Pear Shaped Diamonds: buyer checklist
The pear — also called a teardrop — is a hybrid: one end rounded like a brilliant, the other tapering to a point like a marquise. That asymmetry is its appeal, and it also makes it one of the harder shapes to buy well, because more can go wrong in the cutting than in a symmetrical outline.
Its practical advantages are real. It is brilliant-faceted so it sparkles fully, it is elongated so it looks larger than a round of the same weight and lengthens the finger, and it costs less per carat than a round. Its single vulnerability is the point.
This page is about choosing the stone. For settings and finished rings, see pear shaped diamond rings.
- Check the shoulders mirror each other — this is where pears go wrong.
- View it face-up for a bow-tie. Every pear has one; you want it faint.
- Decide your length-to-width ratio deliberately.
- Check girdle thickness at the point, and ask about any existing chip.
- Look for colour gathering at the tip.
- Confirm the setting will have a V-prong before you buy the stone.
The main options to compare
Length-to-width ratio
Pears are commonly cut between about 1.45 and 1.75. A lower ratio gives a broad, full pear that reads rounder; a higher ratio gives a long, slender, more dramatic outline with a stronger elongating effect. Neither is better and neither is a quality measure — but it changes the stone completely, and a pear in the ratio you did not want will never look right however good its grades. Calculate it from the measurements on the report and ask for stones in your preferred range.
Orientation, decided at the stone stage
Unusually, the same pear can be set four ways — point toward the fingertip, point toward the wrist, or east-west across the finger — and each reads quite differently. It is worth knowing which you prefer before choosing a stone, because a ratio that looks elegant point-up can look stubby east-west, and vice versa.
Origin
Natural or laboratory-grown, the largest single influence on price. Both are diamond, graded identically, and origin must be stated on the report. See lab-grown vs natural diamond.
Alternatives worth weighing
If the exposed point concerns you, the oval gives similar elongation and similar spread-per-carat with no vulnerable tip. If you want maximum apparent size for the weight and are comfortable with two points, the marquise goes further. All outlines at diamond shapes.
Quality and practical factors: symmetry, bow-tie visibility, tip protection and face-up proportions
Symmetry — and the shoulders in particular
Draw an imaginary line from the point through the centre of the rounded end: the two halves should mirror each other exactly. The place this most often fails is the shoulders — the curved sides just below the widest part of the stone. One shoulder higher, flatter or fuller than the other makes the whole pear look lopsided, and once you have noticed it you will notice it every time.
Check also that the point sits on that centre line rather than off to one side, and that the rounded end is a smooth even curve rather than slightly flattened. These are the commonest flaws in poorly cut pears, and none of them is captured by a grade letter.
The bow-tie
A bow-tie is a dark band across the widest part of the stone, caused by the pavilion facets shadowing light where the viewer’s own head blocks the source. Every pear has one to some degree. In a well-proportioned stone it is faint and shifts as the stone moves; in a poor one it is a permanent dark stripe that dulls the whole diamond.
No laboratory grades it and it appears on no report. Two pears with identical grades and measurements can look completely different because of it. Hold the stone face-up at arm’s length in ordinary indoor light — not under a jeweller’s lamp, which floods it — and tilt it. In a good stone the shadow breaks up; in a poor one it stays put. Comparing two pears side by side makes this far easier to judge than assessing one alone.
Tip durability
The point is the thinnest part of the stone and the most likely place for damage. Two things to check. Ask about girdle thickness at the point — an extremely thin girdle there is a genuine durability concern and it is recorded on the report. And ask directly whether the tip shows any existing chip, abrasion or natural, all of which are common in this shape and all of which should be disclosed.
Whatever the stone, it must be set with a V-prong wrapping the point. That is not a style preference; it is what stops the tip chipping. Decide it before you buy, because it may influence which stone you choose — a slightly thinner girdle at the point becomes acceptable if the setting will fully enclose it.
