The Ovaltines: A Spotlight on Oval-Shaped Diamond Engagement Rings
Ovals have become the superstar diamond shape for engagement rings.
Written by: Marion Fasel
Before Lady Gaga formally showed off her giant oval diamond engagement ring from longtime love Michael Polansky at the Venice Film Festival in September, I had already read a headline in April that she was sporting an engagement ring. I immediately had a feeling it was an oval. My hunch came from the oval’s steady rise to be the hottest diamond shape for engagement rings in the 21st century.
Hailey Bieber has played a significant role in sparking interest in the elliptical diamond shape. Since receiving her oval diamond Jack Solow engagement ring from Justin Bieber in 2018, she has been taking close-up selfies with it. The Biebers doubled down on their love of oval diamonds when Justin gave Hailey a slightly larger, oval diamond Lorraine Schwartz ring just before the birth of their first child in August. The model showcased the new ring on Instagram, wearing it on her left ring finger and moving the original ring to her right pinky.
But Hailey wasn’t the first celebrity to get the oval diamond ring style rolling. Back in late 2011, Ryan Reynolds proposed to Blake Lively with a pink oval diamond Lorraine Schwartz engagement ring. In 2016, tennis champion Serena Williams started wearing the engagement ring with a giant oval flanked by triangular side stones that Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian gave her. The tennis GOAT loves the jewel, estimated to be worth millions, so much that she sometimes kept it in her bag on the court during Grand Slam tournaments. After winning, Serena would put it on for the on-court TV interview.
Other examples of high-profile ovals include the diamond Jesse Plemons slipped on Kirsten Dunst’s finger in 2017, the Lorraine Schwartz ring Travis Barker gave Kourtney Kardashian in 2021 and the 3-carat oval engagement ring by Zo Frost that Simone Biles received from football player Jonathan Owens in 2022.
In the history of engagement rings, ovals have never enjoyed such a period of popularity. Sure, some celebrities wore them, but they were few and far between. In 1924, silent film star Gloria Swanson, who was something of a Lady Gaga in her day, known for her cutting-edge wardrobe and daring film roles, began wearing a giant moval which is a cross between an oval and marquise shape, when she became engaged to Henri, Marquise de la Falaise, a French nobleman.
10 years later, actress Ginger Rogers, who is famous for the musical films she made with Fred Astaire during the 1930s, received an oval diamond engagement ring from actor Lew Ayers in 1936. Rumor has it that when the couple divorced in 1940, Rogers didn’t want to give the ring back and bought it from the actor so she could keep it and maintain her peace of mind.
While ovals have just begun to enjoy a level of star status, the history of the cut goes back to at least the 17th century, but it was rarefied. In the 1920s, when advances in diamond cutting tools allowed lapidaries to refine the faceting of diamond shapes, bringing more brilliance and fire to the gems, the updates for ovals didn’t fully happen. It wasn’t until 1957 that the diamond experts at Lazare Kaplan in New York redesigned the shape.
It’s easy to see why oval diamonds have finally come into their own. Ovals stretch elegantly across a finger, giving the illusion of elongating the hand. They are the proverbial classic with a twist that is so hot in fashion. Versatile in design, ovals look good in any style of engagement ring, from elaborate to a prong setting. They can be artfully set in a tilted akimbo position too.
I expect the period of popularity for ovals will continue for quite some time because engagement ring cycles last for long periods. Ovals are so much in favor right now; I feel pretty confident a certain celebrated Kansas City Chiefs football player will be looking into an oval for his singer-songwriter paramour when she is done conquering the world on her Eras tour.
