Pear Cut Sapphire: the classic drop shape, short of the round on light

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

Halfway between an oval and a marquise, the pear sits between them in sapphire too: more light than the marquise, less than the oval, and no score that beats a baseline.

See it in the simulatorGet the files
The Pear Cut in sapphire, rendered at an angle in our 3D Gemstone Simulator under studio light
Rendered in our 3D Gemstone Simulator from the Pear Cut model, 1.00 ct, studio light.

Pear Cut Sapphire

The pear is a brilliant with one rounded end and one point, a classic for pendants and drop earrings. Our model is 1.502 to 1, 64 facets, 60.0% deep, with a 34.93° pavilion figure, a little under sapphire's guide minimum of 36.4°.

In sapphire it beats neither the T73 nor the diamond pear on any score we count. Its fire clears the round and its spread matches it, but neither is enough to count as a pro.

Is a pear cut a good choice for sapphire? Pros and cons

Pros

None by our margins. Its fire beats the T73's, but the diamond pear's by more.

Cons

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire 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 sapphire (white) against the T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire (dashed): solid white where it reaches further, hatched where it falls short. Each pro and con is explained, with pictures, below.

Performance wheel: Pear Cut in sapphire, against the T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire as an outline. Solid white marks where it reaches further, hatching where it falls short. The scores are listed below.50100Global−14Brilliance−32Fire+19Scintillation−4Spread+1Symmetry−15Shape-norm−30Tilt−20

Against the T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire: 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 a sapphire gains as a pear

We count each score once, against whichever baseline shows the larger gap. Fire, 56, clears the T73's 37 in sapphire, but the pear in diamond reaches 84. Spread is level with the T73, 101 against 100. What it offers is the drop outline, which suits pendants and earrings.

Where the pear falls short in sapphire

A third less light than the T73

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

Brilliance 62 against 94. The diamond pear returns less, 53, so the shape itself is costly.

Pear cut in sapphire face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 62)

Pear Cut in sapphire · Brilliance 62

T73 round brilliant in sapphire face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 94)

T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire · 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: The Oval Cut Sapphire returns 66 in sapphire; for full light, DG-M5 Sapphire at 100.

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

Far less fire than in diamond

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

56 in sapphire against 84: the same facets, under half the dispersion.

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

Pear Cut in sapphire · Fire 56

Pear cut in diamond face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 84)

Pear Cut in diamond · Fire 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: The Teardrop Cut Sapphire, a softer pear, reaches 64 in sapphire; the Oval Cut Sapphire 74.

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

Darkens at an angle

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

At 20° of tilt it keeps 55 of its face-up light; the diamond pear keeps 80. For a stone that swings in an earring, that is the score to watch.

Pear Cut in sapphire · Tilt 55

Pear cut in sapphire tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 20% of the face leaking0° · 20% leak
Pear cut in sapphire tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 12% of the face leaking10° · 12% leak
Pear cut in sapphire tilted 20 degrees: Light Return map, 23% of the face leaking20° · 23% leak
Pear cut in sapphire tilted 30 degrees: Light Return map, 35% of the face leaking30° · 35% leak

Pear Cut in diamond · Tilt 80

Pear cut in diamond tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 25% of the face leaking0° · 25% leak
Pear cut in diamond tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 24% of the face leaking10° · 24% leak
Pear cut in diamond tilted 20 degrees: Light Return map, 28% of the face leaking20° · 28% leak
Pear cut in diamond tilted 30 degrees: Light Return map, 25% of the face leaking30° · 25% 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: No drop shape we measure holds much better in sapphire; the Oval Cut Sapphire keeps 58.

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

A quarter of the light leaks

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

26% in our census, against 5% for the T73 in sapphire and 22% for the pear in diamond.

Pear Cut in sapphire · Leakage 26

Pear cut in sapphire tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 20% of the face leaking0° · 20% leak
Pear cut in sapphire tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 12% of the face leaking10° · 12% leak
Pear cut in sapphire tilted 20 degrees: Light Return map, 23% of the face leaking20° · 23% leak
Pear cut in sapphire tilted 30 degrees: Light Return map, 35% of the face leaking30° · 35% leak

T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire · Leakage 5

T73 round brilliant in sapphire tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 1% of the face leaking0° · 1% leak
T73 round brilliant in sapphire tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 10% of the face leaking10° · 10% leak
T73 round brilliant in sapphire tilted 20 degrees: Light Return map, 29% of the face leaking20° · 29% leak
T73 round brilliant in sapphire tilted 30 degrees: Light Return map, 30% of the face leaking30° · 30% 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: The pavilion is under the guide minimum, but we have no measurements of a steeper pear to promise a gain. The Teardrop Cut Sapphire leaks 23%.

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

Who a pear sapphire suits

The pear suits a sapphire pendant or a ring worn point towards the fingertip, where the outline is the reason for the choice.

For a drop with more fire, the Teardrop Cut Sapphire; for more light in an elongated shape, the Oval Cut Sapphire.

In a colour-zoned sapphire, cutters often place the deepest colour in the rounded end, where it reads strongest face-up.

Pear Cut Sapphire: questions

Is a pear cut good for sapphire?

It trails a round: Brilliance 62 against 94, 26% leakage, and no score that beats a baseline.

Pear or teardrop for a sapphire?

The pear returns a little more light (62 against 59); the teardrop has more fire (64 against 56).

What does a 6.5 mm wide pear sapphire weigh?

About 1.55 ct, against 1.37 ct for the same pear 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.

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

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The Pear Cut in other gemstones