Pear Cut Diamonds

The pear, or teardrop, is the shape people choose when they want something recognisably theirs. It is not unusual enough to feel like a novelty, but nobody mistakes it for anything else. Worn with the point facing up the finger it lengthens the hand more than almost any other cut.

It belongs to the brilliant family of faceting styles, which the International Gem Society separates from step cuts such as the emerald. In practice that means a pear sparkles quickly and brightly, and forgives small inclusions in a way an emerald cut never will.

A pear cut is a modified brilliant with 56 to 58 facets, rounded at one end and tapering to a single point at the other. Structurally it borrows from two shapes at once: the curved end behaves like a round brilliant, the tapered end like a marquise.

Length-to-width ratio is what gives a pear its personality. Around 1.45 produces a full, softly rounded teardrop. Around 1.75 is long and elegant, almost severe. Most people land between 1.55 and 1.65, which is where the shape looks most like the picture in their head.

Because the outline is asymmetric along one axis, cutting a pear well is genuinely difficult. The shoulders must curve evenly, the wings must not bulge or collapse inward, and the point must sit dead centre. Small errors that would pass unnoticed on a round are obvious here.

The pear is the oldest shape in this guide by a wide margin. It is credited to Lodewyk van Berquem, a Flemish polisher working in Bruges around 1458, who also developed the scaif, the polishing wheel that made symmetrical faceting possible in the first place. The pendeloque, as it was then known, was among the first shapes his new technique allowed.

Nearly six centuries later the geometry has barely changed. What has changed is the precision available to cut it, which is why a modern pear performs so much better than an antique one while looking essentially the same.

Draw an imaginary line from the point through the middle of the curved end. Both halves should mirror each other exactly. If the point sits even slightly off that line, the stone will look tilted on the finger no matter how carefully it is set, and once you have noticed it you cannot stop noticing it.

Check the shoulders too. They should curve smoothly from the point, without flat sections or sudden bulges. Read more about how this is graded on our symmetry page.

Like the oval and the marquise, a pear shows a dark bow-tie across its centre where the facets return your own shadow. Every elongated brilliant has one. In a well cut pear it is faint enough to ignore; in a poorly cut one it is a black stripe through the middle of the stone.

No certificate reports it, because fancy shapes receive no overall cut grade. Ask us and we will tell you honestly how pronounced it is on the stone you are considering.

The narrow tip of a pear concentrates any warmth in the stone. A diamond that looks perfectly white through the body can still show a faint yellow cast right at the point, and because the point is the part everyone looks at, that is where it hurts most.

Ronora pears are D-E-F colourless only, so the tip stays as bright as the rest of the stone.

A one carat pear measures roughly 8mm by 5.3mm at the classic ratio. Against a one carat round at about 6.5mm across, the pear reads noticeably longer and covers more of the finger, which is the main reason people choose it over a round at the same budget. The size chart below gives the figures at every carat weight.

The trade-off is the point. It is the thinnest part of any diamond shape and it will chip if it is left exposed. This is not a reason to avoid the pear; it is a reason to insist on a setting that covers it, which we cover below.

See a pear at actual size on your own ring size, or as a stud or pendant, with Find Me Diamond, our free diamond size visualizer.

Every good pear setting answers the same question: what is protecting the point?

• V-prong solitaire. The standard and the best. A V-shaped prong wraps the tip completely rather than gripping it from one side. Non-negotiable on a bare solitaire.
• Bezel. A metal rim around the whole stone, or at minimum around the point. The most secure option and a very clean, modern look.
• Halo. Small rounds frame the outline, guard the tip and make the centre stone read larger. It also softens the silhouette for anyone who finds a bare pear too sharp.
• Three stone. Tapered sides continue the line of the pear along the finger. Pair with smaller pears facing the same way, or with rounds for contrast.
• Toi et moi. Two stones, often a pear with a round or a heart, sitting side by side. A genuinely different way to wear the shape.

On orientation: the point traditionally faces up the finger, toward the nail, because that is what lengthens the hand. Nothing stops you wearing it the other way if you prefer it.

What it does well

• Covers more finger than a round of the same carat weight.
• Lengthens the hand more than almost any other shape when worn point-up.
• Immediately recognisable without being a novelty.
• Brilliant faceting hides small inclusions well.
• Lower price per carat than a round.

What to watch

• The point chips if it is not protected. A V-prong or bezel is essential.
• Poor symmetry makes the stone look crooked and cannot be fixed by setting.
• Every pear has a bow-tie; a bad one dominates the stone.
• Colour shows in the tip first.
• No official cut grade, so proportions must be judged individually.