | Paired prongs at each corner | 6.7 mm | $1,100 |
| Rounded tapered band | A low basket on a domed band that widens to the stone | 4.8 mm | $1,400 |
| Wide flat band solitaire | Four prongs on a 3 mm flat band | 6.2 mm | $1,500 |
| Bypass | The band's two arms pass the stone on either side | 4.8 mm | $1,500 |
| Cigar band | Four prongs rising from a 6 mm flat band | 6.4 mm | $2,200 |
The pattern is that the head decides the height and the band decides the price. Every prong head we make puts the stone 6.2 to 6.9 mm above the finger, which is on the border of what the trade calls low set; only the designs that change the band, the bypass, the rounded tapered band and the low profile, go lower. And every plain solitaire on a 2 mm band is $950 to $1,000, while the bands that carry more metal cost more, from $1,400 for the rounded tapered band to $2,200 for the cigar band. Our settings guide compares all of these against the settings that are not solitaires.
Which shape to put in a solitaire
A solitaire shows the stone's outline more clearly than any other setting, so shape matters more here than anywhere. The round is the classic and sparkles most, and at a given weight it looks smallest of the brilliants because it is cut deep: a 1.5 carat round is 7.3 mm across. The oval is the modern favorite, 9 by 6.6 mm at 1.5 carats, longer on the finger and larger-looking for the same money. The emerald cut is the quietest, with long flashes instead of sparkle and the largest face per carat; the radiant gives the emerald cut's outline with a brilliant's light; the cushion is the softest; the pear and marquise are the longest and take V-prongs at their points; and the moval, an oval with softly pointed ends, is our own hybrid. Every one of them is in the solitaire in all nine metals: the round, oval, emerald, radiant, cushion, pear, marquise and moval solitaire collections sort them. Our guide to which shape looks the biggest has the millimetres, and the elongated shapes guide compares the long ones.
Which metal
Because a solitaire is mostly diamond, the metal shows only in the band and the prongs, and the choice is about color against the stone. White gold and platinum disappear behind a white diamond and make it read whiter; yellow gold frames it warmly and has come back as the fashionable solitaire metal; rose gold is the softest; two-tone, a yellow band with a white head, gives the warm band without a tint at the stone. At Clairamor every design costs the same in 14k white, yellow and rose gold, the solitaire is $100 more in 18k and $200 more in platinum, and our guides to white gold against yellow gold and platinum against white gold cover wear, weight and color in detail. One practical note for a solitaire in particular: white gold prongs are rhodium-plated and the plating wears at the tips first, so a white gold solitaire wants re-plating every few years to keep its prongs bright, while platinum prongs stay white on their own.
Solitaire vs halo, hidden halo, cathedral and pavé
The solitaire is the baseline every other setting is measured against, and the comparison is simplest as a table. Prices are our 14k settings; the full halo is not a design we stock, so it is quoted custom.
| What it adds | What it costs you | 14k | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solitaire | Nothing; the diamond alone | The stone has to carry the ring | $950 |
| Hidden halo | A rail of small diamonds under the stone, seen from the side; braces the prongs | $100; nothing face-up | $1,050 |
| Cathedral | Arches from band to head; a profile with architecture | $50; a straight wedding band leaves a small gap | $1,000 |
| Pavé band | Small diamonds halfway round the band; sparkle beside the stone | $500; tiny stones to keep clean and checked | $1,450 |
| Full halo | A ring of diamonds around the stone; the outline grows 2 to 3 mm | A busier ring, a wider head, more to snag and clean | Custom quote |
| Three stone | A side stone each side; a wider, more traditional ring | $400 and up; two more stones to match | from $1,350 |
The honest way to decide is by what you want the ring to do. If you want the diamond to look larger for the money, the halo does that and the solitaire does not; a 1 carat oval in a classic halo reads near a 2.5 carat outline, and our hidden halo vs halo guide works through the arithmetic. If you want sparkle without changing the outline, the hidden halo and the pavé band add it beside or beneath the stone. If you want the ring to look like more of a ring, the cathedral adds shoulders. And if you want the diamond, the whole diamond and nothing but the diamond, at the lowest setting price, with a wedding band that slides straight under, the solitaire wins, which is why it remains the ring most people choose.
