DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows Almandine: more facets, more sparkle
Brilliance 95 · Fire 53 · Scintillation 86 · in our census, where the T73 scores 95 · 54 · 80 in almandine
How the DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows handles light in almandine, measured: brilliance 95, fire 53 and 5% leakage, set against the T73 in the same stone and against the same cut in diamond.
Light Return map of the DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows in almandine, face-up, from our own tracer at refractive index 1.75. Red, green and blue return light to the eye; gray leaks.
DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows Almandine
Almandine has a refractive index of 1.750 to 1.830 and a dispersion of 0.027. Its critical angle, from the low end of that range, is 34.8°, so a round design needs a pavilion of at least 36.3° for head-on light to reflect off both sides of the pavilion and leave through the table. We trace it with one index, 1.790, the midpoint of the published range, and a fire spread of 0.023, 0.86 of the published dispersion. Every picture here is our Light Return tracer at 1.750, and every figure is from the same light census that scores the other gemstones; the 3D Gemstone Simulator shows the DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows in almandine live.
The DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows has 89 facets, a table of 53.0% of its width and a total depth of 61.7% of its width; its pavilion mains sit at 40.8°. In almandine, the census returns 95 of 100 for brilliance and 53 for fire, against 95 and 54 for the T73, our benchmark, in the same stone; the same DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows in diamond reads 93 and 78.
Is almandine good in a DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows? Pros and cons, measured
Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in almandine and with the DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows in diamond.
A difference counts from 3 points (Brilliance, Fire, Tilt, Leakage), 5 (Scintillation,
Symmetry), 4% (face-up size per carat) or 5% (weight); Tilt counts as a pro only for a stone within
5 points of the brilliance it is compared with. How we measure.
All eight scores against the T73
At a glance: the DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows in almandine (white) against the T73 Round Brilliant in almandine (dashed): solid white where
it reaches further, hatched where it falls short. Each pro and con is explained, with pictures, below.
Against the T73 Round Brilliant in almandine: ahead on 1, level on 4, behind on 3.
Global83, the comparison 83, difference 0
Brilliance95, the comparison 95, difference 0
Fire53, the comparison 54, difference −1
Scintillation86, the comparison 80, difference +6
Spread100, the comparison 100, difference 0
Symmetry99, the comparison 100, difference −1
Shape-norm102, the comparison 102, difference 0
Tilt76, the comparison 77, difference −1
Face-up light census, a different measure from the Cut Grading Tool; Spread and Shape-norm above 100 sit on the ring. Spread is the census's estimate from depth alone; the face-up size in the pros and cons is measured from each model's outline. Open it in the Cut Performance Wheel; these are the same census figures as our Cut Performance Index.
What the DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows gains in almandine
More facets, more sparkle
Scintillation 86 against 80 for the T73 Round Brilliant in almandine: 6 points higher
Scintillation follows the number of facets the stone shows: 100 × (1 − e^(−facets / 45)). The DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows has 89 facets and the T73 73, so 86 against 80. It depends on the geometry alone, so it is the same in every stone.
DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows · 89 facets · Scintillation 86
Scintillation follows the number of facets: more facets, more and smaller flashes as the stone moves. Compare the facet counts under the drawings; each drawing shows only the crown. Drawn from each cut's own model.
What the DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows gives up in almandine
Less fire in almandine than in diamond
Fire 53 against 78 for the DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows in diamond: 25 points lower
Fire is the share of the returned light that splits into color at the exit facet: the census traces each exit again at the refractive index minus and plus the fire spread (0.023 in almandine) and counts a ray as fire when the two directions differ by more than 0.6°. The DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows reads 53 against 78 for the same cut in diamond. The figure is the census's; the 3D Gemstone Simulator renders almandine's fire live.
The fire figure is the census's, traced at the refractive index minus and plus the fire spread. See the fire in the 3D Gemstone Simulator: the DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows in almandine under the sunny-day lighting.
What helps:the DG-Elongated Hexagon reads 88 for fire in almandine, the best of the cuts we score there.
