Pear Cut Morganite: Pros, Cons and Scores

Morganite has a refractive index of 1.572 to 1.600 and a dispersion of 0.014. Its critical angle, from the low end of that range, is 39.5°, so a round design needs a pavilion of at least 39.5° for head-on light to reflect off both sides of the pavilion and leave through the table. We trace it with one index, 1.586, the midpoint of the published range, and a fire spread of 0.012, 0.86 of the published dispersion. Every picture here is our Light Return tracer at 1.572, and every figure is from the same light census that scores the other gemstones; the 3D Gemstone Simulator shows the Pear Cut in morganite live.

The Pear Cut has 64 facets and a total depth of 60.0% of its width; its pavilion mains sit at 34.9°. In morganite, the census returns 57 of 100 for brilliance and 58 for fire, against 79 and 39 for the T73, our benchmark, in the same stone; the same Pear Cut in diamond reads 53 and 84.

Is morganite good in a Pear? Pros and cons, measured

Pros

Lighter than the same cut in diamond 1.11 vs 1.37 ct
Faces up larger for its weight 115 vs 100

Cons

Less fire in morganite than in diamond 58 vs 84
Loses more light when tilted than in diamond 57 vs 80
Returns less light than the T73 in morganite 57 vs 79
A less regular pavilion than the T73 85 vs 100

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in morganite 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 morganite (white) against the T73 Round Brilliant in morganite (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 morganite: ahead on 2, behind on 6.

Global63, the comparison 73, difference −10
Brilliance57, the comparison 79, difference −22
Fire58, the comparison 39, difference +19
Scintillation76, the comparison 80, difference −4
Spread101, the comparison 100, difference +1
Symmetry85, the comparison 100, difference −15
Shape-norm66, the comparison 85, difference −19
Tilt57, the comparison 77, difference −20

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; these are the same census figures as our Cut Performance Index.

What the Pear Cut gains in morganite

Lighter than the same cut in diamond

1.11 ct at 6.5 mm, against 1.37 ct for the same cut in diamond (−19%)

Weight follows specific gravity: 2.855 for morganite against 3.52 for diamond, so the same model at the same size weighs 1.11 ct here and 1.37 ct in diamond, 6.5 mm across. Nothing about the light changes with it.

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

Try it yourself: Weights in every gemstone on the Pear Cut page

Faces up larger for its weight

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

Face-up size is the outline's area per carat, measured from each model (T73 = 100): 115 for the Pear Cut against 100 for the T73. The same volume spread over a longer or shallower outline shows more face for the weight; it is the same in every stone, because specific gravity scales every cut alike.

Pear Cut · 9.44 x 6.28 mm at 1.00 ct · Face-up size 115

T73 Round Brilliant · 6.94 mm at 1.00 ct · Face-up size 100

Both stones weigh 1.00 ct in morganite and are drawn to the same scale in millimeters, 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 morganite in the 3D Gemstone Simulator

What the Pear Cut gives up in morganite

Less fire in morganite than in diamond

Fire 58 against 84 for the Pear Cut in diamond: 26 points lower

Fire is the share of the returned light that splits into color at the exit facet: the census traces each exit again at the refractive index minus and plus the fire spread (0.012 in morganite) and counts a ray as fire when the two directions differ by more than 0.6°. The Pear Cut reads 58 against 84 for the same cut in diamond. The figure is the census's; the 3D Gemstone Simulator renders morganite's fire live.

The fire figure is the census's, traced at the refractive index minus and plus the fire spread. See the fire in the 3D Gemstone Simulator: the Pear Cut in morganite under the sunny-day lighting.

What helps: the Oval Cut reads 70 for fire in morganite, the best of the cuts we score there.

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

Loses more light when tilted than in diamond

Tilt 57 against 80 for the Pear Cut in diamond: 23 points lower

Tilt is how much of its face-up brilliance a stone keeps when the census tilts it 20° about its long axis, with 2,200 rays. The Pear Cut keeps 57 against 80 for the same cut in diamond. The tilt strips below show the maps at 0°, 10°, 20° and 30°, with each picture's own leak share under it.

Pear cut in morganite tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 34% 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; gray is leakage. The share under each frame is that picture's own.

Pear cut in morganite tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 32% 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; gray is leakage. The share under each frame is that picture's own.

What helps: the Square Cut reads 85 for tilt in morganite, the best of the cuts we score there.

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

Returns less light than the T73 in morganite

Brilliance 57 against 79 for the T73 Round Brilliant in morganite: 22 points lower

Brilliance is the share of the 3,200 census rays that enter the stone and come back out of the crown towards the viewer. In morganite, whose critical angle is 39.5°, the Pear Cut returns 57 of 100 and the T73 79. The Pear Cut's pavilion mains sit at 34.9°, the T73's at 40.8°. The maps below show where each stone's light returns from and where it leaks.

Pear cut in morganite face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, gray shows where it leaks (Brilliance 57) — Red, green and blue = light returning to the eye; gray = leakage, light that leaves heading down or stays inside. 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 morganite face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, gray shows where it leaks (Brilliance 79) — Red, green and blue = light returning to the eye; gray = leakage, light that leaves heading down or stays inside. 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: the DG-M5 reads 91 for brilliance in morganite, the best of the cuts we score there.

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

A less regular pavilion than the T73

Symmetry 85 against 100 for the T73 Round Brilliant in morganite: 15 points lower

Symmetry reads how evenly the pavilion facets of each design family are cut: 100 − 6 × their scatter in degrees. The Pear Cut reads 85, the T73 100. It depends on the geometry alone, so it is the same in every stone.

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.

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

Our verdict on the Pear Cut in morganite

Pick the Pear Cut in morganite for this: it weighs less than in diamond and faces up larger for its weight. The catch: it shows less fire than in diamond, loses more light when tilted than in diamond, returns less light than the T73 and has a less regular pavilion than the T73.

If that catch matters more to you, the Oval Cut reads 70 for fire in morganite, the best of the cuts we score there.

Every figure on this page is from our light census, traced at one refractive index: a simulation of the geometry, not a grading report. The 3D files and cutting files below are the same Pear Cut model we traced.

Pear Cut Morganite: questions

Is the Pear a good cut for morganite?

In our census the Pear Cut returns 57 of 100 for brilliance and 58 for fire in morganite, against 79 and 39 for the T73 in the same stone. Against that round and against the same cut in diamond it has 2 pros and 4 cons by our thresholds; the summary above names them.

What pavilion angle does morganite need?

At least 39.5° for a round design: morganite's critical angle is 39.5°, from the low end of its refractive index range, and head-on light has to reflect off both sides of the pavilion and leave through the table. The Pear Cut's pavilion mains sit at 34.9°.

How much does a Pear weigh in morganite?

At 6.5 mm across, 1.11 ct in morganite, against 1.37 ct for the same cut in diamond (-19%): morganite's specific gravity is 2.855, diamond's 3.52.

Can I see the Pear in morganite in 3D?

Yes: the 3D Gemstone Simulator renders it live, with morganite's own refractive index and dispersion. Morganite is traced by the same light census as the other gemstones, with its refractive index and fire spread derived from published values, so its scores are on the same scale; the pictures here are our Light Return tracer, and the Cut Performance Wheel sets it against any other cut and stone.

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More gemstones and cuts

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

Pear Cut Morganite: lighter than the same cut in diamond