Brilliance 46 · Fire 81 · Scintillation 43 · in our census, where the T73 scores 98 · 87 · 80 in cubic zirconia
A slim step cut of 21 facets. In CZ it throws far more colour than the diamond baguette, and returns less than half the light of the T73.
The baguette is a long rectangle of steps. Our model has 21 facets, a 32.37° pavilion and a length 1.974 times its width, and it is 66.8% deep. It is the classic side stone, and the building block of channel-set bands.
Two things go its way in CZ: colour, and the face it shows for its weight. Light, sparkle and the regularity of its pavilion all trail the T73 by wide margins, and the stone is heavy, as every CZ is.
Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia and with the Baguette 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.
At a glance: the Baguette Cut in cubic zirconia (white) against the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia (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 cubic zirconia: behind on 8.
Fire 81 against 62 for the Baguette Cut in diamond: 19 points higher
Same model, different material: the census swaps the whole stone, and the CZ baguette's colour rises well above the diamond's. Together with the radiant square, this is the largest fire gain over diamond of any cut in our CZ census. It still sits under the T73 in CZ, at 87.
Baguette Cut in cubic zirconia · Fire 81
Baguette Cut in diamond · Fire 62
Face-up size 108 against 100 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia (T73 = 100): 8% more face-up area for the same weight
Face-up size comes from the model's own outline, area per carat with the T73 at 100. The baguette is deeper than the T73, 66.8% against 61.7%, so the gain is the long rectangular outline, not a shallow build.
Baguette Cut · 7.08 x 3.58 mm at 1.00 ct · Face-up size 108
T73 Round Brilliant · 5.49 mm at 1.00 ct · Face-up size 100
Try it yourself: See its size at 1.00 ct in cubic zirconia in the 3D Gemstone Simulator
5.99 ct at 6.5 mm, against 3.64 ct for the same cut in diamond (+65%)
CZ has a specific gravity of about 5.8, diamond 3.52. A baguette 6.5 mm wide is 1.974 times as long, so in CZ it comes to 5.99 ct where the diamond weighs 3.64 ct.
What helps: Specify it in millimetres, length by width, rather than in carats.
Try it yourself: Weights in all seven gemstones on the Baguette Cut page
Symmetry 39 against 100 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: 61 points lower
The symmetry score asks one thing: how evenly do the pavilion facets repeat? The baguette's do so less evenly than any other cut we measure in CZ, at 39. The diamond baguette scores the same, because the score belongs to the design.
Baguette Cut · 21 facets · Symmetry 39
T73 Round Brilliant · 73 facets · Symmetry 100
What helps: This is the design, not poor cutting. The Rectangle Cut Cubic Zirconia keeps straight sides and steps, and scores 100.
Try it yourself: Compare the Symmetry spoke in the Cut Performance Wheel
Brilliance 46 against 98 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: 52 points lower
The pavilion is 32.37°, below the 38.1° guide minimum we give for round designs, and 38% of the light leaves through the back. In diamond the same baguette returns less still, 40.
Baguette Cut in cubic zirconia · Brilliance 46
T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia · Brilliance 98
What helps: We have not measured a steeper baguette and promise nothing from one. In a long step outline, the Emerald Cut Cubic Zirconia returns 59; for the most light in CZ, DG-Rafaello Cubic Zirconia returns 100.
Try it yourself: Open this Light Return map in the simulator
Scintillation 43 against 80 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: 37 points lower
Scintillation tracks the number of facets, and 21 is a small number beside the T73's 73. Only one cut in our CZ census scores lower.
Baguette Cut · 21 facets · Scintillation 43
T73 Round Brilliant · 73 facets · Scintillation 80
What helps: Sparkle here is a matter of facet count, which no angle changes. The Emerald Cut Cubic Zirconia keeps the step look and scores 72.
Try it yourself: Compare the Scintillation spoke in the Cut Performance Wheel
Choose a CZ baguette as a side stone or in a channel-set band, where clean lines and colour matter more than the light it returns. Beside the diamond baguette, CZ wins on fire and returns a little more light, 46 against 40; the diamond holds its light better as it tips, 100 against 83.
If the stone is the centre of attention, pick something else: the Emerald Cut Cubic Zirconia for a long step cut with more light, or the T73 Round Brilliant Cubic Zirconia when light comes first.
For colour, yes: Fire 81 where the diamond baguette scores 62. For light it is weak, Brilliance 46 against 98 for the T73 in CZ.
Not much. With 21 facets they score 43 for scintillation, and the T73 scores 80.
5.99 ct, against 3.64 ct in diamond. Our model is 1.974 times as long as it is wide, so 6.5 mm wide makes a large baguette.
CZ has the fire, 81 against 62. Diamond is lighter, harder (10 against 8 to 8.5) and steadier when tipped. Both lose 38% of the light through the back in our census.
The Baguette Cut as exact geometry: 21 planar facets, real-world scale, ready for CAD, rendering, printing and casting.
The Baguette Cut as a faceting design: 17 + 4 girdles = 21 facets, 96 index, 2-fold mirror-image symmetry, ready for the machine.
Questions before you buy? Email us.
Cubic Zirconia: optical properties and the top ten cuts · The Baguette Cut: specifications, model and files