Pear Shaped Engagement Rings: Ratio, the Point, Bow-Tie, Settings and Prices

By Cameron Malakan, owner of Clairamor and third-generation jeweler · Published October 5, 2026

A pear shaped engagement ring holds a teardrop: a brilliant-cut diamond that is round at one end and comes to a point at the other, so it sparkles like a round, runs up the finger like a marquise and shows more length per carat than an oval. Three things decide whether a pear is a good one. The length-to-width ratio, which GIA's experts put between 1.50 and 1.75 and where 6,427 of the 6,487 pears between 1 and 3 carats in our picker sat on October 5, 2026. The bow-tie, the dark band across the middle that every pear has to some degree and that you judge from the video, not the report. And the point, the one part of the stone that can chip, which is why every prong head we make for a pear caps it with a prong of its own and why the bezel pear is the pear collection people find us for most. Clairamor makes 36 pear settings, from the $950 solitaire and bezel to the $2,400 vintage inspired band, and on October 5, 2026 a lab-grown pear of D to G color and IF to VS2 clarity started at $571 for 1 carat, $1,222 for 2 and $1,607 for 3, the least expensive shape in our picker at 1 carat. This guide covers the ratio, the bow-tie, the point, which way to wear it, size by carat, color and clarity, every setting we make and what the whole ring costs, with the numbers from our own inventory.

Pear shaped engagement rings at a glance

What a pear shaped diamond is

A pear is a brilliant cut, which means its facets are arranged like a round diamond's, in triangles and kites radiating from the center, usually 58 of them. What changes is the outline: one end is a half circle, the other two sides sweep inward and meet at a point. The trade has names for the parts. The point is the tip. The shoulders are the two sides where the outline begins to straighten below the point, the wings are the curved sides below them, the belly is the widest part and the head is the rounded end. A well-cut pear is symmetrical down its length, the point sits directly above the center of the head, and the wings are even arches rather than flat or bulging. GIA's advice for judging one is to "draw an imaginary line down the length of the gem and examine the two halves. The more closely they mirror each other, the better the symmetry is", and the faults it names are high shoulders, flat wings, bulged wings and undefined points. On a grading report the shape appears as Pear Brilliant or Pear Modified Brilliant; the word modified means the pavilion facets have been varied from the classic layout, which most lab-grown pears are, and it is not a mark against the stone.

The shape is old. GIA dates the pear to the 1400s, with the brilliant style of faceting added in the 1700s, and tradition credits the Flemish cutter Lodewyk van Berquem, the man usually credited with the polishing wheel, with cutting the first one in Bruges in the 1450s. The most famous pear in the world is the Taylor-Burton diamond: 69.42 carats, cut by Harry Winston from a 240.80 carat rough found at the Premier mine in 1966, graded by GIA as E to F color and Internally Flawless, bought by Richard Burton from Cartier for $1.1 million in 1969 and worn by Elizabeth Taylor first in a ring and then in a necklace. What the shape does on a hand has not changed since: it gives the sparkle of a round and the length of a marquise in one stone, and it is one of the few shapes that is not symmetrical end to end, which is why how you wear it is a question at all.

Length-to-width ratio: how long should a pear be?

The length-to-width ratio is the length of the stone divided by its width, and on a pear it sets the whole character of the outline: a low ratio is a plump teardrop with a wide belly and a short point, a high one is a slender drop that runs most of the way up the finger. GIA's advice is that "many experts prefer a length-to-width ratio that lies in the range of about 1.50–1.75:1", and our inventory agrees with it almost completely. Of the 6,487 lab-grown pears between 1 and 3 carats in our picker on October 5, 2026, 6,427 measured between 1.50 and 1.75, 46 were shorter and 13 were longer, and among the 720 least expensive stones between 1 and 2 carats the median was 1.61, with eight of every ten between 1.56 and 1.65. Lab-grown cutters work each elongated shape to a narrow band: our ovals cluster between 1.40 and 1.50 and our marquises between 1.85 and 2.15, and a pear is almost always a 1.55 to a 1.65, so if you want a plump 1.50 or a slender 1.75 you will be choosing from a few dozen stones rather than thousands.

