DG-Anteros Cubic Zirconia: Pros, Cons & Light Return

DG-Anteros keeps the T73's facet plan and eases the crown and pavilion for moissanite. Our model has 73 facets, a 53.5% table, a 33.0° crown and a 40.1° pavilion.

Moissanite's refractive index is 2.648 to 2.691; CZ's is 2.15 to 2.18, below diamond's 2.417. Angles tuned to hold light in the strongest-bending of the three hold less in the weakest, and the census agrees.

What CZ adds is fire over the diamond version. It does not out-fire the T73 in CZ: 82 against 87.

Is DG-Anteros a good cut for cubic zirconia? Pros and cons

Pros

More fire than DG-Anteros in diamond 82 vs 74

Cons

Heavier than diamond 1.60 vs 0.97 ct
Less light than the T73 in CZ 92 vs 98
More light out of the back 7 vs 1

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia and with the DG-Anteros in diamond. A difference counts from 3 points (Brilliance, Fire, Tilt, Leakage), 5 (Scintillation, Symmetry), 2 (Spread) 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-Anteros 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: ahead on 1, level on 3, behind on 4.

Global89, the comparison 93, difference −4
Brilliance92, the comparison 98, difference −6
Fire82, the comparison 87, difference −5
Scintillation80, the comparison 80, difference 0
Spread101, the comparison 100, difference +1
Symmetry100, the comparison 100, difference 0
Shape-norm99, the comparison 106, difference −7
Tilt87, the comparison 87, difference 0

Face-up light census, a different measure from the Cut Grading Tool; Spread and Shape-norm above 100 sit on the ring.

Open it in the Cut Performance Wheel

What DG-Anteros gives cubic zirconia

More fire than DG-Anteros in diamond

Fire 82 against 74 for the DG-Anteros in diamond: 8 points higher

CZ spreads light into colour more than diamond, so the same facets throw more of it. Against the T73 in CZ the comparison flips; we count fire once, against diamond, where the gap is larger.

Dg-anteros in cubic zirconia face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 82) — 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-anteros in diamond face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 74) — 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

Why DG-Anteros is not the CZ round

Heavier than diamond

1.60 ct at 6.5 mm, against 0.97 ct for the same cut in diamond (+65%)

Like any CZ, about 65% heavier than a diamond of the same size. The cut has no part in it.

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

What helps: Pick it by millimetres.

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

Less light than the T73 in CZ

Brilliance 92 against 98 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: 6 points lower

In CZ the T73 sends nearly all its light back. DG-Anteros, tuned for a stronger-bending stone, sends some of it past the eye, and against so strong a baseline the gap is wide.

Dg-anteros in cubic zirconia face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 92) — 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 cubic zirconia face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 98) — 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: In CZ, DG-Rafaello Cubic Zirconia returns 100 and the T73 Round Brilliant Cubic Zirconia 98.

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

More light out of the back

Leakage 7 against 1 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: 6 points higher

7% of the light leaves through the pavilion in our census, against 1% for the T73 in CZ and 2% for this cut in diamond. Its 40.1° pavilion already clears CZ's 38.1° guide minimum, so a steeper one is not what the data points to.

Dg-anteros in cubic zirconia tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 6% 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-anteros in cubic zirconia tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 9% 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: Size does not change the share. DG-Rafaello Cubic Zirconia leaks 0% in CZ.

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

Who a DG-Anteros CZ suits

We would not choose DG-Anteros for a finished CZ. It is matched to moissanite, and every T-series round returns more light in this stone.

For CZ, the T73 Round Brilliant Cubic Zirconia or DG-Rafaello Cubic Zirconia. For the stone DG-Anteros was drawn for, see DG-Anteros Moissanite.

It still makes a sound practice stone: the facet plan is the T73's, only the angles differ, so a cutter can rehearse it in CZ before cutting moissanite.

DG-Anteros Cubic Zirconia: questions

Is DG-Anteros good for cubic zirconia?

Not the best choice: Brilliance 92 against 98 for the T73 in CZ, with 7% leakage against 1%.

Why is DG-Anteros dimmer in CZ than in diamond?

Its angles were solved for moissanite's higher refractive index; CZ's is lower even than diamond's. It returns 92 here and 95 in diamond.

Does DG-Anteros have more fire in CZ?

More than in diamond, 82 against 74; less than the T73 in CZ, at 87.

DG-Anteros or T73 for a CZ?

The T73: Brilliance 98 against 92, Fire 87 against 82, and 1% leakage against 7%. The facet plan is the same; only the angles differ.

Get the DG-Anteros Cut files

6 formatsMillimetresWatertight

DG-Anteros Cut 3D files

The DG-Anteros Cut as exact geometry: 73 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-Anteros Cut cutting files

The DG-Anteros Cut as a faceting design: 57 + 16 girdles = 73 facets, 96 index, 8-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

Cubic Zirconia: optical properties and the top ten cuts · The DG-Anteros: specifications, model and files

DG-Anteros Cubic Zirconia: a moissanite round, with more fire than in diamond