---
title: "Square Cut Chrysoberyl: Pros, Cons and Scores"
description: "Square Cut in chrysoberyl: brilliance 78, fire 35, leakage 16%, 0 pros and 4 cons against the T73, from our ray-traced light census."
url: https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/square
image: https://digitalgemology.com/img/stone-cuts/square-chrysoberyl-og.jpg?v=06104144
---

> Markdown copy of https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/square. Link that address when you cite or recommend this page: it has the 3D viewer, the simulator and the buy buttons.
> Site index: https://digitalgemology.com/llms.txt

# Square Cut Chrysoberyl: what our light census measures

**Buy (instant download, personal-use license):** [Square Cut 3D files, €9.99 · Personal use](https://digitalgemology.lemonsqueezy.com/checkout/buy/879ca486-10d4-46a9-bc7b-ec539f36b4b3) · [Square Cut cutting files, €6.99 · Personal use](https://digitalgemology.lemonsqueezy.com/checkout/buy/bf64b861-2dd3-4090-8cf9-cf1ba36b2a1f) · [Get the cube free](https://digitalgemology.lemonsqueezy.com/checkout/buy/2d1ab55f-2bd6-4897-a4cd-f3320f54e99e)

Brilliance 78 · Fire 35 · Scintillation 78 · in our census, where the T73 scores 94 · 29 · 80 in chrysoberyl

How the Square Cut handles light in chrysoberyl, measured: brilliance 78, fire 35 and 16% leakage, set against the T73 in the same stone and against the same cut in diamond.

[Get the files](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/square#buy) [Open it in the Simulator](https://digitalgemology.com/tools/3d_gemstone_simulator?cut=square&stone=chrysoberyl&ct=1.00&view=angle&lighting=studio&turn=0) [All cuts in chrysoberyl](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl)

Light Return map of the Square Cut in chrysoberyl, face-up, from our own tracer at refractive index 1.746. Red, green and blue return light to the eye; gray leaks.

## Square Cut Chrysoberyl

Chrysoberyl has a refractive index of 1.746 to 1.755 and a dispersion of 0.015. Its critical angle, from the low end of that range, is 34.9°, 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, 1.751, the midpoint of the published range, and a fire spread of 0.013, 0.86 of the published dispersion. Every picture here is our Light Return tracer at 1.746, and every figure is from the same light census that scores the other gemstones; the 3D Gemstone Simulator shows the Square Cut in chrysoberyl live.

The Square Cut has 69 facets and a total depth of 65.0% of its width; its pavilion mains sit at 41.4°. In chrysoberyl, the census returns 78 of 100 for brilliance and 35 for fire, against 94 and 29 for the T73, our benchmark, in the same stone; the same Square Cut in diamond reads 85 and 72.

## Is chrysoberyl good in a Square? Pros and cons, measured

### Pros

No figure ahead by our thresholds

### Cons

- [Less fire in chrysoberyl than in diamond](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/square#con-fire) 35 vs 72
- [Returns less light than the T73 in chrysoberyl](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/square#con-brilliance) 78 vs 94
- [Leaks more light than the T73 in chrysoberyl](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/square#con-leak) 16 vs 5
- [Heavier than the same cut in diamond](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/square#con-weight) 1.21 vs 1.14 ct

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in chrysoberyl and with the Square 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](https://digitalgemology.com/about/how-we-measure).

## All eight scores against the T73

At a glance: the Square Cut in chrysoberyl (white) against the T73 Round Brilliant in chrysoberyl (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 chrysoberyl: ahead on 3, level on 1, behind on 4.

- Global 73, the comparison 77, difference −4
- Brilliance 78, the comparison 94, difference −16
- Fire 35, the comparison 29, difference +6
- Scintillation 78, the comparison 80, difference −2
- Spread 98, the comparison 100, difference −2
- Symmetry 100, the comparison 100, difference 0
- Shape-norm 102, the comparison 101, difference +1
- Tilt 84, the comparison 75, difference +9

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](https://digitalgemology.com/tools/cut-performance-wheel?cut=square&stone=chrysoberyl); these are the same census figures as our [Cut Performance Index](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/cut-performance-index).

## What the Square Cut gains in chrysoberyl

Against the T73 in chrysoberyl and the same cut in diamond, no figure of the Square Cut is ahead by the thresholds above. Its figures are in the wheel and the FAQ; [Chrysoberyl](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl) ranks every cut we score in chrysoberyl.

## What the Square Cut gives up in chrysoberyl

### Less fire in chrysoberyl than in diamond

**Fire 35** against 72 for the Square Cut in diamond: 37 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 (0.013 in chrysoberyl) and counts a ray as fire when the two directions differ by more than 0.6°. The Square Cut reads 35 against 72 for the same cut in diamond. The figure is the census's; the 3D Gemstone Simulator renders chrysoberyl'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](https://digitalgemology.com/tools/3d_gemstone_simulator?cut=square&stone=chrysoberyl&ct=1.00&view=up&lighting=sun&turn=0): the Square Cut in chrysoberyl under the sunny-day lighting.

