How Do I Choose the Best Pear-Shaped Diamond?

A pear-shaped diamond can be a beautiful accent or highlight for any piece of jewelry. When choosing a pear-shaped diamond, some of the most important things to bear in mind are the color and clarity of the stone, the grade of the cut, and the size of the diamond. Since not all pear-shaped stones are identical, length-to-width ratio can also be important factors.

Commercially available diamonds come in many different shades, usually graded on a letter scale. This scale often ranges from D, which is a near-colorless stone, to L or M, which have distinct yellow shades. Diamonds with a stronger yellow hue tend to be less expensive, except in the case of true yellow fancy diamonds, which are prized for their clear yellow color. The color of a pear-shaped diamond is important because it can affect how bright, clean, and sparkly the stone appears. Those searching for bargains may want to look for diamonds in the G-J range, which may have a yellow tint that is only noticeable when placed next to a truly colorless stone.

Clarity is another important consideration when choosing a pear-shaped diamond. This rating refers to flaws within the diamond, which may bend the light incorrectly if they are too large. The clarity rating, which includes groups such as internally flawless (IF), very slight inclusion (VSI), slight inclusion (SI), and included (I), will affect the price as the flaws become more noticeable. Generally, VSI diamonds provide a good middle ground, since flaws are only detectable with gemology equipment, yet price is lower than IF rated stones. Highly rated SI diamonds also provide a great bargain.

The cut grade of the diamond refers to how well it has been trimmed and shaped to reflect brilliance. It can also grade how close the stone is to the ideal proportions of the face of the diamond as compared to its depth. Cut grading also can affect how well a diamond will fit into a setting; diamonds with a poor face width to depth ratio may sit too shallowly or too high on some settings.

When purchasing a pear-shaped diamond, carat size and length-to-width ratio may be the most critical points to examine. Since a pear-shaped diamond is tapered at one end, it may appear smaller for its carat weight than other shapes, such as round diamond. This may mean that the stone may need to be significantly larger than a round or square diamond to give the same appearance of size. Length-to-width ratio determines the exact proportions of the pear shape. A pear-shaped diamond with a proportionally greater length will be more tapered, while those with a proportionally greater width will be rounder.