Pear Shaped Engagement Rings

Pear shaped engagement rings have made a huge comeback. The pear shape diamond (a.k.a. Pendeloque or Tear Drop) is basically a combination of a round brilliant diamond and a marquise shape. And although it has traditionally been more popular in pendants and earrings, it's quickly becoming one of the more commonly seen diamond shapes for engagement rings.

Before you get all excited and fall in love with the first pear shaped diamond ring you see, there are some things you should know about.

The pear diamond shape was first created in the late 1400s and was called a Pendeloque or Briolette cut and was slightly angular in comparison to the shape of today.

The smooth lines and curves of the modern pear shape didn't come until much later, in around 1900.

Like its cousin the round brilliant the pear shape is cut with 58 facets to bring lots of sparkle and shine to the stone (bring on the Bling!), which is what we all love about engagement rings BUT this particular shape is a little trickier than most to buy.

It happens to be one of the more difficult diamond shapes to cut due to its unbalanced shape so the proportions and the way it is cut from the raw mineral need to be just right.

The unbalanced shape and thinness towards the point will also make a diamond's color more apparent, so that's another thing to keep in mind when looking at pear shaped engagement rings.

Pear Shaped Diamond Proportions

Each diamond shape has a set of standards for the proportions that make up the shape. In the case of pear shaped diamonds, the standards are based on the ratio between the length and width of the stone. 

The classic or ideal ratio between length and width should be between 1.5 and 1.7.

In other words  if the length of the stone is no more than 1.7x the width or no shorter than 1.5x its width, you will have a classically proportioned pear shaped diamond.

When the length is greater than 1.7 you end up with a 'skinny' pear shape which can appear to elongate the finger which is an appealing characteristic. And at the other end of the spectrum, a ratio that is less than 1.5 can start to look like a misshapen round brilliant. Obviously the further you stray in both cases the more distorted the shape will be.

Pear Shaped Engagement Rings: A Perfect Setting

The pear shaped diamond isn't usually set with elaborate accent stones but most often as a traditional solitaire mount engagement ring since it's the shape itself that creates the drama.

However, in some cases (like the one below), the WOW factor is huge when accents stones are used to emphasize the shape. In all are travels, this is one of the nicest pear shaped engagement rings that we've seen!

We LOVE this ring! It's a beautiful pear shaped ideal cut diamond mounted in an elegant and sophisticated platinum pave split-shank setting. It was recently bought for one lucky bride from JamesAllen...unfortunately that bride wasn't me :(

Pear Shaped Engagement Rings: Expert Tips

Because of the unbalanced shape, you'll likely want to have a diamond color grade of H or higher. If you go lower on the scale you could end up with one end of the stone appearing to be a different color than the other—and that's not a good thing. The thinner and pointy tip in a pear shape makes a diamond's color much more noticeable.

Make sure there is no bow-tie effect. The pear shape is susceptible to the bow-tie effect which is a shadow that runs through the center of the stone when light passes through it. It will significantly reduce a stone's Bling! factor, its desirability AND most importantly, its value.

Look for a well proportioned pear shape that has even and balanced shoulders. A less-than-perfect cut can cause a pear shape to have what is termed uneven or high shoulders. Uneven shoulders effect the stone's symmetry while high shoulders give the diamond a more angular taper.

The actual cut of the stone is very important here so go for a smaller size stone rather than compromise on the diamond's color or cut.

If you want to make the stone appear bigger than it really is, use a setting that is similar to the one above. By framing a pear shaped diamond with accent diamonds the center stone ends up looking bigger. The smaller diamonds cost very little and you get a lot more Bling! for your buck.

Another interesting tidbit about pear shaped engagement rings is that because the stone is usually set perpendicular to the band, it can create the illusion of slimmer fingers. What girl doesn't want that?

Oh, one last thing... It can be really difficult to find a wedding band that will fit perfectly with a pear shaped diamond ring because of it's unusual form. If the design you've chosen doesn't have one as part of a matching set, you can always have one custom made with a curve in the center or simply forgo the band completely.