DG-Elongated Hexagon Amethyst: Pros & Cons

DG-Elongated Hexagon is a long six-sided step cut, finished the same front and back: two steps either side of a six-facet girdle, a table in front and a flat of the same size behind. Our model has 32 facets, an L:W of 1.7, steps at 36.0° on both sides and 45.3% depth.

One census note first. Our census treats the back flat, a window by design, as a hole: every ray that passes through it counts as lost. The cut's own page leaves the window out of its head-on figures; this page does not, so its leakage and brilliance include it.

It was drawn for emerald. In amethyst the steps beside the table sit at 36.0°, under quartz's critical angle of 40.4°; how much light that costs, the census does not say.

Is DG-Elongated Hexagon good in amethyst? Pros and cons

Pros

Lighter than diamond 1.36 vs 1.80 ct
A little more face per carat than the round 107 vs 100

Cons

About a third of the T73's light 25 vs 72
Most of the light leaves through the back 70 vs 28
Less steady when tipped than in diamond 65 vs 100
Less fire than in diamond 64 vs 97

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in amethyst and with the DG-Elongated Hexagon 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-Elongated Hexagon in amethyst (white) against the T73 Round Brilliant in amethyst (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 amethyst: ahead on 2, behind on 6.

Global47, the comparison 70, difference −23
Brilliance25, the comparison 72, difference −47
Fire64, the comparison 36, difference +28
Scintillation51, the comparison 80, difference −29
Spread111, the comparison 100, difference +11
Symmetry73, the comparison 100, difference −27
Shape-norm33, the comparison 77, difference −44
Tilt65, the comparison 80, difference −15

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

What amethyst gains in DG-Elongated Hexagon

Lighter than diamond

1.36 ct at 6.5 mm, against 1.80 ct for the same cut in diamond (−25%)

Amethyst's specific gravity of 2.65 is three quarters of diamond's 3.52. For a pendant stone seen from both sides, that keeps a long piece light to wear.

A DG-Elongated Hexagon 6.5 mm across, weighed from the model's measured volume and each stone's specific gravity.

Try it yourself: Weights in all seven gemstones on the DG-Elongated Hexagon page

A little more face per carat than the round

Face-up size 107 against 100 for the T73 Round Brilliant in amethyst (T73 = 100): 7% more face-up area for the same weight

Shallow at 45.3% and long, it puts its weight into width and length rather than depth. Measured from the outline, a carat of it covers more area than a carat of T73.

DG-Elongated Hexagon · 9.97 x 5.87 mm at 1.00 ct · Face-up size 107

T73 Round Brilliant · 7.12 mm at 1.00 ct · Face-up size 100

Both stones weigh 1.00 ct in amethyst and are drawn to the same scale in millimetres, from each cut's own model. Face-up size is the outline's area per carat, with the T73 at 100: a deeper stone, or a rounder outline, spreads less area for its weight.

Try it yourself: See its size at 1.00 ct in amethyst in the 3D Gemstone Simulator

DG-Elongated Hexagon's costs in amethyst

About a third of the T73's light

Brilliance 25 against 72 for the T73 Round Brilliant in amethyst: 47 points lower

Part of the gap is the window: light through the back flat counts as lost. The rest is the steps, which at 36.0° sit under quartz's critical angle. The census finds more light here than in the same model in diamond, 12.

Dg-elongated hexagon in amethyst face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 25) — Red, green and blue = light returning to the eye; grey = light leaving through the pavilion. This is the head-on view; the Brilliance score averages a wider cone of light, so the score can differ from what one picture shows.

T73 round brilliant in amethyst face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 72) — Red, green and blue = light returning to the eye; grey = light leaving through the pavilion. This is the head-on view; the Brilliance score averages a wider cone of light, so the score can differ from what one picture shows.

What helps: The window is the design and stays. The Emerald Cut Amethyst, also long and stepped, returns 53 in quartz.

Try it yourself: Open this Light Return map in the simulator

Most of the light leaves through the back

Leakage 70 against 28 for the T73 Round Brilliant in amethyst: 42 points higher

The census counts every ray through the back flat as leakage, so this figure is partly by design. The diamond version loses about as much, 73%.

