The Juicy New Era of Pear-Shaped Diamonds

Curves in All the Right Places

Since the 1400s, the pear shape has captivated jewelry lovers with its distinctive teardrop silhouette, featuring a tapered, fine point and a rounded, curved base. Flemish diamond cutter Lodewyk van Bercken revolutionized diamond cutting when he invented a polishing wheel known as the scaif in the 15th century. This historic innovation allowed greater precision and led to the creation of the pear-shaped diamond, which has since glistened with exceptional brilliance for centuries. 

Considered one of the most arduous shapes to cut because of its lopsided contour, expert lapidaries describe the pear-shaped diamond as the peak of luxury, with 56 to 58 facets.

The hybrid, elongated diamond shape seamlessly blends the most beloved elements of the oval and marquise cuts. With the sharpened brilliance of a marquise and the organic curves of an oval shape, the pear is known to maximize light reflection for the most dazzling display – whether it’s worn facing up, down, or even at an avant-garde akimbo tilt. 

Some of the most famous diamonds in history bear the delicious shape. The 530.2-carat Cullinan I, also known as the Great Star of Africa, the Cullinan III, and the Cullinan IX find good company alongside fellow pear-shaped stones like the Star of the East Diamond, the Cora Sun-Drop Diamond, and the Premier Rose Diamond. 

While each jewel exemplifies meticulous craftsmanship and the unrivaled beauty from deep within the Earth, few diamonds have rivaled the pop culture cachet that comes along with the Taylor-Burton Diamond.

Elizabeth Taylor’s 69-Carat Hollywood Drama

Hollywood legend Elizabeth Taylor’s extensive and mind-boggling collection of diamond treasures shines a spotlight on one of her most famous jewels – the 69.42-carat pear-shaped Taylor-Burton Diamond.

In 1966, a 240-carat rough diamond was uncovered at the De Beers-owned Premier Mine in South Africa. American jeweler Harry Winston then bought the stone. After studying it for months with his lead diamond cutter, Pastor Colon Jr., the two agreed on a plan. They cleaved the rock in two, planning to cut the larger half into a perfectly proportioned pear-shaped diamond and set it in a ring.

At the time, it was one of the largest pear-shaped diamonds ever to come to market. Known for buying lavish jewelry for Taylor, the actress’ fifth and sixth husband, Richard Burton, was interested in the humongous diamond. While the couple was on vacation in Switzerland, the diamond was brought to the couple for a preview.

On auction day, October 23, 1969, Burton sent a representative to bid on the stone. He put a cap of $1 million on the purchase price, which was an exorbitant amount at the time. Ultimately, Cartier outbid him, and its representative won the stone for $1,050,000. Not one to give up easily, Burton contacted Cartier the next day and purchased the diamond for a reported $1.1 million. 

Taylor asked Cartier to create a diamond necklace with smaller pear-shaped diamonds to showcase the large stone. She wore the diamond, draped across her décolletage, to attend Princess Grace of Monaco’s Scorpion-themed 40th birthday party in Monte Carlo in 1969 and to present the Best Picture Award at the 1970 Oscars. 

After divorcing Burton, she sold it in 1979. Taylor only owned the stone for less than a decade, and yet it’s still mainly referred to as the Taylor-Burton diamond. Perhaps it is because people remember a great diamond—especially when it is tied to a great Hollywood romance.

The Cut That Captured Hearts

If you’re dreaming of megawatt sparklers weighing in at double-digit carats, Hollywood stars consistently deliver the most exquisite engagement rings to ogle, with the pear-shaped diamond gracing the special left ring finger of A-listers.

Going all the way back to 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte proposed to his first wife, Empress Joséphine, with a ‘Toi et Moi’ engagement ring featuring two pear-shaped stones – a sapphire and a diamond, positioned side-by-side to represent the meeting of two lovers. Joséphine passed down her iconic engagement ring to her daughter, and for two centuries after, the ‘toi et moi’ ring remained within the Bonaparte family. In 2013, French auction house Osenat sold the ring at the “L’empire à Fontainebleau, les rendezvous de l’histoire” auction for nearly $950,000.