Wedding bands with a solitaire
A solitaire is the easiest engagement ring to pair, because its head stands on the band with open space beneath the stone, so a straight wedding band slides under the diamond's overhang and sits flush against the shank. Any width works, plain or pavé, in the same metal or a contrasting one, and the plainer the solitaire, the more the wedding band can do: a pavé band beside a plain solitaire is the most common pairing we see. The exceptions among our solitaire settings are the ones that sit low, the low profile, the bypass and the rounded tapered band, where the stone sits at the band and a straight band meets its overhang; those pair with a curved band or leave a small gap. Our guide to matching a wedding band to an engagement ring covers the rest.
What a solitaire engagement ring costs
The setting is $950 in 14k gold for the solitaire, the low profile and the flat band, $1,000 for the cathedrals, and $1,050 in 18k or $1,150 in platinum for the classic. The diamond is the rest, chosen separately from our picker. On September 25, 2026, among lab-grown diamonds of D to G color and IF to VS2 clarity, the least expensive stones were:
| Carats | Round | Round solitaire, 14k | Oval | Oval solitaire, 14k |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $640 (6.4 mm) | $1,590 | $719 | $1,669 |
| 1.5 | $923 (7.3 mm) | $1,873 | $900 (9.0 x 6.6 mm) | $1,850 |
| 2 | $1,178 (8.1 mm) | $2,128 | $1,193 (10.1 x 7.1 mm) | $2,143 |
| 2.5 | $1,422 | $2,372 | $1,494 | $2,444 |
| 3 | $1,698 (9.3 mm) | $2,648 | $1,724 (11.9 x 8.0 mm) | $2,674 |
The other shapes fall in the same range: at 1.5 carats an emerald cut started at $793, a radiant at $801, a pear at $900, a cushion at $930, a marquise at $1,080 and a moval at $1,194, so a 1.5 carat solitaire in any shape is $1,740 to $2,150 complete in 14k gold. Prices in the picker move with the market; the pricing guide has the current picture and our carat size chart shows every weight in millimetres and on a hand.
How to choose a solitaire
Choose the shape first, because in a solitaire the shape is the ring; the round for sparkle, the oval for length and size, the emerald cut for quiet, the rest by taste. Then the head: four prongs unless the stone is a large round or the hand is hard on rings, in which case six; V-prongs come with the pear and marquise. Then the height, by how the hand spends its day: the classic solitaire at 6.5 mm for most people, the low profile at 5.9 or the bypass at 4.8 for hands that catch on things, the cathedral if you want shoulders. Then the band, plain and 2 mm unless you want the band to be part of the look, in which case the flat band, the rounded tapered band or the cigar band; our wide band guide has every width. Then the metal, by color. And put the money you did not spend on the setting into the diamond, one step up in carat or color, because in a solitaire that is where it shows.
Where Clairamor fits
We make ten solitaire settings in nine metals and every shape we cut, 538 rings in the solitaire engagement rings collection, from $950 in 14k gold, with the heights above measured on the same scale as every other setting we sell so you can compare a solitaire with a cathedral or a hidden halo before you decide. Every price is the setting without the center stone; you choose the diamond from our picker, where a 1 carat round started at $640 on September 25, 2026, and we set it. Every ring carries a lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects, comes with an appraisal for insurance, and includes one complimentary resize within 100 days for clients in the USA. If you are choosing between four and six prongs, or a solitaire and a hidden halo, book a consultation and we will put them side by side on your hand.
Solitaire engagement rings Choose a lab-grown diamond See it on a hand
Not sure which solitaire? Book a design consultation and we will bring the rings.
Frequently asked questions
What is a solitaire engagement ring?
A ring with a single center diamond and no accent stones: no halo, no diamonds on the band, no side stones. The setting can be prongs, a bezel, a cathedral or a bypass and it is still a solitaire. The word is French for alone. Rings with a hidden halo or a pavé band are solitaires with something added, not plain solitaires.
What is the difference between a diamond ring and a solitaire?