That makes the ratio an easier decision than it is on an oval. A 1.55 pear is rounder through the belly, sits closer to the look of a round with a tip, and wears well on a shorter finger or a wider hand; a 1.65 to 1.75 is the classic drop, longer and more pointed, and lengthens the finger more. The figure shows three outlines of the same face-up area. The difference between them is real but it is a difference of a millimeter or so in length at 2 carats, and because our pears cluster so tightly around 1.60 you can pick a stone by its video, its price and its measurements and let the ratio follow. Every one of our 36 pear heads is made to hold the range, so the setting does not limit the choice.

The bow-tie

Every elongated brilliant can show a darker band across its middle, and the pear is one of the three shapes, with the oval and the marquise, where it is part of buying the stone. The band is a shadow: when you look straight down at the stone, the pavilion facets under the center reflect the light that is blocked by your own head and shoulders, so a bow-tie shaped patch goes dark. GIA's pear guide says that "many pear shaped diamonds show a dark pattern that resembles a bow-tie. This pattern typically runs across the width of the stone from the center of the table", and its shapes guide adds that "while a slight bowtie is common, the most desirable pears have a soft, minimal shadow". GIA also notes that the bow-tie tends to darken as the difference between a stone's length and width grows, which is one more reason the slender 1.75 pear is the harder one to buy well.

No grading report records it, so it is the one thing you judge from the video in our picker, which every stone has. Turn the stone slowly in the video and watch the belly: a shadow that comes and goes as the stone moves is normal and most people never notice it on the hand; a fixed dark stripe that stays put from every angle is the one to pass on, because no setting hides it. Proportions give a hint before you look. The 720 least expensive pears between 1 and 2 carats in our picker on October 5, 2026 ran from 55 to 70 percent depth with a median of 62, and tables from 54 to 70 percent with a median of 60; eight of every ten sat between 60 and 64 percent depth and 58 to 62 percent table, which is the range the stronger bow-ties mostly stay out of. Deep stones at the long end of the ratio are where the dark ones live. The second thing to watch in the video is the point: a well-cut pear flashes brightest there, because the small facets at the tip return light sharply, and a pear whose point goes dark or glassy is leaking light where it should be brightest. Our oval guide and marquise guide cover the same shadow in the two shapes that share it.

The point: the one place a diamond can chip

Diamond is the hardest material there is, and it still cleaves. A point is where the stone is thinnest and where a knock lands on the least material, so the point of a pear, like the two points of a marquise and the four corners of a princess, is the one place on the stone that can chip. GIA puts it directly: "the most vulnerable part of a pear shaped diamond is the point. This area can be protected by placing a V-prong on the point or choosing a bezel setting around the entire stone." Three of our settings answer it three ways, and every pear head we make does one of them.

Our prong heads hold a pear in five prongs: one capping the point, two at the shoulders and two around the head, so the tip sits inside metal and the knocks of a day land on the prong instead of the stone. That is the layout on the solitaire ($950), the cathedral ($1,000), the hidden halo ($1,050) and the cathedral hidden halo ($1,100), and the tulip designs do the same with petal-shaped prongs that cup the stone from below. The half bezel ($950) covers the point and the head in metal and leaves the two long sides open, which protects the point and shows the most stone for the metal. The full bezel ($950) rims the whole outline, which is why it is the pear for a hand that works and why the bezel pear collection is the pear collection people find us for most; our bezel guide compares the full, half and faux versions. On the hidden halo designs the ring of small diamonds under the stone is set into the gallery rail, the band of metal that ties the prongs together, so it braces the head as well as decorating it.

A capped point is safe for everything a hand does in a day. It is not safe for everything: take the ring off for the gym, the garden and any work with tools or ropes, and if the point ever does meet something hard, have the prong checked rather than the stone, because a prong that has moved is what lets a chip happen later. Every Clairamor ring carries a lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects, and a loosened prong is something we would rather tighten than replace.