Dg-elongated hexagon in amethyst tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 73% of the face leaking — Each frame is the Light Return map with the stone tilted away from you by the angle shown; grey is light leaving through the pavilion. The share under each frame is that picture's own.

Dg-elongated hexagon in amethyst tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 69% of the face leaking — Each frame is the Light Return map with the stone tilted away from you by the angle shown; grey is light leaving through the pavilion. The share under each frame is that picture's own.

What helps: We have measured no other version of this cut, so we promise no fix by angles. The Emerald Cut Amethyst leaks 41%, without a back window.

Try it yourself: Tilt it yourself in the simulator's light map

Less steady when tipped than in diamond

Tilt 65 against 100 for the DG-Elongated Hexagon in diamond: 35 points lower

Tipped by 20°, the diamond version keeps all its face-up light on our scale; in amethyst it keeps 65. A two-sided stone in a pendant tips often, so this one matters.

What helps: Among bright amethyst cuts, the Octagon Cut Amethyst holds 83 when tipped.

Try it yourself: Compare the Tilt spoke in the Cut Performance Wheel

Less fire than in diamond

Fire 64 against 97 for the DG-Elongated Hexagon in diamond: 33 points lower

In diamond this cut scores near the top of our fire scale, 97; in quartz it scores 64. Even so, only the oval scores more fire in amethyst, and DG-Bowtie ties it.

Dg-elongated hexagon in amethyst face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 64) — Look at the coloured flashes: those are fire. Same light, same size, same face-up angle; rendered by our 3D Gemstone Simulator from each cut's own model.

Dg-elongated hexagon in diamond face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 97) — Look at the coloured flashes: those are fire. Same light, same size, same face-up angle; rendered by our 3D Gemstone Simulator from each cut's own model.

Try it yourself: See the fire in the 3D Gemstone Simulator

Who DG-Elongated Hexagon in amethyst suits

DG-Elongated Hexagon suits pendants and open settings where the back is on show and a clean, geometric stone is wanted from both sides. In amethyst it gives a little more face per carat than the round, a lot of fire for quartz, and little light.

If light matters more than a two-sided finish, the Emerald Cut Amethyst keeps a long step outline and returns about twice as much. For the same cut in emerald, see the DG-Elongated Hexagon Emerald.

DG-Elongated Hexagon Amethyst: questions

Why does DG-Elongated Hexagon leak so much light in amethyst?

Partly by design: its back flat is a window, and our census counts the light through it as lost. Its 36.0° steps also sit below quartz's critical angle of 40.4°.

Is DG-Elongated Hexagon good for amethyst?

For a two-sided pendant, it can be: Face-up size 107 and Fire 64. Its light is the weak side: Brilliance 25, where the T73 scores 72.

What does a 6.5 mm wide DG-Elongated Hexagon amethyst weigh?

1.36 ct; the diamond version, 1.80 ct.

Get the DG-Elongated Hexagon Cut files

6 formatsMillimetresWatertight

DG-Elongated Hexagon Cut 3D files

The DG-Elongated Hexagon Cut as exact geometry: 32 planar facets, real-world scale, ready for CAD, rendering, printing and casting.

STEPExact faceted solid for CAD
3DMRhino, closed mesh on its own layer
STLWatertight mesh for printing and casting
OBJMesh for modelling and rendering
FBXBlender, 3ds Max, Maya, Cinema 4D, Unity, Unreal
GLBWeb, AR and quick previews

€9.99 · Personal useBuy the 3D files

GemCad96 index

DG-Elongated Hexagon Cut cutting files

The DG-Elongated Hexagon Cut as a faceting design: 26 + 6 girdles = 32 facets, 96 index, 2-fold mirror-image symmetry, ready for the machine.

.ascGemCad design file, 96 index gear
.csvTier table: angles, indices and cutting order
DiagramPrintable faceting diagram

€9.99 · Personal useBuy the cutting files

Questions before you buy? Email us.

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Amethyst: optical properties and the top ten cuts · The DG-Elongated Hexagon: specifications, model and files

DG-Elongated Hexagon Amethyst: a step cut finished on both sides, with more face per carat than the round