Pear Cut Diamond: a larger face for its weight, with extra fire
Brilliance 53 · Fire 84 · Scintillation 76 · in our census, where the T73 scores 93 · 78 · 80 in diamond
One rounded end, one point: the pear faces up larger than the T73 for its weight and shows more fire, while letting more than a fifth of its light out of the back.
Rendered in our 3D Gemstone Simulator from the Pear Cut model, 1.00 ct, studio light.
Pear Cut Diamond
A pear is a brilliant with a rounded end and a point, between an oval and a marquise in shape. The pear we measured has 64 facets and runs 1.502 times as long as it is wide, with a 34.93° pavilion and 60.0% depth.
In diamond it beats the T73 Round Brilliant on two scores and trails it on four. Among the elongated brilliants we measure, only the Marquise Cut Diamond returns more light; the Oval Cut Diamond (47) and the Teardrop Cut Diamond (46) return less.
Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant 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 diamond (white) against the T73 Round Brilliant in diamond (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 diamond: ahead on 2, behind on 6.
Global72, the comparison 90, difference −18
Brilliance53, the comparison 93, difference −40
Fire84, the comparison 78, difference +6
Scintillation76, the comparison 80, difference −4
Spread101, the comparison 100, difference +1
Symmetry85, the comparison 100, difference −15
Shape-norm62, the comparison 100, difference −38
Tilt80, the comparison 92, difference −12
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 115 against 100 for the T73 Round Brilliant in diamond (T73 = 100): 15% more face-up area for the same weight
Drawn at the same weight as the T73, the pear's outline covers clearly more area. Four cuts we measure in diamond face up larger: the marquise, the rectangle, the radiant and the teardrop.
Pear Cut · 8.80 x 5.86 mm at 1.00 ct · Face-up size 115
T73 Round Brilliant · 6.48 mm at 1.00 ct · Face-up size 100
Both stones weigh 1.00 ct in diamond 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 84 against 78 for the T73 Round Brilliant in diamond: 6 points higher
The margin is moderate. The oval, the marquise and the teardrop all score higher for Fire in diamond, so the pear sits below the top Fire scores of the elongated cuts rather than among them.
Pear Cut in diamond · Fire 84
T73 Round Brilliant in diamond · Fire 78
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 53 against 93 for the T73 Round Brilliant in diamond: 40 points lower
In the head-on map more than a quarter of the pear's face is grey, against a sliver of the T73's. Its 34.93° pavilion figure is under the 38.9° guide minimum we use for round designs; we have not measured a steeper pear.
Pear Cut in diamond · Brilliance 53
T73 Round Brilliant in diamond · Brilliance 93
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 22 against 2 for the T73 Round Brilliant in diamond: 20 points higher
22% of the light in our census escapes through the pavilion, where the T73 loses 2%. The strip shows the pear's grey holding at about a quarter of its face from 0° to 30°, while the T73's stays low until it tips past 10°.
Pear Cut in diamond · Leakage 22
0° · 25% leak
10° · 24% leak
20° · 28% leak
30° · 25% leak
T73 Round Brilliant in diamond · Leakage 2
0° · 4% leak
10° · 2% leak
20° · 9% leak
30° · 14% 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: Size does not change the share. The Marquise Cut Diamond loses 17%, the least of the elongated brilliants we measure.
Symmetry 85 against 100 for the T73 Round Brilliant in diamond: 15 points lower
Facets of one angle sit at different distances from the centre on the rounded end and towards the point. The pear scores the lowest symmetry of the elongated brilliants we measure; the teardrop reaches 98.
Pear Cut · 64 facets · Symmetry 85
T73 Round Brilliant · 73 facets · Symmetry 100
Symmetry scores how regular the pavilion facets are within the design. Compare how evenly the facets repeat around each pavilion. Drawn from each cut's own model.
What helps: The Teardrop Cut Diamond keeps one point and a rounded end with Symmetry 98, though it returns less light.
Tilt 80 against 92 for the T73 Round Brilliant in diamond: 12 points lower
At 20° it holds 80 of its face-up light; the T73 holds 92. The census tips the pear sideways, while the strip tips it lengthwise; tipped that way, its grey barely moves.
Pear Cut in diamond · Tilt 80
0° · 25% leak
10° · 24% leak
20° · 28% leak
30° · 25% leak
T73 Round Brilliant in diamond · Tilt 92
0° · 4% leak
10° · 2% leak
20° · 9% leak
30° · 14% 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.
What helps: For a stone that holds its light at an angle, a round: the Old European Cut Diamond keeps 93.
Choose the pear for pendants, drop earrings or a ring worn point to the fingertip, where a larger face for the weight and a higher Fire score count for more than a round's light. Elongated brilliants can show a dark band across the middle, the bowtie; we do not measure it.
For more light, less leakage and an even larger face in an elongated stone, the Marquise Cut Diamond. For a more regular pavilion with one point, the Teardrop Cut Diamond, at a cost in light.
Pear Cut Diamond: questions
Does a pear diamond look bigger than a round of the same weight?
Yes: Face-up size 115 against 100 for the T73, measured from each model's outline at the same weight.
Pear or teardrop cut diamond?
The pear for light: 53 against 46, with 22% leaking against 28%. The teardrop scores more fire, 89 against 84, but from less light.
Pear or marquise diamond?
In our census the marquise leads on light (64 against 53), fire (89) and face-up size (121 against 115).
What does a 6.5 mm wide pear diamond weigh?
1.37 ct at 6.5 mm across, with the stone 1.502 times as long from point to rounded end.
Get the Pear Cut files
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Pear Cut 3D files
The Pear Cut as exact geometry: 64 planar facets, real-world scale, ready for CAD,
rendering, printing and casting.