Face-up proportions
Ask for millimetre measurements alongside carat weight. The pear’s advantage is spread for weight, and a stone cut too deep loses that advantage entirely by carrying mass below the girdle where nobody sees it. Compare candidates on face-up dimensions rather than carats.
Price and budget considerations
- Pears cost less per carat than rounds and look larger for the weight — two savings that compound, and the shape’s core financial argument.
- Carat thresholds — buying just under a round weight remains the largest single saving.
- Clarity is the easiest grade to reduce in this shape, since brilliant faceting disguises inclusions well away from the tip. Check the plot for anything near the point.
- Colour — hold a grade higher for white metal given tip concentration, or pair with warm metal and take the saving.
- Symmetry and bow-tie quality is where not to economise. A cheap pear is very often cheap because the shoulders are uneven or the bow-tie is heavy, and both are permanent.
- Budget for a shaped wedding band if one will be worn alongside a north-south pear.
See diamond price South Africa for the pricing framework. Quotes are dated and specification-based.
Certification, documentation and trust checks
Graded on the four characteristics in GIA’s grading methodology, with report types described in GIA’s guide to report types.
- There is no overall cut grade for pears. Read polish, symmetry and the proportion figures, and weight the symmetry grade heavily — it is the closest thing on the report to a proxy for whether the stone is evenly cut.
- Verify the report number on the issuing laboratory’s own database and check the measurements against the stone.
- Read the origin and treatment lines.
- Study the clarity plot, paying particular attention to anything near the point, which compounds an already thin area.
- Check girdle thickness, which matters more in this shape than most.
- Remember what the report cannot tell you — bow-tie strength and shoulder symmetry both require your own eyes. See diamond certificate explained.
Deciding orientation before you choose the stone
The pear is unusual in that the same diamond can be set four different ways, and each changes how the ring reads. Point toward the fingertip is the traditional arrangement and the most elongating. Point toward the wrist is less common and gives a softer impression, with the broad end catching the eye first. East-west, laid across the finger, is a distinctly modern choice with the practical advantage that the point no longer extends toward the knuckle.
This matters at the stone-selection stage rather than afterwards, because ratio and orientation interact. A ratio that looks elegant set point-up can look stubby set east-west, and a long slender pear that works beautifully across the finger may extend uncomfortably along it. Decide the orientation you want first, then choose the ratio to suit it — it costs nothing at this stage and cannot be changed later without remaking the setting.
Why pears vary more than most shapes
There is no agreed ideal proportion set for a pear the way there is for a round brilliant. A cutter working a round has a well-established target and laboratories grade against it; a cutter working a pear is balancing spread, brightness, weight retention, ratio and the symmetry of two quite different ends with far more latitude. The quality range in production is correspondingly wider, which is why two pears with identical grades can look so different and why looking at the stone matters more here than in almost any other shape.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Buying a pear from paperwork alone. The two things that most determine whether it looks good — shoulder symmetry and bow-tie — are not on the report.
- Chasing the cheapest pear. The discount usually pays for a lopsided stone or a heavy bow-tie.
- Ignoring the ratio, and accepting whatever is offered.
- Accepting a setting without a V-prong. An exposed point will chip.
- Forgetting the wedding band. A long north-south pear rarely sits flush against a straight band.
- Comparing on carat weight rather than millimetres, which forfeits the shape’s main advantage.
- Overlooking colour at the tip when setting in white metal.
Next step: narrow the shortlist and enquire
Decide your ratio and orientation, set origin and budget, then ask to see two or three pears together. Look down the centre line of each for shoulder symmetry, compare the centres face-up for bow-tie, and compare millimetre spread rather than carat weight. Those three checks separate a good pear from a poor one faster than any specification sheet. Then move to settings at pear shaped diamond rings, or compare shapes at diamond shapes. For the whole process, the diamond buying guide.
Continue to the relevant buying guide or book expert guidance
Tell us the ratio and size you want and your budget. We will put several pears in front of you face-up so you can judge shoulder symmetry and bow-tie yourself, let you try point-up and point-down to see which suits the hand, and make sure the setting protects the tip properly.