Which way to wear a pear: point toward the fingertip or the wrist

A pear is the one shape we sell with a top and a bottom, so there is a question that no round or oval raises. The tradition, in GIA's words, is "to have the tip pointing away from you (down)", which on a hand means the point toward the fingertip, and it is the way most pear rings are photographed and worn: the taper runs toward the nail, the stone reads as a drop hanging from the band, and the finger looks longest. The other way, point toward the wrist, is a newer habit that GIA records too ("some brides choose to wear this shape with the point toward them"), and it has its own logic: the rounded head faces outward, where other people see it, and the point faces the wearer, who sees the stone most often from above and gets the flash of the tip. Some people wear a pear sideways, east-west, across the finger; we do not make an east-west pear head, so that look is a custom piece.

The practical point is that you do not have to decide at the counter. Every pear ring we make is symmetrical from side to side, so it is the same ring either way round, and a pear on any of them can be worn point toward the fingertip on Monday and point toward the wrist on Tuesday by turning the ring around. The one thing that fixes the direction is a curved or fitted wedding band, which is shaped to meet the stone from one side: a band made to hug the rounded head will not sit against the point. If you plan to wear the point toward the wrist and want a fitted band, say so when you order and we will shape the band to the head.

How big a pear looks: size by carat

A pear looks large for its weight because it is long. On October 5, 2026 the least expensive 2 carat pear in our picker measured 11.55 by 6.97 mm, a face of about 55 square millimeters against the 52 of an 8.2 mm round, the 58 of a 10.3 by 7.2 mm oval and the 54 of a 9.1 by 6.3 mm radiant; at 1 carat it was 8.94 by 5.70 mm against the round's 6.45 mm, more than 2 mm longer. The eye reads size along the finger, so the pear reads bigger than its area says, and because the weight sits in the rounded head, the point is thin and bright and adds length that costs almost nothing in carats. The table gives the least expensive pear at each weight in our picker that day, D to G color, IF to VS2 clarity, with its measurements and the price of the ring on our 14k solitaire; our carat size chart does the same for every shape, our which shape looks the biggest page ranks them, and the size comparison simulator draws them on a hand.

Two readings of the table. First, the jump from 1 to 2 carats adds 2.6 mm of length for $651, and from 2 to 3 adds 1.3 mm for $385; the second carat is where the pear grows most on the hand. Second, the pear has no size ceiling in lab-grown: our picker that day listed 2,064 pears of 3 carats and up, the largest a 17.02 carat F VVS2 at 21.8 by 14.1 mm for $14,811, and 1,126 between half a carat and a carat for anyone who wants the shape small. Our 3 carat guide is the place to start if you are deciding how big.

Color and clarity in a pear

A pear holds a little more color than a round, as every fancy shape does, and it shows it first at the point, as every pointed shape does; GIA's advice is to choose a stone high on the color scale. Our line is the one we use for the oval and the marquise: G reads white in yellow or rose gold at any size and in white metal up to about 2 carats, and above that in white metal D to F is worth having, because a big pear in platinum or white gold has a long white point beside white metal and any warmth shows there. Lab-grown prices make the choice cheap in one direction and odd in the other: at 2 carats on October 5, 2026 the least expensive pear was an F at $1,222, the E was $1,259, the D was $1,401 and the few Gs listed that day were $1,535, so the whitest stones were not the dear ones. At 3 carats the ladder ran the usual way, G $1,607, F $1,938, E $2,100, D $2,394, a $787 spread for three color grades that would be invisible side by side in gold.

Clarity matters a little more on a pear than on a round because the stone is bigger face-up for its weight and the belly is a broad window, and GIA notes that a pear with a larger table can make inclusions more apparent. VS1 or better is the safe choice, and a VS2 whose video is clean is fine; our VS1 vs VS2 guide explains what separates the two. In lab-grown the grades cost almost nothing to climb: at 2 carats that day the VVS2 was the least expensive pear of all at $1,222, the VS1 was $1,259, the VS2 $1,314, the VVS1 $1,404 and the Internally Flawless $1,688, so a VVS2 pear is simply what the market sells and there is no reason to go lower. The 720 least expensive pears between 1 and 2 carats in our picker were 505 D, 164 E, 38 F and 13 G, and 585 of them were VVS2 or better, all IGI, none with fluorescence. Our color guide and VVS1 guide go through the grades.

