Pear Cut Cubic Zirconia: Pros, Cons & Face-up Size

Our pear has 64 facets on a rounded end and a point, 1.502 to 1, 60.0% deep over a 34.93° pavilion. Measured from that outline it faces up 115 against the T73's 100, the fifth largest of the cuts in our CZ census.

The pavilion sits below the 38.1° guide minimum we give for round designs. We have no measurements of a steeper pear, so we suggest none.

Is cubic zirconia a good choice for a pear cut? Pros and cons

Pros

Faces up larger for its weight 115 vs 100
More fire than a diamond pear 90 vs 84

Cons

Much heavier than diamond 2.25 vs 1.37 ct
Much less light than the T73 59 vs 98
Keeps the least light when tipped of any cut in CZ 64 vs 87
Nearly a fifth leaks through the back 19 vs 1

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia and with the Pear Cut in diamond. A difference counts from 3 points (Brilliance, Fire, Tilt, Leakage), 5 (Scintillation, Symmetry), 4% (face-up size per carat) or 5% (weight); Tilt counts as a pro only for a stone within 5 points of the brilliance it is compared with. How we measure.

All eight scores against the T73

At a glance: the Pear Cut in cubic zirconia (white) against the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia (dashed): solid white where it reaches further, hatched where it falls short. Each pro and con is explained, with pictures, below.

Against the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: ahead on 2, behind on 6.

Global72, the comparison 93, difference −21
Brilliance59, the comparison 98, difference −39
Fire90, the comparison 87, difference +3
Scintillation76, the comparison 80, difference −4
Spread101, the comparison 100, difference +1
Symmetry85, the comparison 100, difference −15
Shape-norm69, the comparison 106, difference −37
Tilt64, the comparison 87, difference −23

Face-up light census, a different measure from the Cut Grading Tool; Spread and Shape-norm above 100 sit on the ring. Spread is the census's estimate from depth alone; the face-up size in the pros and cons is measured from each model's outline.

Open it in the Cut Performance Wheel

What the pear gives cubic zirconia

Faces up larger for its weight

Face-up size 115 against 100 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia (T73 = 100): 15% more face-up area for the same weight

For the same carat weight, the pear's outline covers more area than the T73's, measured from the model rather than estimated from depth. Its depth, 60.0%, is close to the round's 61.7%, so the outline is what makes most of the difference.

Pear Cut · 7.44 x 4.96 mm at 1.00 ct · Face-up size 115

T73 Round Brilliant · 5.49 mm at 1.00 ct · Face-up size 100

Both stones weigh 1.00 ct in cubic zirconia and are drawn to the same scale in millimetres, from each cut's own model. Face-up size is the outline's area per carat, with the T73 at 100: a deeper stone, or a rounder outline, spreads less area for its weight.

Try it yourself: See its size at 1.00 ct in cubic zirconia in the 3D Gemstone Simulator

More fire than a diamond pear

Fire 90 against 84 for the Pear Cut in diamond: 6 points higher

The model is the same; the material is not. The pear's flashes carry more colour in CZ than in diamond, and it edges the T73 in CZ too, which scores 87.

Pear cut in cubic zirconia face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 90) — Look at the coloured flashes: those are fire. Same light, same size, same face-up angle; rendered by our 3D Gemstone Simulator from each cut's own model.

Pear cut in diamond face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 84) — Look at the coloured flashes: those are fire. Same light, same size, same face-up angle; rendered by our 3D Gemstone Simulator from each cut's own model.

Try it yourself: See the fire in the 3D Gemstone Simulator

The catch with a pear CZ

Much heavier than diamond

2.25 ct at 6.5 mm, against 1.37 ct for the same cut in diamond (+65%)

Every CZ stone carries 65% more weight than the same stone in diamond. A pear 6.5 mm wide comes to 2.25 ct here and 1.37 ct in diamond.

A Pear Cut 6.5 mm across, weighed from the model's measured volume and each stone's specific gravity.

What helps: Compare pears by length and width.

Try it yourself: Weights in all seven gemstones on the Pear Cut page

Much less light than the T73

Brilliance 59 against 98 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: 39 points lower

The pear returns 59 where the T73 in CZ returns 98. The same pear in diamond does worse still, 53, so CZ is not what holds it back.

