Pear Cut Ruby: a classic drop that trails the round on light

Brilliance 62 · Fire 56 · Scintillation 76 · in our census, where the T73 scores 94 · 37 · 80 in ruby

One rounded end and one point: the pear is a classic for ruby drops, and in our census it gives up a third of a round's light.

See it in the simulator Get the files

Rendered in our 3D Gemstone Simulator from the Pear Cut model, 1.00 ct, studio light.

Ours runs 1.502 times as long as it is wide, with 64 facets over a 34.93° pavilion and a depth of 60.0%.

The pavilion is just under ruby's guide minimum of 36.4°, a fraction above its 34.6° critical angle. In our census the pear returns less light than a round, holds less when tilted than a diamond pear, and leaks about a quarter of what enters.

Turned point down, a pear concentrates the eye on its rounded end, where a ruby's colour pools deepest. That is a matter of taste our census cannot score.

Is a pear shape right for ruby? Pros and cons

Pros

None by our margins. It is brighter than a diamond pear, not than a round ruby.

Cons

A third less light than a round ruby 62 vs 94
Less fire than a diamond pear 56 vs 84
Loses light fast when it tips 55 vs 80
About a quarter of the light leaks 26 vs 5

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in ruby and with the Pear Cut in diamond. A difference counts from 3 points (Brilliance, Fire, Tilt, Leakage), 5 (Scintillation, Symmetry), 2 (Spread) 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 ruby (white) against the T73 Round Brilliant in ruby (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 ruby: ahead on 2, behind on 6.

Global65, the comparison 79, difference −14
Brilliance62, the comparison 94, difference −32
Fire56, the comparison 37, difference +19
Scintillation76, the comparison 80, difference −4
Spread101, the comparison 100, difference +1
Symmetry85, the comparison 100, difference −15
Shape-norm72, the comparison 102, difference −30
Tilt55, the comparison 75, difference −20

Face-up light census, a different measure from the Cut Grading Tool; Spread and Shape-norm above 100 sit on the ring.

Open it in the Cut Performance Wheel

What ruby gains in a pear cut

No score beats both baselines. Its fire, 56, is well above the T73's 37 in ruby, but a diamond pear scores 84, and that larger gap is the one we count. Its brilliance beats the diamond pear's (62 against 53) and trails the T73's. It offers the drop outline, which in ruby is mostly about colour and shape.

The pear's costs in ruby

A third less light than a round ruby

Brilliance 62 against 94 for the T73 Round Brilliant in ruby: 32 points lower

Brilliance 62 against 94. Along the drop the pavilion angle changes, and in corundum the shallower parts let light through.

Pear cut in ruby face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 62) — 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 ruby face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 94) — 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: For an elongated ruby with more light, the Oval Cut Ruby returns 66; we have no measurements of a pear with a steeper pavilion.

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

Less fire than a diamond pear

Fire 56 against 84 for the Pear Cut in diamond: 28 points lower

Fire 56 against 84. Ruby's weak dispersion still shows more colour in a pear than in any round we measure, but far from diamond's.

Pear cut in ruby face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 56) — 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.

What helps: Both its softer cousins do better in ruby: the Teardrop Cut Ruby at 64, the Oval Cut Ruby at 74.

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

Loses light fast when it tips

Tilt 55 against 80 for the Pear Cut in diamond: 25 points lower

At 20° the ruby pear keeps 55 of its face-up light, the diamond pear 80. For a stone that hangs and swings, that is the con to weigh most.

Pear cut in ruby tilted 0 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.

Pear cut in ruby tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 12% 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: Of our elongated ruby cuts, the Oval Cut Ruby tilts best, and that is only 58.

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

About a quarter of the light leaks

Leakage 26 against 5 for the T73 Round Brilliant in ruby: 21 points higher

Of the light entering, 26% escapes through the back; the T73 in ruby loses 5%.

Pear cut in ruby tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 20% of the face leaking — 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 ruby tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 12% of the face leaking — 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: The fuller Teardrop Cut Ruby loses a little less, 23%, at any size.

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

Who a pear ruby suits

The pear suits a ruby pendant or drop earring, or a ring worn point toward the fingertip, where the outline matters more than light.

For a softer drop with more fire, the Teardrop Cut Ruby; for an elongated ruby with more light, the Oval Cut Ruby.

Pear Cut Ruby: questions

Is a pear a good cut for ruby?

For shape more than light: Brilliance 62 against 94 for a round ruby, with 26% leakage.

Pear or teardrop ruby?

In ruby the fuller teardrop wins on fire, 64 to 56, and the sharper pear on light, 62 to 59.

Is a pear ruby brighter than a pear diamond?

Face-up, yes: our census gives the ruby pear 62 and the diamond pear 53. Diamond keeps a large lead on fire, 84 to 56.

What does a 6.5 mm wide pear ruby weigh?

Close to 1.55 ct for a 1.502 pear, against 1.37 ct in diamond.

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

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

Other cuts in ruby

The Pear Cut in other gemstones