She Has Written Every Kind of Love Story. This One Begins with a Ring.
Ekta Kapoor knows how a love story starts.
She's written thousands of them. The nervous proposal. The quiet moment before the question. The scene where everything changes. For over three decades, she has understood one thing about love stories better than almost anyone in India: the details matter. The right detail, placed at the right moment, carries an entire emotion.
That's why her perspective on the lab grown diamond engagement ring is worth listening to.
When Ekta joined Ekatra Jewels as co-founder, she put her philosophy plainly: "I've spent years creating stories about women who shape their own journeys and define success on their own terms. Every generation gets to redefine luxury, and Ekatra is our way of creating a brand that resonates with the values, aspirations, and choices of modern women. More than jewellery, it's about celebrating self-expression and the stories we carry with us."
The ring that starts your love story is exactly that. A story you carry with you. For life.
Here's what that means when you're standing in front of the choice.
The Ring Is Not for the Proposal. It's for Everything After It.
Ekta has spent her career understanding what Indian women actually want - not what they're supposed to want, but what they reach for when the story is entirely their own.
Her insight applies directly to choosing a solitaire diamond engagement ring.
Most people choose an engagement ring for the moment of proposal. The photograph. The reaction. But a lab grown diamond ring is worn every day for decades after that moment. It sits on her hand through every season of her life - through ambition, through celebration, through the quiet ordinary days that make up most of a marriage.
The right lab created diamond ring is not the one that photographs best. It's the one she'll still feel like herself wearing in ten years.
That shift in thinking - from the occasion to the life - is the most useful thing you can bring to this decision.
What Ekta Believes About Women and the Stories They Wear?
Ekta's creative philosophy has always centred on one conviction: the modern Indian woman defines success on her own terms.
That belief translates directly into how a lab grown engagement ring should be chosen.
It should not be chosen by convention. Not by what's trending. Not by what the occasion seems to require. It should be chosen by the woman who will wear it - by the shape that feels like her, the setting that suits how she moves through her life, the stone that carries the quality her taste demands.
"I believe jewellery should move with women through everyday life - through ambition, work, celebration, travel, and self-expression," Ekta has said of her vision for Ekatra.
A solitaire engagement ring that meets that standard isn't decorative. It's wearable. It's daily. It earns its place on her hand not once, at the proposal, but every morning she puts it on without thinking.
Choosing the Shape: The First Real Decision
Shape is where the ring becomes personal.
Every lab diamond engagement ring shape carries a different character. The right one is not the most popular - it's the one that feels like her.
Round Brilliant - The Solitaire That Needs No Introduction The most light-reflective cut that exists. A round solitaire engagement ring returns more brilliance per facet than any other shape. 57 precisely placed facets. Unmistakable. Timeless. The choice of the woman who values a single diamond ring that never requires justification and never dates.
Oval - Modern Elegance, Daily Presence An oval solitaire engagement ring elongates the finger and creates significant presence per carat. It's the shape Jennifer Winget chose for her own wedding ring - and it remains one of the most considered choices for women who want a lab grown solitaire ring that is simultaneously modern and enduring.
Emerald Cut - Architectural and Precise Step-cut faceting. A hall of mirrors rather than a burst of sparkle. The emerald cut lab diamond engagement ring is for the woman who sees clearly and wears jewellery that reflects that precision. Prioritise VS2 clarity or above - the open table of this shape makes inclusions more visible than a brilliant cut.
Marquise - For the Woman Who Sets the Tone Elongated, directional, unmistakably intentional. A marquise solitaire diamond ring is a shape you choose consciously, not by default. It reads as a design decision in every room she enters.
Pear - Asymmetric Grace Sits between the round and the marquise. Neither, entirely. A pear lab grown diamond engagement ring elongates the hand with an asymmetric elegance that suits the woman whose style resists categorisation.
Cushion - Warmth with Presence Soft-cornered and romantic. A cushion cut lab created diamond engagement ring carries the warmth of a vintage sensibility with the precision of a modern stone. For the woman who finds beauty in softness.
The Stone: Why Type IIa Is the Standard Worth Knowing
Before the shape is chosen, the stone matters.
Every lab-grown diamond engagement ring at Ekatra is set with IGI-certified Type IIa laboratory-grown diamonds - the purest grade of diamond that exists. Type IIa stones contain virtually no nitrogen impurities, which means exceptional optical clarity, stronger light transparency, and a brilliance that registers differently on the hand than a standard stone.
