Pear Shape

Pear or Teardrop cut diamonds make for a dramatic centrepiece in a ring and an elegant shape for a drop earring. The Pear cut is an interesting cross between the Brilliant and Marquise shape. If you’re looking to create an organic design inspired by flames, water or leaves, this is the shape for you. Another bonus is that when set in the North-South (up and down) orientation long your finger, the teardrop shape works well to elongate the finger.

A consideration to make with this cut is the colour of the diamond. The pointed tip is much thinner than the rounded end and so for the stone to have a consistent colour along it’s length, opt for a stone no lower than H colour.

When considering the setting style for this stone, end only settings can work really well; end only settings cup either end of the diamond in a C shape on the curved side and a V shape protecting the pointed end. Claw settings make for more  more delicate appearance but still have the V shape around the pointed end. The cleanest and most contemporary setting in my opinion for the Pear cut is the bezel, or ‘all-around’ setting, though you could argue that these limit the light entering the stone anywhere other than through the top table.

Facet Pattern

The Pear shape, like the Marquise, usually has 58 facets in a Brilliant style pattern. However, there are alternative cuts with different numbers of pavilion main cuts (4, 6, 7 or 8).

In a Pear cut stone, look for a well-shaped head and shoulders (the rounded end of the stone) with an optimal length-to-width range of 1.5-1.75 : 1. This shape will help make fingers appear longer in rings but also work well in elegant pendants or drop earrings.

History

The Pear shape first appears in jewellery history in the 1400’s, when the ‘Pendeloque’ or ‘Briolette’ cuts were created by Flemish diamond cutter Lodewyk van Berguem of Bruges. These cuts have been re-designed over the years until we have the Pear shape we are familiar with today.