Pear vs oval, marquise and round

The pear sits between the oval and the marquise, and most people choosing it are choosing against one of them. Against the oval it trades one rounded end for a point: the pear is a little longer at the same weight, has a sharper, more directional look, and asks the up-or-down question that an oval never does; the oval is the safer, softer stone, with no point to protect and a bow-tie that is usually fainter. Against the marquise the pear is the calmer of the two: one point instead of two, a rounder belly, a ratio of 1.60 instead of 2.00, and usually less bow-tie, for a stone that still runs up the finger; the marquise is longer still and the most dramatic shape we sell. Against the round the pear gives up a little fire and all its symmetry for 2 to 3 mm of length, and on October 5, 2026 it cost $80 less at 1 carat, $18 more at 2 and $31 less at 3. The moval, a marquise with rounded ends, is the fourth cousin, and our elongated shapes guide compares all of them side by side. Prices are the least expensive stone of each shape in our picker that day, D to G color and IF to VS2 clarity, at 1, 2 and 3 carats.

Settings for a pear: what we make

We make 36 pear designs, each in nine metals, 342 rings in the pear collection, and the shape changes what each setting does. Prongs show the most stone: the solitaire ($950) holds the pear in five slender prongs on a plain 2 mm band, with a head 5.6 mm tall, and the double claw ($1,100) splits each prong into a pair. The tulip designs replace the claws with petals that cup the stone from below, and the tulip cathedral ($1,000) is the pear ring people find Clairamor for most: in the 90 days to October 5, 2026 it was shown in Google more than any other pear page we have, and clicked more too. The cathedral designs ($1,000 to $1,100) raise the head on arches from the band, which on a long stone like the pear makes a tall, graceful profile, and the cathedral hidden halo ($1,100) was the second most-seen pear page in the same period. The hidden halo ($1,050) sets a ring of small diamonds into the gallery rail under the stone, so from above the ring is a solitaire and from the side it sparkles, and because it adds nothing to the outline it suits a shape that was chosen for its outline. We do not make a classic halo, which would blur the point, but quote one as a custom piece.

The bezels are the pear's protective settings. The full bezel ($950) follows the teardrop in a rim of metal and sits 5.3 mm tall, the half bezel ($950) caps the point and the head and leaves the wings open, and the cathedral bezel ($1,000), tulip bezel ($1,300) and faux bezel ($2,300) are the dressed versions. The low profile designs ($950 to $1,300) drop the head to 4.2 mm so the long stone sits close to the finger and does not catch. Side stones suit the pear because its sides are curved: the three stone half moon ($1,350) flanks it with two half moons whose flat sides meet the wings, and the tapered baguette ($2,200) gives it the Art Deco line; our three stone guide covers both. Diamonds on the band come on the pavé band ($1,450), the pavé band hidden halo ($1,250), the bubble band hidden halo ($1,200) and the eternity hidden halo ($1,050), which our pavé band guide compares, and the wide bands ($1,500 to $2,200) and engraved designs ($1,850 to $2,400) finish the range. Two things we make for ovals and marquises we do not make for the pear: the east-west settings and the bypass; a sideways pear is a custom piece. The table has every pear design we make, with prices before the stone; 18k gold adds $100 to $600 and platinum $200 to $850 by design.

Each setting has its own pear page: solitaire, tulip, cathedral, hidden halo, bezel, low profile, pavé band, three stone, wide band and engraved, and so does each metal: white gold, yellow gold, rose gold, two-tone and platinum. Our settings guide compares every setting type we make.

Pear shaped engagement rings with a wedding band

A pear pairs with a wedding band the way its head is built, not the way its stone is shaped. On the solitaire, the flat band and every bezel, the head sits on a basket above the band, so a straight wedding band slides underneath and sits flush, whichever way the point faces. On the cathedral and hidden halo designs the arches or the rail rise to meet the stone, so a straight band usually leaves a small gap at the top unless it is curved or notched, and on the low profile designs the stone sits at the band, so a straight band meets its overhang and a curved one closes the gap. The pear adds one consideration of its own: a curved or fitted band is shaped to meet the stone from one side, so if you want one, decide which way the point will face before the band is made, because a band fitted to the rounded head will not fit the point. A plain straight band is the one pairing that lets you keep turning the ring around. We make curved and notched bands to order to fit any of our settings, and our guide to matching a wedding band goes through the pairings.

