A Guide to Pear Shape Diamonds

The pear shape diamond is sometimes referred to as a tear drop. It is a very distinctive diamond cut with one rounded and one pointed end. Commonly used as pendants and earrings for their fluid shape, pear shape diamonds are also popular for engagement rings and other items of fine jewelry. Pears are often used as side stones in three stone rings as their geometry is so compatible with the taper from feature stone to narrower band.

*This article is based on natural diamonds, but most of the information herein pertains to lab grown diamonds as well, and there is a separate section below regarding pear lab grown diamonds.

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A pear shape is a diamond cut that features a brilliant style facet arrangement adapted to an asymmetrical outline featuring one rounded end and one pointed end. The vertical facets on the pavilion of the diamond provide the same sort of scintillation produced by a round brilliant, but in a fancy shape. As in all diamonds, cut quality is the most important factor determining how beautiful and brilliant a diamond will be. The length to width ratio also has an impact on the overall attractiveness of a pear shape diamond.

The length to width ratio of fancy cuts has a significant bearing on their overall appeal. To some extent this is subjective- some shoppers like a slim elongated look while others may prefer a bolder shape. The ratio is calculated by dividing the length by the width. Generally speaking an intermediate ratio of about 1.5 – 1.6 has more broad based appeal.

A faceted diamond produces more reflections than the number of actual facets. This is because a facet may be reflecting light rays from multiple directions. These are referred to as ‘virtual facets’ and they hold the key to diamond performance. A key advantage of a well cut round diamond is the balanced mix of virtual facets in terms of size and pattern. In fancy shapes that have different length to width ratios such as pears, marquises, and ovals, the light performance can often be uneven.

Though the diamond in the photo below is a beautifully cut pear, you can see that the reflections from the tip of the stone are very small, those in the middle very large, and those in the end of medium size.

Less well cut pears (and other fancies) can exaggerate these differences. Some pear shape diamonds look like they have been put together by committee. The asymmetry of the optics can make the stone look odd, or even defective. This obviously affects the aesthetic appeal of the diamond.

With the shorter ray paths in brilliant style cuts, the problem of color entrapment is not a significant issue. However, the aforementioned imbalance of virtual facets can lead to areas of the stone, particularly towards to the point, to reveal a bit more body color than the bold sparkles emanating out of the midsection of the diamond. In poorly cut pear shapes, this can be pronounced and will diminish the overall appeal of the diamond. To the extent that the diamond does not have body color this potential issue becomes less likely.

Brilliant cut styles like the pear shape feature a dynamic light performance characterized by rapid scintillation. This helps inclusions “hide” among the many on/off sparkle events. A well cut pear shape can therefore contain more and/or bigger inclusions before they become noticeable to the naked eye, compared to step cuts like the emerald cut and asscher.

The cut quality of any diamond has the greatest impact on its light performance and overall beauty. But as we have seen, pear shapes present the cutter special challenges in crafting a diamond that has a pleasant shape, is bright, and has a good blend of virtual facets of mixed sizes.

Analyzing HD video and advanced light performance images such as ASET (Angular Spectrum Evaluation Tool), and to a lesser degree IdealScope, can provide substantive information about the cut quality and visual optics of the diamond. In this regard the ASET tool developed by the American Gem Society Laboratories (AGSL) is particularly useful. ASET is the graphical expression of the concept that serves as the basis for the AGSL light performance cut grading system, the most sophisticated and scientifically peer reviewed cut grading system in use today.

An ASET light map shows key aspects of the diamond’s light handling capabilities including brightness, contrast, and light leakage. The color coded map shows high angle light from overhead (usually the brightest light sources in the lighting environment) as red, lower angle light as green, structured contrast as blue, and light leakage as white or black (depending on the background on which the image is taken). It also reveals aspects of the diamonds facet structure including virtual facet size. Ideally, a diamond will show a good percentage of red, some green and a smaller amount of contrast and very little leakage. The distribution of these colors in an ASET light map is important as well. A balanced and symmetrical distribution is desirable.

Below are different examples of ASET maps of well-cut pear shapes with a brief summary of overall performance traits below each. An actual face up photograph of each diamond is also presented to illustrate how the map translates into visual performance.

Pear shape diamonds have long held a special place in fine jewelry designs. They are especially well suited for floral designs which in general have always been among the most popular jewelry motifs. Jewelry is a celebration of the beauty around us, and nature has been mankind’s touchstone. From our earliest beginnings man has adorned himself with all manner of natural objects such as flowers, wreaths, feathers, and gemstones.

The pear shape is also ideally suited to drop styles such as pendants and dangle earrings. The teardrop shape is the ultimate “fluid” shape. It is the shape of water, another essential of nature that has been universally revered through the mellinia.