In 1953, actress Lana Turner’s fourth out of seven husbands, actor Lex Barker, proposed with an impressive pear-shaped diamond engagement ring. Rosemary’s Baby actress Mia Farrow received a 9-carat, pear-shaped diamond engagement ring flanked by two tapered baguettes on a simple gold band from her first husband, “Ol’ Blue Eyes” Frank Sinatra, whom she married in 1966. The headline news-making ring was purchased from renowned Beverly Hills jeweler William Ruser.

Russian tennis star Anna Kournikova first revealed her gigantic pink pear-shaped diamond during the 2004 World Team Tennis game, when musician Enrique Iglesias gave it to her, stirring engagement rumors. Though the long-time couple never confirmed or denied the news, the 11-carat pear-shaped pink diamond ring, flanked by two trillion-cut white diamonds, could not be ignored.

In 2017, Migos rapper Offset proposed to Cardi B onstage during a performance in Philadelphia with a whopping eight-carat pear-shaped diamond engagement ring encircled in two halos of about three more carats of diamonds and pink gems with two baguettes on either side. The stunner is reportedly worth $500,000. Then, Machine Gun Kelly and actress Megan Fox made it official in 2022 with a toi et moi diamond-and-emerald ring from Stephen Webster. The musician popped the question with both pear-shaped gems on January 11, 2022, under a Banyan tree in Puerto Rico.

The Stars Hungry for More

Stars like Hailey Bieber, Zoë Kravitz, Margot Robbie, and nearly all of the Kar-Jenners have been seriously sporting pear-shaped diamond jewelry. At the end of last year, Meghan Markle debuted a new sparkler in her ring stack – a sizable pear-shaped diamond, worn on her right hand.

At the 2026 Grammy Awards, Hailey Bieber walked the red carpet in a black strapless Alaïa gown with a custom Lorraine Schwartz silver modern choker, featuring a jaw-dropping 30-carat pear-shaped diamond at the center, with massive 20-carat pear-shaped diamond bezel-set stud earrings and a 12-carat pear-shaped diamond ring, committing to the bit.

Over the summer, Zoë Kravitz wore a thick silver arm cuff featuring a pear-shaped diamond pointed downwards, at Jessica McCormack’s Summer Solstice cocktail party at 7 Carlos Place in London. Elegant teardrops shine, dripping from the ear, the neck, the wrists, and even the arm; the diamond cut encourages an unexpected spin on conventionality for a sharp, cutting-edge style.

During the Wuthering Heights press tour, actress Margot Robbie wore a stunning pear-shaped diamond pendant from Jessica McCormack on a matching red cord to the Greystone Mansion photocall before she stepped out in a custom Lorraine Schwartz pendant, featuring a massive old-cut champagne diamond with a pear-shaped drop diamond for the perfect touch of old-world Victorian glamour.

Kylie Jenner’s Pear-Shaped Fixation

Kylie Jenner is largely responsible for putting the pear shape back on the map in this capacity. Often posting to Instagram and hitting red carpets in her pear-shaped diamond jewels, the Kylie Cosmetics founder has championed the diamond cut with super-sized studs, statement necklaces, dangling diamond earrings, and even a pear-shaped pinky ring rarely missing from her finger.  

A New Angle on an Old Favorite

The pear-shaped diamond may have centuries of history behind it, but today’s designers are proving there’s still plenty of room to experiment.

Lorraine Schwartz embraces the cut’s larger-than-life glamour, using supersized pear-shaped diamonds in red carpet-worthy studs, dramatic drop earrings, and statement necklaces. Jessica McCormack gives the shape her signature old-meets-new treatment, tilting pear-shaped diamonds at unexpected angles in Georgian-inspired settings. Katherine Kim of KatKim takes a more architectural approach, suspending pear-shaped diamonds between sculptural curves of gold so they appear to float above the finger.

Dutch jeweler Leen Heyne plays with tension and balance, securing pear-shaped diamonds within fluid gold forms that seem to defy gravity. Olivier Reza, meanwhile, lets the diamond’s silhouette do the talking, framing pear-shaped stones between elegantly curved bands.

The result? A diamond cut that feels just as exciting today as it did centuries ago. Whether worn in sculptural rings, dramatic earrings, or unexpected settings, the pear proves that even the most enduring classics can have a rebellious streak.