What a pear shaped engagement ring costs

The pear carries no premium in lab-grown; on October 5, 2026 it was the least expensive shape in our picker at 1 carat, the second least expensive at 3 and within $130 of the cheapest at 2, because a pear is cut from the same elongated rough as the oval and the marquise with little waste. The setting adds $950 in 14k gold for the solitaire, the bezels and the low profile, $1,000 to $1,100 for the cathedrals, the hidden halos and the tulip cathedral, $1,200 to $1,450 for the bubble band, pavé and tulip bezel designs, and $1,350 to $2,400 for the side stone, wide band and engraved designs. The table gives the least expensive stone of each shape at each weight, D to G and IF to VS2, so you can see where the pear sits; the complete pear ring on the 14k solitaire was $1,521 at 1 carat, $2,172 at 2 and $2,557 at 3. Our pricing guide explains why lab-grown prices run this way and why the setting is now the larger share of a 1 carat ring.

The pear's own ladder: $571 at 1 carat, $900 at 1.5, $1,222 at 2, $1,397 at 2.5, $1,607 at 3, $2,279 at 4 and $2,566 at 5. Where the money goes between two pears of the same weight is color and clarity, and as the ladders above show, in lab-grown that is a few hundred dollars across the whole range, so the stone to buy is the one whose video you like, which is a sentence we could not have written about a mined pear.

How to pick a good pear

In order. First, the ratio, which is close to settled: anything from 1.55 to 1.65 is the classic drop, and the measurements on the listing tell you more than the ratio does, since a 2 carat 1.60 and a 2 carat 1.69 measured 11.2 by 7.0 mm and 12.0 by 7.1 mm that day, the same width and most of a millimeter apart in length. Second, the video, for three things: a bow-tie that moves rather than sits, a point that flashes rather than goes dark, and an outline whose two halves match, with the point directly above the middle of the head and wings that curve evenly; symmetry graded Excellent or Very Good on the report covers most of this, and the face-up photo covers the rest. Third, the proportions as a check: depth between about 60 and 64 percent and a table of 58 to 62 is where most of our pears sit and where the bright ones live; a much deeper stone hides weight you are paying for and is where the darker bow-ties tend to live. Fourth, color and clarity: VS1 or better, G in gold, D to F in white metal above 2 carats, and take the VVS2 when it is the cheapest stone on the page, as it was on October 5, 2026. Fifth, the setting, chosen by what the hand does: prongs or a tulip for the most stone, a half bezel for a capped point with open sides, a full bezel for a hand that works, a hidden halo for sparkle that does not touch the outline, and the point facing whichever way you like, decided before a fitted band is made.

Where Clairamor fits

Every pear ring we make is a setting from the 36 above plus a pear you choose from our picker, which listed 6,487 pears between 1 and 3 carats and 2,064 above 3 carats on October 5, 2026, every one lab-grown, D to G color, IF to VS2 clarity, with an IGI, GIA or HRD report, the measurements and ratio, a face-up photo and a video, which for this shape is the thing to watch before anything else. The setting price is the setting without the center stone, so the $1,000 tulip cathedral with the 2 carat pear at $1,222 is a $2,222 ring. Every ring carries a lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects, comes with an appraisal for insurance, and includes one complimentary resize within 100 days for clients in the USA. The point is capped on every head we make, and the ring still comes off for the gym, the garden and any work with tools or ropes.

Pear shaped engagement rings Choose a pear diamond See it on a hand

Torn between a pear and an oval, or between prongs and a bezel? Book a design consultation.

Frequently asked questions

What is a pear shaped diamond?

A brilliant-cut diamond with a teardrop outline: a half circle at one end and two curved sides that meet in a point at the other, usually 58 facets. It is also called a teardrop or pendeloque, and it combines the sparkle of a round with the length of a marquise. GIA dates the shape to the 1400s; the brilliant faceting came in the 1700s.

What is the best length-to-width ratio for a pear shaped diamond?