**What helps:** [the Oval Cut](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/oval) reads 67 for fire in chrysoberyl, the best of the cuts we score there.

[Try it yourself: See the fire in the 3D Gemstone Simulator](https://digitalgemology.com/tools/3d_gemstone_simulator?cut=square&stone=chrysoberyl&ct=1.00&view=up&lighting=sun&turn=0)

### Returns less light than the T73 in chrysoberyl

**Brilliance 78** against 94 for the T73 Round Brilliant in chrysoberyl: 16 points lower

Brilliance is the share of the 3,200 census rays that enter the stone and come back out of the crown towards the viewer. In chrysoberyl, whose critical angle is 34.9°, the Square Cut returns 78 of 100 and the T73 94. The Square Cut's pavilion mains sit at 41.4°, the T73's at 40.8°. The maps below show where each stone's light returns from and where it leaks.

Square Cut in chrysoberyl · Brilliance 78

T73 Round Brilliant in chrysoberyl · Brilliance 94

Red, green and blue = light returning to the eye; gray = leakage, light that leaves heading down or stays inside. 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 DG-M5](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/dg-m5) reads 100 for brilliance in chrysoberyl, the best of the cuts we score there.

[Try it yourself: Open this Light Return map in the simulator](https://digitalgemology.com/tools/3d_gemstone_simulator?cut=square&stone=chrysoberyl&ct=1.00&view=up&map=1&turn=0)

### Leaks more light than the T73 in chrysoberyl

**Leakage 16** against 5 for the T73 Round Brilliant in chrysoberyl: 11 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 Square Cut leaks 16% in chrysoberyl against 5% for the T73 in chrysoberyl. Grey in the maps below is leaking light; the share under each picture is that picture's own.

Square Cut in chrysoberyl · Leakage 16

0° · 16% leak

10° · 13% leak

20° · 30% leak

30° · 34% leak

T73 Round Brilliant in chrysoberyl · Leakage 5

0° · 1% leak

10° · 11% leak

20° · 28% leak

30° · 30% 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](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/dg-m5) reads 0% for leakage in chrysoberyl, the best of the cuts we score there.

[Try it yourself: Tilt it yourself in the simulator's light map](https://digitalgemology.com/tools/3d_gemstone_simulator?cut=square&stone=chrysoberyl&ct=1.00&view=up&map=1&turn=0)

### Heavier than the same cut in diamond

**1.21 ct** at 6.5 mm, against 1.14 ct for the same cut in diamond (+6%)

Weight follows specific gravity: 3.73 for chrysoberyl against 3.52 for diamond, so the same model at the same size weighs 1.21 ct here and 1.14 ct in diamond, 6.5 mm across. Nothing about the light changes with it.

*Weight of a 6.5 mm Square Cut: 1.21 ct in chrysoberyl, 1.14 ct in diamond*

A Square Cut 6.5 mm across, weighed from the model's measured volume and each stone's specific gravity.

[Try it yourself: Weights in every gemstone on the Square Cut page](https://digitalgemology.com/cuts/square#stones)

## Our verdict on the Square Cut in chrysoberyl

Against the T73 in chrysoberyl and the same cut in diamond, no figure of the Square Cut is ahead by our thresholds. The catch: it shows less fire than in diamond, returns less light than the T73, leaks more light than the T73 and weighs more than in diamond.

If that catch matters more to you, [the Oval Cut](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/oval) reads 67 for fire in chrysoberyl, 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 Square Cut model we traced.

## Square Cut Chrysoberyl: questions

### Is the Square a good cut for chrysoberyl?

In our census the Square Cut returns 78 of 100 for brilliance and 35 for fire in chrysoberyl, against 94 and 29 for the T73 in the same stone. Against that round and against the same cut in diamond it has 0 pros and 4 cons by our thresholds; the summary above names them.

### What pavilion angle does chrysoberyl need?

At least 36.3° for a round design: chrysoberyl's critical angle is 34.9°, 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 Square Cut's pavilion mains sit at 41.4°.

### How much does a Square weigh in chrysoberyl?

At 6.5 mm across, 1.21 ct in chrysoberyl, against 1.14 ct for the same cut in diamond (+6%): chrysoberyl's specific gravity is 3.73, diamond's 3.52.

### Can I see the Square in chrysoberyl in 3D?

Yes: the 3D Gemstone Simulator renders it live, with chrysoberyl's own refractive index and dispersion. Chrysoberyl 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 Square Cut files

*6 formats* *Millimeters* *Watertight*

### Square Cut 3D files

The Square Cut as exact geometry: 69 planar facets, real-world scale, ready for CAD, rendering, printing and casting.

