Triangle Cut Chrysoberyl: what our light census measures

Brilliance 33 · Fire 45 · Scintillation 34 · in our census, where the T73 scores 94 · 29 · 80 in chrysoberyl

How the Triangle Cut handles light in chrysoberyl, measured: brilliance 33, fire 45 and 41% leakage, set against the T73 in the same stone and against the same cut in diamond.

The Triangle Cut in chrysoberyl, face-up Light Return map from our tracer at refractive index 1.746: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, gray shows where it leaks
Light Return map of the Triangle 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.

Triangle 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 Triangle Cut in chrysoberyl live.

The Triangle Cut has 19 facets, a table of 60.0% of its width and a total depth of 55.4% of its width; its pavilion mains sit at 41.8°. In chrysoberyl, the census returns 33 of 100 for brilliance and 45 for fire, against 94 and 29 for the T73, our benchmark, in the same stone; the same Triangle Cut in diamond reads 53 and 86.

Is chrysoberyl good in a Triangle? Pros and cons, measured

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in chrysoberyl and with the Triangle 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 Triangle 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.

Performance wheel: Triangle Cut in chrysoberyl, against the T73 Round Brilliant in chrysoberyl as an outline. Solid white marks where it reaches further, hatching where it falls short. The scores are listed below.50100Global−21Brilliance−61Fire+16Scintillation−46Spread+4Symmetry0Shape-norm−58Tilt+25

Against the T73 Round Brilliant in chrysoberyl: ahead on 3, level on 1, behind on 4.

  • Global56, the comparison 77, difference −21
  • Brilliance33, the comparison 94, difference −61
  • Fire45, the comparison 29, difference +16
  • Scintillation34, the comparison 80, difference −46
  • Spread104, the comparison 100, difference +4
  • Symmetry100, the comparison 100, difference 0
  • Shape-norm43, the comparison 101, difference −58
  • Tilt100, the comparison 75, difference +25
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 Triangle Cut gains in chrysoberyl

Against the T73 in chrysoberyl and the same cut in diamond, no figure of the Triangle Cut is ahead by the thresholds above. Its figures are in the wheel and the FAQ; Chrysoberyl ranks every cut we score in chrysoberyl.

What the Triangle Cut gives up in chrysoberyl

Returns less light than the T73 in chrysoberyl

Brilliance 33 against 94 for the T73 Round Brilliant in chrysoberyl: 61 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 Triangle Cut returns 33 of 100 and the T73 94. The Triangle Cut's pavilion mains sit at 41.8°, the T73's at 40.8°. The maps below show where each stone's light returns from and where it leaks.

Triangle cut in chrysoberyl face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, gray shows where it leaks (Brilliance 33)

Triangle Cut in chrysoberyl · Brilliance 33

T73 round brilliant in chrysoberyl face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, gray shows where it leaks (Brilliance 94)

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 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

Fewer facets, less sparkle

Scintillation 34 against 80 for the T73 Round Brilliant in chrysoberyl: 46 points lower

Scintillation follows the number of facets the stone shows: 100 × (1 − e^(−facets / 45)). The Triangle Cut has 19 facets and the T73 73, so 34 against 80. It depends on the geometry alone, so it is the same in every stone.

Triangle Cut · 19 facets · Scintillation 34

T73 Round Brilliant · 73 facets · Scintillation 80

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 helps: the DG-Miliano reads 98 for scintillation in chrysoberyl, the best of the cuts we score there.

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

Less fire in chrysoberyl than in diamond

Fire 45 against 86 for the Triangle Cut in diamond: 41 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 Triangle Cut reads 45 against 86 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: the Triangle Cut in chrysoberyl under the sunny-day lighting.

What helps: the Oval Cut 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

Leaks more light than the T73 in chrysoberyl

Leakage 41 against 5 for the T73 Round Brilliant in chrysoberyl: 36 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 Triangle Cut leaks 41% 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.

Triangle Cut in chrysoberyl · Leakage 41

Triangle cut in chrysoberyl tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 37% of the face leaking0° · 37% leak
Triangle cut in chrysoberyl tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 32% of the face leaking10° · 32% leak
Triangle cut in chrysoberyl tilted 20 degrees: Light Return map, 34% of the face leaking20° · 34% leak
Triangle cut in chrysoberyl tilted 30 degrees: Light Return map, 30% of the face leaking30° · 30% leak

T73 Round Brilliant in chrysoberyl · Leakage 5

T73 round brilliant in chrysoberyl tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 1% of the face leaking0° · 1% leak
T73 round brilliant in chrysoberyl tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 11% of the face leaking10° · 11% leak
T73 round brilliant in chrysoberyl tilted 20 degrees: Light Return map, 28% of the face leaking20° · 28% leak
T73 round brilliant in chrysoberyl tilted 30 degrees: Light Return map, 30% of the face leaking30° · 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 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

Our verdict on the Triangle Cut in chrysoberyl

Against the T73 in chrysoberyl and the same cut in diamond, no figure of the Triangle Cut is ahead by our thresholds. The catch: it returns less light than the T73, has fewer facets to sparkle with, shows less fire than in diamond and leaks more light than the T73.

If that catch matters more to you, the DG-M5 reads 100 for brilliance 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 Triangle Cut model we traced.

Triangle Cut Chrysoberyl: questions

Is the Triangle a good cut for chrysoberyl?

In our census the Triangle Cut returns 33 of 100 for brilliance and 45 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 Triangle Cut's pavilion mains sit at 41.8°.

How much does a Triangle weigh in chrysoberyl?

At 6.5 mm across, 0.84 ct in chrysoberyl, against 0.79 ct for the same cut in diamond (+6%): chrysoberyl's specific gravity is 3.73, diamond's 3.52.

Can I see the Triangle 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 Triangle Cut files

6 formatsMillimetersWatertight

Triangle Cut 3D files

The Triangle Cut as exact geometry: 19 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 modeling and rendering
  • FBXBlender, 3ds Max, Maya, Cinema 4D, Unity, Unreal
  • GLBWeb, AR and quick previews
GemCad96 index

Triangle Cut cutting files

The Triangle Cut as a faceting design: 16 + 3 girdles = 19 facets, 96 index, 3-fold symmetry, ready for the machine.

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

Not sure the files open in your software? Get the cube free: the same six formats, for your email address, used only to send them (privacy).

Questions before you buy? Email us.

More gemstones and cuts

Chrysoberyl: optical properties and the top ten cuts · The Triangle Cut: specifications, model and files

Other cuts in chrysoberyl

The Triangle Cut in other gemstones