A solitaire is a diamond ring with exactly one diamond. Any diamond ring can have a center stone plus a halo, side stones or pavé; a solitaire has the center stone only. In an engagement ring the distinction matters for price, because a solitaire setting carries no small diamonds and starts at $950 at Clairamor against $1,050 for a hidden halo and $1,450 for a pavé band.
Four prongs or six?
Four for most rings: it shows more of the stone, suits every shape, and on a gallery rail is secure for daily wear. Six for a large round or a hand that is hard on rings, because the stone stays in if one prong fails and the round reads rounder. Pear and marquise stones take V-prongs at their points. Our solitaires are four-prong; ask about six for a round.
Are solitaire engagement rings still in style?
They are the style everything else is measured against. The four-prong solitaire on a plain band, especially with an oval or a round in yellow gold, has been the most-chosen engagement ring of the last several years, and the design has not left fashion since the six-prong Tiffany setting of 1886. A solitaire is the one ring that will look right in every decade's photographs.
Solitaire vs halo: which is better?
The halo if you want the diamond to look larger for the money, since a ring of small stones adds 2 to 3 mm to the outline; the solitaire if you want the diamond itself to be the ring, the lowest setting price and the easiest wedding band. A hidden halo, a rail of diamonds under the stone, is the middle path at $1,050 against $950 for the solitaire. We quote full halos custom.
Solitaire vs cathedral: what is the difference?
A cathedral is a solitaire whose shoulders rise from the band in arches to brace the head, giving the profile some architecture. Measured on our renders, our cathedral sits at 6.2 mm above the finger against 6.5 for the plain solitaire, so it is not taller, and it costs $50 more at $1,000. Its cost is the wedding band, which meets the arches and leaves a small gap unless curved.
How much does a solitaire engagement ring cost?
At Clairamor the setting is $950 in 14k gold, $1,050 in 18k and $1,150 in platinum, and the diamond is chosen separately. With lab-grown stones from our picker on September 25, 2026, a 1 carat round solitaire was $1,590 complete, a 1.5 carat oval $1,850, a 2 carat round $2,128 and a 3 carat oval $2,674.
What carat size looks best in a solitaire?
Whatever the budget allows once the setting is paid for, because nothing else on the ring competes with the stone. On a 2 mm band a 1 carat round, 6.4 mm across, already reads as a full ring; 1.5 to 2 carats is where most of our solitaires land; and an oval or emerald cut looks larger than a round of the same weight, so the shape can buy size the carat does not.
Do solitaire rings snag or catch on things?
A raised prong head can catch on knits, hair and gloves, and a solitaire's head stands 6.5 mm above the finger on our classic. It is not tall by the trade's measure, but if a hand spends the day in gloves or pockets, our low profile solitaire at 5.9 mm, the bypass at 4.8 or the bezel solitaire, with a smooth rim, catch less. Take any ring off for the gym, the garden and work with tools.
Is a solitaire good for everyday wear?
Yes; it is the simplest ring to live with. There are no small stones to lose or keep clean, the head is easy to reach with a brush, and the only maintenance is a prong check every year or two, plus re-plating for white gold prongs every few years. What holds the stone is the prongs and the gallery rail that braces them, which every Clairamor design has.
Can I add a halo or side stones to a solitaire later?
Sometimes. A hidden halo or a pavé band cannot be added to a finished solitaire, but a jeweler can often add a halo jacket, a separate ring that surrounds the stone, or reset the diamond into a new setting when you want a change; the diamond is the part you keep. Many people who want that option buy the solitaire first and the enhancement years later.
Related reading
- Types of engagement ring settings, explained, with prices
- Hidden halo vs halo: which looks bigger and costs less?
- Cathedral setting engagement rings: pros, cons and types
- What is a tulip setting?
- Bezel engagement rings: full, half and faux bezel compared
- Low profile engagement rings: what they are, how low they sit and who they suit
- Wide band engagement rings: thick, flat and cigar bands, with widths and prices
- Two-tone engagement rings: mixing metals, what it costs and which designs work
- Oval engagement rings: ratios, the bow-tie, settings, sizes and prices