GIA's experts prefer 1.50 to 1.75, and lab-grown supply is cut inside it: 6,427 of the 6,487 pears between 1 and 3 carats in our picker on October 5, 2026 measured 1.50 to 1.75, with a median of 1.61. A 1.55 is a plumper drop, a 1.65 to 1.75 a slender one; most stones are 1.56 to 1.65.

Do all pear shaped diamonds have a bow-tie?

To some degree, yes. The bow-tie is a shadow across the belly made by the pavilion facets reflecting the viewer's own head and shoulders, and GIA says many pears show one. No report records it, so judge it from the video in our picker: a shadow that moves as the stone turns is normal, a fixed dark band is the one to avoid.

Should the point of a pear shaped ring face up or down?

The tradition is point toward the fingertip, which lengthens the finger and reads as a drop hanging from the band; point toward the wrist is the newer habit, with the rounded head facing out. On a solitaire, bezel or hidden halo you can wear it either way by turning the ring. Decide before a curved or fitted wedding band is made.

Is the point of a pear shaped diamond fragile?

It is the one place on the stone that can chip, as GIA notes, because the diamond is thinnest there. Every prong head we make for a pear caps the point with a prong of its own, the half bezel covers the point and the head in metal, and the full bezel rims the whole stone. Take any ring off for the gym, the garden and work with tools.

How big is a 1 carat pear shaped diamond?

About 9 by 5.7 mm: the least expensive 1 carat pear in our picker on October 5, 2026 measured 8.94 by 5.70 mm, against 6.45 mm across for a 1 carat round. At 2 carats a pear is about 11.5 by 7 mm and at 3 carats about 12.9 by 8.2 mm. The length runs up the finger, so a pear reads larger than its weight.

Are pear shaped diamonds more expensive?

No. In lab-grown the pear is one of the least expensive shapes: on October 5, 2026 a D to G, IF to VS2 pear in our picker started at $571 for 1 carat, the cheapest shape that day, $1,222 for 2 and $1,607 for 3, against $651, $1,204 and $1,638 for a round and $680, $1,374 and $1,870 for an oval.

What color and clarity should a pear shaped diamond be?

A pear holds a little more color than a round and shows it first at the point, so choose G in yellow or rose gold or under 2 carats, and D to F in white metal above that. VS1 or better keeps the open belly clean. In lab-grown the grades cost little: at 2 carats that day the VVS2 was the least expensive pear at $1,222.

What settings suit a pear shaped diamond?

Prongs or a tulip for the most stone, with a prong capping the point; a half bezel for a covered point with open sides; a full bezel for a hand that works; a hidden halo for sparkle that leaves the outline alone; and half moons or tapered baguettes as side stones. Our tulip cathedral is the pear ring people find us for most.

What wedding band goes with a pear shaped engagement ring?

On our solitaire, flat band and bezels a straight band slides under the head and sits flush, whichever way the point faces. The cathedral and hidden halo designs usually leave a small gap unless the band is curved or notched, and the low profile designs meet the overhang. A fitted band is shaped to one end of the stone, so choose the point's direction first.

What does a pear shaped engagement ring mean?

Nothing the shape requires. Jewelers tell the teardrop story, tears of joy or a love that is both soft and sharp, and some couples like it, but the pear is older than the story: it was cut in the 1400s, long before anyone sold it as a symbol. What it reliably says is that the wearer chose a shape that is not the usual one.

Related reading

• Marquise diamonds and engagement rings: ratios, the Dutch marquise, bow-ties, settings and prices
• Oval engagement rings: ratios, the bow-tie, settings, sizes and prices
• Elongated engagement rings: oval vs emerald vs radiant vs marquise vs moval
• What is a moval diamond?
• Bezel engagement rings: full, half and faux bezel compared
• What is a tulip setting?
• Hidden halo vs halo: which looks bigger and costs less?
• Three stone engagement rings: meaning, side stones, settings and prices
• Types of engagement ring settings, explained
• Diamond carat size chart: every shape at every weight
• How big is a 3 carat diamond?
• Lab-grown diamond pricing guide
• VS1 vs VS2 diamond clarity: what VS means, what you can see and what it costs