Lest anyone get the wrong impression, pear shape diamonds have a well established place in bridal jewelry as well, including pear shape diamond engagement rings. The graceful and eye-catching shape of the pear combined with its propensity to produce brilliance and scintillation make it a highly appealing center stone for engagement rings. Whether used as a solitaire, set with a halo of shimmering accent diamonds, or as the centerpiece of a three stone diamond ring, pear shape diamonds have wide ranging versatility.

One of the many beautiful things about natural pear shape diamonds is that they are less expensive than round brilliant diamonds. In fact, diamond industry prices are based to a large extent on the Rapaport diamond list, aka “list price” or “Rap price”. And Rapaport publishes two lists – one for rounds and one for pear shapes which are expressed in $100’s per carat. The pear shape prices are significantly lower than the round list in most cases. Prices listed are considered to be high asking prices at the dealer level. In most cases diamonds are traded at a discount to the lists, anywhere from a few percentage points to as much as 50% or more depending on specific factors, including cut quality.

* Note: lab grown diamonds are priced according to their production costs and, as a technology product, their costs have continued to decrease as more effective and efficient processes have been developed to grow them. Pricing of natural diamonds is therefore entirely different than lab diamonds.

Above are samples of the list. Notice that the price on the round table associated with VS2 G in the 1.00-1.49 carat range is “79”. This indicates a price of $7,900 per carat. Now see the price listed in the pear list for the same grade and size is “59” or $5900/carat.

Calculating a theoretical 1.10 ct round G VS2 you would then get a price of

1.10x7900= $8,690.00

Calculating the same size and quality in a pear shape gives you 1.10x5900 = $6,490.00

An equivalent pear shape is therefore 1-(6490/8690) = 25% less expensive. In this case a savings of a whopping $2,200! *Actual prices may be significantly different depending on factors including trade discount from the list and markup differences from retailer to retailer.

The happy fact is that pear shape diamonds, all things being equal, represent a considerable savings, allowing the astute shopper to get more bang for the buck in terms of carat weight or quality or both.

One of the best aspects of the emergence of lab grown diamonds and their quality and affordability is that diamond lovers can now experiment with much wider variety of diamond shapes. A pear lab diamond possesses all of the essential characteristics of a natural diamond in terms of hardness, durability and optics. Lab diamonds are real diamonds with essentially the same chemical and physical properties as natural diamonds. Therefore, if properly crafted, a pear lab diamond will be just as brilliant and fiery as a natural diamond.

While pear shapes are wonderful in a wide range of fine jewelry designs – particularly in earrings and pendants – they are also great choice for engagement rings for some shoppers. A pear shaped lab created diamond ring is capable of delivering all the wonderful visual beauty of a natural diamond, the durability to be worn every day for a lifetime, and the affordability to fit almost any budget.

As we have seen above, there is a significant difference in price between rounds and pear shapes. But that is not the only difference of relevance to the shopper. Beyond the obvious difference of the shape outline, it is important to recognize several other differences in order to decide whether a pear shape is a better choice than a round brilliant for your particular needs.

Most shoppers today are at least somewhat familiar with the importance of cut quality and light performance. The sparkle, fire and brilliance of any diamond is driven by the facet design and the precision with which the diamond is crafted. In the case of the round brilliant, a lab report from GIA will grade the overall cut quality of the diamond. But GIA has no such grade for fancy cuts, including pear shape. Therefore, the consumer is on his or her own in determining this critical value factor.

The round brilliant is the most popular shape by far and has been studied far more than any other shape. The AGS Laboratories have developed a sophisticated scientific light performance based cut grading system that measures the key ingredients of light performance; brightness, contrast, fire, and light leakage. A triple Ideal grade from AGS Laboratories is the ultimate pedigree for cut quality.

Round diamonds are far easier to assess than fancy shapes, especially those having variable length to width ratios. This complicates the calculations enormously. It also presents difficulty in developing metrics that take into account taste, as some shoppers like elongated pears while others prefer a broader profile.

For shoppers driven mostly by performance and the optical beauty of a diamonds potential for fire and brilliance, the easier and safer bet is to find a precision cut round diamond like the A CUT ABOVE® Super Ideal. With cut quality at the very top of the scale, the A CUT ABOVE® is most rigorously analyzed diamond on the market. They are in stock and immediately available exclusively from Whiteflash.

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Because pear shape diamonds are special and because they are in many ways more difficult to assess in terms of performance, it is important to shop with a merchant who can provide specialized expertise. Whiteflash has an international following for our A CUT ABOVE® brand of precision cut hearts and arrows rounds and princess cut super ideals. Since the year 2000 we have been providing diamonds with proven light performance at the top of the scale. We bring that knowledge and experience to customers for natural fancy shape diamonds through our Other Diamonds category, providing the same strict level of evaluation as we do our in-house diamonds.

In addition to the ability to find you the perfect center diamond, Whiteflash is an authorized dealer for the finest bridal designer brands in the market. With thousands of fabulous designs to choose from, Whiteflash can put you in the driver’s seat when it comes to scoring the ultimate engagement ring or piece of fine jewelry.