Everything You Need to Know About Pear Shape Diamonds

The pear-shaped diamond owes its allure to its teardrop and elongated shape, and it is a highly sought-after diamond for a variety of reasons. The prime reason is its distinctiveness from other popular diamond cuts like regular round or princess cut diamonds that most people have for their engagement rings. But there is more to it than that. Due to its elongated form, a pear-shaped diamond has a larger spread on the finger, giving the diamond a more prominent appearance from the top view. In addition, elongated diamond shapes such as the pear can help accentuate the length of the fingers, making it a versatile shape that can complement anyone’s hand.

Diamond Ratio

Everybody is aware of the 4Cs when it comes to assessing a diamond, but a less known fifth factor that is especially important with fancy shape diamonds is the ratio. The ratio of a diamond is simply obtained by dividing the length of the diamond by its width. For example, if a pear-shaped diamond is 10 millimeters in length and 6 millimeters in width, its ratio would be ten divided by six, which equals 1.6. As you can deduce from the example provided, a lower ratio diamond would have a fuller appearance with a wider width. In contrast, a longer ratio would give the diamond a thinner and pointier look.

Contrary to what some jewelers claim, there is no such thing as an ideal ratio as it is solely an aesthetic choice dependent on personal preference. However, it is not recommended that you make that decision without considering the jewelry you want to set it with, as the design plays a significant role, especially in custom engagement rings.

Now, the ratio is not the ultimate indicator of how a pear diamond looks as it does not convey any information as to its outline or symmetry; only close visual inspection does. A pear-shaped diamond should have nicely rounded curvatures on both sides, and any visible edge along its lobes is an indication of its low-quality cut.

The Bow Tie Effect

The bow-tie effect is a phenomenon that affects certain diamond shapes. It is a dark or shadowy area in the midsection of pear, marquis, and oval-shaped diamonds that resembles the shape of a, well, bow-tie. This is a very unpleasant phenomenon, as it dampens the brilliance that people generally look for in a precious stone like a diamond. The effect is best seen under natural daylight, and strong direct lights typically used in jewelry shops can effectively mask it. So, to see if a diamond suffers from the bow-tie effect, we strongly recommend that you inspect it in person and in an everyday natural daylight environment. For when that is not possible for whatever reason, another way would be to ask for the diamond’s GIA certificate.

Diamond Proportions and Light Leakage

Sometimes, the reason why diamonds have a more noticeable bow-tie effect is that they have a very shallow cut which causes light to hit them at a sharper angle and leak through more pavilion facets. 

Light leakage, in simple terms, is a transparent spot where you can see through the diamond into the background. Light leakages, in general, adversely impact the stone’s light performance and visual appeal. The more they occur in a diamond, the less brilliant and sparkly it is going to be. ASET images are very effective at spotting these leakages, and you should ask for them from the vendor when possible, especially when shopping online. Many online jewelers provide a close-up 360-degree video of the actual diamond, which is very useful for assessing its cut and shape, but they put it against a white or light gray background to hide poor light performance. 

A diamond’s proportions can be found on its GIA certificate, which shows its table and depth percentages. For a pear-shaped diamond, the ideal proportions are 55% to 60% for the table and 59% to 63% for the depth. Bear in mind, however, that these figures are rather arbitrary. It is not a guarantee that a pear-shaped diamond will not suffer from poor light performance issues, such as a pronounced bow-tie effect, even if its table and depth are in the recommended range. But it can help reduce its probability. 

On a final note, the pear’s sharp point is its most vulnerable spot, which is susceptible to chipping or cracking. This is one of the reasons why the sharp point of a pear-shaped diamond is usually covered by a prong when mounted on a ring. As a precaution, you do not want any inclusions to be exposed in this spot since it will amplify its weakness. An engagement ring set with a pear-shaped diamond is truly magical. And while it is more difficult to find well-cut pear diamonds, they generally hide inclusions better than other shape types.