Mazarin Cut Amethyst: Pros, Cons & Light Leakage

The Mazarin, or double cut, puts sixteen facets above the girdle and sixteen below on a cushion outline with an octagonal table. Our model has 42 facets, a 57.5% table, a 31.4° crown and a 44.33° pavilion, and it stands 68.8% deep.

The pavilion is steeper than amethyst's 40.4° guide minimum. Set against the same model in diamond, amethyst leaks more than three times the share of light and keeps under half the fire.

Among the historic cushions we measure in amethyst it returns the most light: 43, against 26 for the Peruzzi and 38 for the Old Mine.

How does amethyst fare in a Mazarin cut? Pros and cons

Pros

Lighter than the diamond Mazarin 1.00 vs 1.32 ct

Cons

Over half the light leaks 56 vs 17
Under half the diamond Mazarin's fire 28 vs 63
Less light than the T73 43 vs 72
Fewer flashes than a round 61 vs 80

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in amethyst and with the Mazarin Cut 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 Mazarin Cut 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 1, level on 1, behind on 6.

Global57, the comparison 70, difference −13
Brilliance43, the comparison 72, difference −29
Fire28, the comparison 36, difference −8
Scintillation61, the comparison 80, difference −19
Spread96, the comparison 100, difference −4
Symmetry100, the comparison 100, difference 0
Shape-norm46, the comparison 77, difference −31
Tilt98, the comparison 80, difference +18

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 a Mazarin cut

Lighter than the diamond Mazarin

1.00 ct at 6.5 mm, against 1.32 ct for the same cut in diamond (−25%)

With quartz at 2.65 in specific gravity and diamond at 3.52, a Mazarin of the same millimetres weighs a quarter less in amethyst.

A Mazarin Cut 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 Mazarin Cut page

The Mazarin's costs in amethyst

Over half the light leaks

Leakage 56 against 17 for the Mazarin Cut in diamond: 39 points higher

In diamond the Mazarin loses under a fifth of its light through the back; in quartz, more than half. The picture's diamond strip starts at about an eighth grey face-up and stays near a quarter once tipped.

Mazarin cut in amethyst tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 53% 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.

Mazarin cut in amethyst tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 57% 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: No steeper Mazarin has been measured, so we promise none. For an historic cut with less leakage, the Old European Cut Amethyst loses 41%.

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

Under half the diamond Mazarin's fire

Fire 28 against 63 for the Mazarin Cut in diamond: 35 points lower

The same broad crown facets score 63 for fire in diamond and 28 in quartz. In amethyst its fire also falls below the T73's.

Mazarin cut in amethyst face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 28) — 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.

Mazarin cut in diamond face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 63) — 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.

What helps: Among amethyst cuts within ten points of the T73's brilliance, the highest fire comes from DG-Anteros Amethyst, 54.

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

Less light than the T73

Brilliance 43 against 72 for the T73 Round Brilliant in amethyst: 29 points lower

A shallow 31.4° crown over a steep pavilion returns about three fifths of the round's light in quartz.

Mazarin cut in amethyst face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 43) — 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: For a cushion with far more light, the modern Cushion Cut Amethyst returns 69 in amethyst.

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

Fewer flashes than a round

Scintillation 61 against 80 for the T73 Round Brilliant in amethyst: 19 points lower

42 facets, girdle included, give our facet-count scintillation score less to count than the T73's 73.

Mazarin Cut · 42 facets · Scintillation 61

T73 Round Brilliant · 73 facets · Scintillation 80

Scintillation follows the number of facets: more facets, more and smaller flashes as the stone moves. Count the facets in each crown. Drawn from each cut's own model.

What helps: The Old Mine Cut Amethyst and the Peruzzi Cut Amethyst both score 81 for scintillation on a cushion, at a cost in light.

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

Who a Mazarin amethyst suits

The Mazarin suits period reproductions and anyone studying how the brilliant began. If you want a historic cushion in amethyst, it is the brightest of the three we measure.

If you want light first, the modern Cushion Cut Amethyst returns far more; for a historic round, the Old European Cut Amethyst.

Mazarin Cut Amethyst: questions

Is a Mazarin cut good for amethyst?

As a historic cushion, it is the brightest we measure in quartz: Brilliance 43. Against a modern round it trails: the T73 returns 72.

Mazarin or Peruzzi cut amethyst?

In amethyst, the Mazarin: more light (43 against 26), more fire (28 against 13) and less leakage (56% against 73%). The Peruzzi sparkles more.

How much light does a Mazarin amethyst leak?

Over half: 56% leaves through the pavilion in amethyst. The diamond Mazarin loses 17%, the T73 here 28%.

What does a 6.5 mm Mazarin amethyst weigh?

1.00 ct. A diamond Mazarin: 1.32 ct.

Get the Mazarin Cut files

6 formatsMillimetresWatertight

Mazarin Cut 3D files

The Mazarin Cut as exact geometry: 42 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

Mazarin Cut cutting files

The Mazarin Cut as a faceting design: 34 + 8 girdles = 42 facets, 96 index, 4-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.

More gemstones and cuts

Amethyst: optical properties and the top ten cuts · The Mazarin Cut: specifications, model and files

Mazarin Cut Amethyst: the brightest of our three historic cushions in quartz, a quarter lighter than diamond