Ekatra's flagship innovation - the Shristi Ratna™ - takes that purity further, engineering 108 precisely calibrated facets to maximise fire and light return. It's the stone at the heart of a brand that was built, as Ekta put it, "to reflect the woman of today: conscious, expressive, independent, and unapologetically powerful."
When you see an IGI certificate with your lab created diamond ring, verify:
Cut grades first. Excellent or Ideal. This is non-negotiable. Cut determines brilliance and cannot be improved after purchase.
Colour second. D to H reads as white in most settings. For yellow gold, H to I looks intentionally warm. Don't overpay for colour above what the metal can show.
Clarity third. SI1 to VS2 for brilliant cuts. VS2 or above for emerald and step cuts. Inclusions are more visible in step-cut faceting.
Carat last. Carat is weight, not size. A well-cut women's solitaire diamond ring of 0.85 carats will outperform a poorly-cut 1.20 carat stone. Choose the cut first, then find the best carat within your investment
Setting and Metal: What Holds the Story Together
The setting is engineering as much as it is aesthetics.
Solitaire prong setting: The most classic format for a lab grown solitaire diamond ring. Four or six prongs. Nothing competing with the stone. The most versatile format in fine jewellery - it stacks with a wedding band, layers naturally, and keeps the diamond at the centre of every look.
Bezel setting: The stone sits inside a metal rim. More protective for active daily wearers. A cleaner, more contemporary profile for a laboratory diamond ring that will encounter real life every day.
Hidden halo: Smaller stones set beneath the main stone, invisible from the side. The diamond appears larger. The design earns attention by revealing itself rather than announcing itself.
For metal, every lab grown engagement ring at Ekatra is set in BIS hallmarked 18kt gold - the standard of fine jewellery in India.
Yellow gold adds warmth. White gold emphasises colourless clarity. Rose gold is romantic and resurgent. All three are available. All three are hallmarked.
What Ekta's Vision Means for the Ring You Choose
Ekta Kapoor has spent her career building brands that reflect who Indian women actually are. Not who they're expected to be.
"We both believe in creating brands that reflect the aspirations, individuality, and confidence of modern women," she said of her partnership with Ekatra.
A lab diamond ring that reflects that woman is not the heaviest, not the most ostentatious, not the most conventional. It's the one that was chosen with intelligence and worn with complete confidence.
It carries an IGI certificate. It's set in BIS hallmarked gold. It's cut from a Type IIa stone that was grown, not extracted. And it was chosen - not assigned.
That's the love story Ekta has always believed in. The one where the woman makes her own choices.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is Ekta Kapoor's connection to Ekatra Jewels?
A: Ekta Kapoor is a co-founder and investor in Ekatra Jewels, joining the brand in June 2026. She brings her legacy of women-first storytelling to the brand's creative and cultural direction. Her philosophy - that jewellery should reflect the aspirations, individuality, and confidence of modern women - shapes Ekatra's positioning across all collections including its lab grown diamond engagement ring range.
Q: Are lab grown diamond engagement rings real diamonds?
A: Yes. Lab created diamond rings are chemically and physically identical to mined diamonds - the same hardness (Mohs 10), the same optical properties, the same IGI grading standards. Every lab grown engagement ring at Ekatra is IGI-certified and set in BIS hallmarked 18kt gold.
Q: What is the most important variable when choosing a lab grown diamond engagement ring?
A: Cut grade. Always cut first. An Excellent or Ideal cut grade on the IGI certificate guarantees the stone returns maximum light. A well-cut lab diamond engagement ring of 0.85 carats will look more brilliant than a poorly-cut 1.20 carat stone. Cut is the only variable that cannot be improved after purchase.
Q: What is a Type IIa lab grown diamond?
A: Type IIa is the purest grade of diamond in existence, containing virtually no nitrogen impurities. This translates to exceptional optical clarity and superior brilliance. Every lab-grown solitaire ring in Ekatra's engagement collection is set with IGI-certified Type IIa laboratory-grown diamonds.
Q: Which engagement ring shape suits daily wear best?
A: The round brilliant and oval are the most practical for daily wear - both have curved profiles with no pointed ends that catch on fabric or bags. A round solitaire engagement ring or oval solitaire engagement ring are the two most forgiving shapes for active daily wearers. All shapes work with appropriate care.
Q: Why choose a lab created diamond engagement ring over a mined diamond?
A: Lab created diamond rings are chemically and optically identical to mined diamonds, independently certified by IGI, and cut to the same standards. The difference is origin - laboratory-grown rather than mined. This allows for greater precision in stone quality and the flexibility to invest in cut quality, shape, and setting rather than supply chain overhead.