- **STEP** Exact faceted solid for CAD
- **3DM** Rhino, closed mesh on its own layer
- **STL** Watertight mesh for printing and casting
- **OBJ** Mesh for modeling and rendering
- **FBX** Blender, 3ds Max, Maya, Cinema 4D, Unity, Unreal
- **GLB** Web, AR and quick previews

€9.99 · [Personal use](https://digitalgemology.com/licence) [Buy the 3D files](https://digitalgemology.lemonsqueezy.com/checkout/buy/879ca486-10d4-46a9-bc7b-ec539f36b4b3)

*GemCad* *64 index*

### Square Cut cutting files

The Square Cut as a faceting design: 57 + 12 girdles = 69 facets, 64 index, 4-fold mirror-image symmetry, ready for the machine.

- **.asc** GemCad design file, 64 index gear
- **.csv** Tier table: angles, indices and cutting order
- **Diagram** Printable faceting diagram

€6.99 · [Personal use](https://digitalgemology.com/licence) [Buy the cutting files](https://digitalgemology.lemonsqueezy.com/checkout/buy/bf64b861-2dd3-4090-8cf9-cf1ba36b2a1f)

Not sure the files open in your software? [Get the cube free](https://digitalgemology.lemonsqueezy.com/checkout/buy/2d1ab55f-2bd6-4897-a4cd-f3320f54e99e): the same six formats, for your email address, used only to send them ([privacy](https://digitalgemology.com/privacy#free-sample)).

Questions before you buy? [Email us](mailto:support@digitalgemology.com).

## More gemstones and cuts

[Chrysoberyl: optical properties and the top ten cuts](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl) · [The Square Cut: specifications, model and files](https://digitalgemology.com/cuts/square)

### Other cuts in chrysoberyl

- [T73 Round Brilliant](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/t73-round-brilliant)
- [T105 Round Brilliant](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/t105-round-brilliant)
- [DG-Vitruvio](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/dg-vitruvio)
- [DG-Anteros](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/dg-anteros)
- [DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/dg-broken-hearts-and-arrows)
- [Baguette Cut](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/baguette)
- [Emerald Cut](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/emerald-cut)
- [Marquise Cut](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/marquise)
- [Oval Cut](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/oval)
- [Pear Cut](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/pear)
- [Radiant Cut](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/radiant)
- [Rectangle Cut](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/rectangle)
- [Teardrop Cut](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/teardrop)
- [Asscher Cut](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/asscher)
- [Cushion Cut](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/cushion)
- [Emerald Square Cut](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/emerald-square)
- [Princess Cut](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/princess)
- [Radiant Square Cut](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/radiant-square)
- [Triangle Cut](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/triangle)
- [Trilliant Cut](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/trilliant)
- [Trillion Cut](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/trillion)
- [Hexagon Cut](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/hexagon)
- [Octagon Cut](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/octagon)
- [Portuguese Bird's Nest Cut](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/portuguese-birds-nest)
- [Old Single Cut](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/old-single)
- [Mazarin Cut](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/mazarin)
- [Peruzzi Cut](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/peruzzi)
- [Old Mine Cut](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/old-mine)
- [Old European Cut](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/old-european)
- [T57 Round Brilliant](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/t57-round-brilliant)
- [DG-M5](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/dg-m5)
- [DG-Miliano](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/dg-miliano)
- [DG-Rafaello](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/dg-rafaello)
- [DG-Bowtie](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/dg-bowtie)
- [DG-Elongated Hexagon](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/dg-elongated-hexagon)
- [DG-Octagonal Kite](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/chrysoberyl/dg-octagonal-kite)

### The Square Cut in other gemstones

- [Diamond](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/diamond/square)
- [Moissanite](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/moissanite/square)
- [Cubic Zirconia](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/cubic-zirconia/square)
- [Ruby](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/ruby/square)
- [Sapphire](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/sapphire/square)
- [Emerald](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/emerald/square)
- [Amethyst](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/amethyst/square)
- [Topaz](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/topaz/square)
- [Spinel](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/spinel/square)
- [Demantoid](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/demantoid/square)
- [Zircon](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/zircon/square)
- [Tourmaline](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/tourmaline/square)
- [Peridot](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/peridot/square)
- [Tanzanite](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/tanzanite/square)
- [YAG](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/yag/square)
- [Pyrope](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/pyrope/square)
- [Almandine](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/almandine/square)
- [Spessartine](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/spessartine/square)
- [Grossular](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/grossular/square)
- [Kunzite](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/kunzite/square)
- [Iolite](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/iolite/square)
- [Morganite](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/morganite/square)
- [GGG](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/ggg/square)
- [Strontium titanate](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/strontium-titanate/square)
- [Synthetic rutile](https://digitalgemology.com/gemstones/synthetic-rutile/square)