Pear cut in cubic zirconia face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 59) — Red, green and blue = light returning to the eye; grey = light leaving through the pavilion. This is the head-on view; the Brilliance score averages a wider cone of light, so the score can differ from what one picture shows.

T73 round brilliant in cubic zirconia face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 98) — Red, green and blue = light returning to the eye; grey = light leaving through the pavilion. This is the head-on view; the Brilliance score averages a wider cone of light, so the score can differ from what one picture shows.

What helps: Of the elongated cuts in CZ, the Marquise Cut Cubic Zirconia returns the most, 66. For light first, DG-Rafaello Cubic Zirconia at 100.

Try it yourself: Open this Light Return map in the simulator

Keeps the least light when tipped of any cut in CZ

Tilt 64 against 87 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: 23 points lower

Tilt is the share of its face-up light a stone keeps at 20°. The pear keeps 64, the lowest of every cut in our CZ census; the T73 keeps 87, its strip barely grey at 10° and grey over about a fifth of its face by 30°.

Pear cut in cubic zirconia tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 21% of the face leaking — Tilt is how much of its own face-up light a stone keeps when tilted. Each frame is the Light Return map with the stone tilted away from you by the angle shown; grey is light leaving through the pavilion. The share under each frame is that picture's own.

Pear cut in cubic zirconia tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 20% of the face leaking — Tilt is how much of its own face-up light a stone keeps when tilted. Each frame is the Light Return map with the stone tilted away from you by the angle shown; grey is light leaving through the pavilion. The share under each frame is that picture's own.

What helps: For light that holds at an angle, a round: the Old European Cut Cubic Zirconia keeps 91 in CZ, DG-Miliano Cubic Zirconia 90.

Try it yourself: Compare the Tilt spoke in the Cut Performance Wheel

Nearly a fifth leaks through the back

Leakage 19 against 1 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: 18 points higher

19% of the light escapes through the pavilion in our census, against 1% for the T73. The diamond pear leaks a little more, 22%.

What helps: Leak is a share, so a smaller pear loses the same part of its light. DG-Rafaello Cubic Zirconia leaks 0% in CZ.

Try it yourself: Tilt it yourself in the simulator's light map

Who a pear CZ suits

Choose a pear in CZ for a pendant, drop earrings or a ring where a large face for the weight and plenty of colour count most. Expect it to lose more light than other cuts as it moves.

If you want the light to hold, choose a round: the Old European Cut Cubic Zirconia or DG-Miliano Cubic Zirconia. For a long outline with a larger face still, the Marquise Cut Cubic Zirconia faces up 121.

Pear Cut Cubic Zirconia: questions

Is a pear cut good for cubic zirconia?

For face-up size and colour, yes: Face-up size 115 against 100, Fire 90. For light and steadiness, no: Brilliance 59, Tilt 64.

Does a pear CZ look bigger than a round of the same carat weight?

Its outline covers 115 per carat against the T73's 100, measured from both models.

Does a pear CZ lose light when tilted?

More than any other cut we measure in CZ: it keeps 64 of its face-up light at 20°, where the T73 keeps 87.

Pear CZ or pear diamond?

CZ returns more light (59 against 53), has more fire and leaks a little less. The diamond pear keeps more of its light when tipped, 80 against 64.

Get the Pear Cut files

6 formatsMillimetresWatertight

Pear Cut 3D files

The Pear Cut as exact geometry: 64 planar facets, real-world scale, ready for CAD, rendering, printing and casting.

STEPExact faceted solid for CAD
3DMRhino, closed mesh on its own layer
STLWatertight mesh for printing and casting
OBJMesh for modelling and rendering
FBXBlender, 3ds Max, Maya, Cinema 4D, Unity, Unreal
GLBWeb, AR and quick previews

€9.99 · Personal useBuy the 3D files

GemCad64 index

Pear Cut cutting files

The Pear Cut as a faceting design: 50 + 14 girdles = 64 facets, 64 index, 1-fold mirror-image symmetry, ready for the machine.

.ascGemCad design file, 64 index gear
.csvTier table: angles, indices and cutting order
DiagramPrintable faceting diagram

€9.99 · Personal useBuy the cutting files

Questions before you buy? Email us.

More gemstones and cuts

Cubic Zirconia: optical properties and the top ten cuts · The Pear Cut: specifications, model and files

Pear Cut Cubic Zirconia: faces up larger than a round of the same weight