The pear-cut diamond is a diamond fashioned in the pear or pendeloque outline — a modified brilliant cut combining a rounded end and a pointed tip into a symmetrical teardrop. It is one of the principal fancy-shape diamond cuts, sitting alongside the marquise, oval, princess, cushion, and emerald cuts in the standard diamond inventory. Grading and pricing follow GIA, AGS, and HRD conventions for fancy-shape diamonds, with particular attention paid to symmetry, the bow-tie effect, and length-to-width ratio.

The pear cut applied to diamond

The standard 58-facet pear cut is the dominant configuration for pear-cut diamonds, with the kite-shaped table at the crown's centre, eight-facet pavilion below the girdle, and 24 to 32 girdle segments depending on the cutter. Variations include the modified brilliant pears with additional facets for managing light return in larger stones and the rare French-cut and old European pears that appear in antique jewellery from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The cut is well suited to elongated rough — the macles and twinned crystals that produce flat-tabular stones with one elongated axis — making the pear an efficient choice for cutters working with material that would lose substantial weight if cut as a round brilliant. This carat-yield advantage is part of why pear-cut diamonds remain an active category in cutting workshops in Antwerp, Surat, and Tel Aviv.

Grading specifics

GIA's fancy-shape diamond grading evaluates colour and clarity on the same scales used for round brilliants — D to Z for colour, IF to I3 for clarity — and reports cut quality through the polish and symmetry grades rather than through the standalone cut grade applied to round brilliants. Pear-cut diamonds receive symmetry grades from Excellent through Poor, with Excellent and Very Good being the practical thresholds for fine-jewellery use.

The bow-tie effect — a dark band running laterally across the centre of the stone — is a recurring grading consideration for pear cuts. The bow-tie arises from light leakage through the pavilion at viewing angles where the stone's geometry directs reflected light away from the eye. Bow-ties cannot be eliminated entirely in the pear-cut family but can be minimised by careful pavilion-angle work and by avoiding extreme length-to-width ratios. GIA grading reports include comment on bow-tie severity in pear cuts; some laboratories assign explicit bow-tie ratings, while others address the matter in the cutting commentary.

Length-to-width and visual size

Length-to-width ratios in the 1.50:1 to 1.75:1 range are the trade conventional standard for pear-cut diamonds. Within this range, longer pears appear more elegant in pendant and earring applications, while shorter pears appear more substantial in solitaire ring settings. Pear-cut diamonds at any given carat weight typically appear larger face-up than round brilliants of the same weight, owing to the elongated outline and the relatively shallow average depth percentage. This size-on-the-finger advantage is one of the principal commercial drivers for the cut.

Famous pear-cut diamonds

Several of the most-discussed diamonds in modern jewellery history are pear cuts, including:

• The Taylor-Burton — a 69.42-carat pear-cut D-colour diamond cut from a 240.80-carat rough, sold at auction in 1969 to Cartier and acquired the next day by Richard Burton for Elizabeth Taylor
• The Star of the Season — a 100-carat pear-cut D-flawless diamond sold at Sotheby's Geneva in 1995
• The Cullinan I (Great Star of Africa) — at 530.20 carats, the largest cut diamond in the world, mounted in the Sceptre with the Cross of the British Crown Jewels and cut as a modified pear shape

The pear cut's prominence in record-setting white-diamond auction stones is partly historical accident — the major rough yields favourable to the cut produced these particular stones — and partly a function of the cut's ability to maximise face-up size from elongated rough.

In the trade

Pear-cut diamonds trade across the full quality spectrum, from melee at the smallest sizes through commercial fancies in the 0.50 to 5 carat range to record stones at auction. Buyers should review the symmetry grade, the cutting commentary on bow-tie severity, and the length-to-width ratio relative to intended use. The cut works particularly well in pendant and drop-earring applications and in solitaire engagement rings where the buyer wants the maximum face-up size for the carat weight.

Further reading

• GIA — Diamond cut and fancy-shape grading
• GIA Gems & Gemology — fancy-shape diamond articles
• International Gem Society — pear cut diamond reference