Tilt 76 against 93 for the DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows in diamond: 17 points lower
Tilt is how much of its face-up brilliance a stone keeps when the census tilts it 20° about its long axis, with 2,200 rays. The DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows keeps 76 against 93 for the same cut in diamond. The tilt strips below show the maps at 0°, 10°, 20° and 30°, with each picture's own leak share under it.
DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows in almandine · Tilt 76
0° · 1% leak
10° · 10% leak
20° · 28% leak
30° · 30% leak
DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows in diamond · Tilt 93
0° · 3% leak
10° · 2% leak
20° · 9% leak
30° · 14% leak
Tilt is how much of its own face-up light a stone keeps when tilted. Each frame is the Light Return map with the stone tilted away from you by the angle shown; gray is leakage. The share under each frame is that picture's own.
What helps:the DG-Miliano reads 84 for tilt in almandine, the best of the cuts we score there.
1.18 ct at 6.5 mm, against 1.01 ct for the same cut in diamond (+17%)
Weight follows specific gravity: 4.125 for almandine against 3.52 for diamond, so the same model at the same size weighs 1.18 ct here and 1.01 ct in diamond, 6.5 mm across. Nothing about the light changes with it.
A DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows 6.5 mm across, weighed from the model's measured volume and each stone's specific gravity.
Leakage 5 against 2 for the DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows in diamond: 3 points higher
Leakage is the share of the census rays that enter the stone and leave through the pavilion, or through the crown heading down. The DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows leaks 5% in almandine against 2% for the same cut in diamond. Grey in the maps below is leaking light; the share under each picture is that picture's own.
DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows in almandine · Leakage 5
0° · 1% leak
10° · 10% leak
20° · 28% leak
30° · 30% leak
DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows in diamond · Leakage 2
0° · 3% leak
10° · 2% leak
20° · 9% leak
30° · 14% leak
Each frame is the Light Return map with the stone tilted away from you by the angle shown; gray is leakage. The share under each frame is that picture's own.
What helps:the DG-M5 reads 1% for leakage in almandine, the best of the cuts we score there.
Our verdict on the DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows in almandine
Pick the DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows in almandine for this: it has more facets to sparkle with. The catch: it shows less fire than in diamond, loses more light when tilted than in diamond, weighs more than in diamond and leaks more than in diamond.
If that catch matters more to you, the DG-Elongated Hexagon reads 88 for fire in almandine, the best of the cuts we score there.
Every figure on this page is from our light census, traced at one refractive index: a simulation of the geometry, not a grading report. The 3D files and cutting files below are the same DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows model we traced.
DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows Almandine: questions
Is the DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows a good cut for almandine?
In our census the DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows returns 95 of 100 for brilliance and 53 for fire in almandine, against 95 and 54 for the T73 in the same stone. Against that round and against the same cut in diamond it has 1 pro and 4 cons by our thresholds; the summary above names them.
What pavilion angle does almandine need?
At least 36.3° for a round design: almandine's critical angle is 34.8°, from the low end of its refractive index range, and head-on light has to reflect off both sides of the pavilion and leave through the table. The DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows's pavilion mains sit at 40.8°.
How much does a DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows weigh in almandine?
At 6.5 mm across, 1.18 ct in almandine, against 1.01 ct for the same cut in diamond (+17%): almandine's specific gravity is 4.125, diamond's 3.52.
Can I see the DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows in almandine in 3D?
Yes: the 3D Gemstone Simulator renders it live, with almandine's own refractive index and dispersion. Almandine is traced by the same light census as the other gemstones, with its refractive index and fire spread derived from published values, so its scores are on the same scale; the pictures here are our Light Return tracer, and the Cut Performance Wheel sets it against any other cut and stone.
Get the DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows Cut files
6 formatsMillimetersWatertight
DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows Cut 3D files
The DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows Cut as exact geometry: 89 planar facets, real-world scale, ready for CAD,
rendering, printing and casting.
