Teardrop Cut Cubic Zirconia: more fire than the round, in a softened pear
Brilliance 55 · Fire 95 · Scintillation 81 · in our census, where the T73 scores 98 · 87 · 80 in cubic zirconia
Fuller in the shoulder than a pear, the teardrop in CZ out-fires the T73 and faces up larger for its weight. It returns a little over half the round's light.
Rendered in our 3D Gemstone Simulator from the Teardrop Cut model, 1.00 ct, studio light.
Teardrop Cut Cubic Zirconia
Our teardrop is a rounder, gentler pear: 74 facets, 1.445 to 1, 60.0% deep, with a 38.46° pavilion. In CZ only two cuts we measure score higher for fire, DG-Elongated Hexagon and the oval.
That pavilion is just above the 38.1° guide minimum we give for round designs, so steeper is not the fix our data supports.
Is a teardrop cut a good fit for cubic zirconia? Pros and cons
Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia and with the Teardrop 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 Teardrop 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 3, behind on 5.
Global74, the comparison 93, difference −19
Brilliance55, the comparison 98, difference −43
Fire95, the comparison 87, difference +8
Scintillation81, the comparison 80, difference +1
Spread101, the comparison 100, difference +1
Symmetry98, the comparison 100, difference −2
Shape-norm63, the comparison 106, difference −43
Tilt70, the comparison 87, difference −17
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.
Face-up size 116 against 100 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia (T73 = 100): 16% more face-up area for the same weight
Its outline covers 116 per carat against the T73's 100, fourth among the cuts in our CZ census. It edges our pear, 115, at the same 60.0% depth.
Teardrop Cut · 7.32 x 5.07 mm at 1.00 ct · Face-up size 116
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.
Fire 95 against 87 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: 8 points higher
This is CZ against CZ, so the colour is the teardrop's doing; it beats the diamond teardrop too, 89. Keep its light in mind: at Brilliance 55, the colour rides on less returned light than the round's.
Teardrop Cut in cubic zirconia · Fire 95
T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia · Fire 87
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.
Brilliance 55 against 98 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: 43 points lower
The census returns 55 for the teardrop and 98 for the T73. The diamond teardrop is darker still at 46, so the gap belongs to the cut.
Teardrop Cut in cubic zirconia · Brilliance 55
T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia · 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.
Leakage 26 against 1 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: 25 points higher
26% leaves through the back in our census, against 1% for the T73 in CZ and 28% for the teardrop in diamond.
Teardrop Cut in cubic zirconia · Leakage 26
0° · 30% leak
10° · 32% leak
20° · 32% leak
30° · 42% leak
T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia · Leakage 1
0° · 0% leak
10° · 1% leak
20° · 9% leak
30° · 21% leak
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: Steepening is not the remedy, since the pavilion already clears the guide. DG-Miliano Cubic Zirconia leaks 1% in CZ.
Tilt 70 against 87 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: 17 points lower
At 20° the teardrop keeps 70 of its face-up light. Among the cuts in our CZ census only the pear keeps less; the T73 keeps 87.
Teardrop Cut in cubic zirconia · Tilt 70
0° · 30% leak
10° · 32% leak
20° · 32% leak
30° · 42% leak
T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia · Tilt 87
0° · 0% leak
10° · 1% leak
20° · 9% leak
30° · 21% leak
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.
Choose the teardrop in CZ for pendants and earrings that want a gentler point than a pear, plenty of colour and a large face for the weight.
If light matters more, choose a round such as DG-Vitruvio Cubic Zirconia. The Pear Cut Cubic Zirconia returns a little more light (59) and leaks less (19%), but holds it even less well when tipped.
Teardrop Cut Cubic Zirconia: questions
Teardrop or pear cut in CZ?
Close. The teardrop has more fire (95 against 90) and keeps a little more light when tipped (70 against 64); the pear returns a little more (59 against 55) and leaks less.
Does a teardrop CZ have a lot of fire?
Yes: 95, above the T73's 87. In our CZ census only DG-Elongated Hexagon (97) and the oval (96) score higher.
Is a teardrop cut CZ bright?
Less than a round: Brilliance 55 against 98, and 26% of its light leaks.
What does a 6.5 mm wide teardrop CZ weigh?
2.11 ct, where a diamond teardrop of that width weighs 1.28 ct.
Get the Teardrop Cut files
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Teardrop Cut 3D files
The Teardrop Cut as exact geometry: 74 planar facets, real-world scale, ready for CAD,
rendering, printing and casting.
