DG-Bowtie Cubic Zirconia: Pros, Cons & Fire

DG-Bowtie is the library's first marquise design, kept under its own name when our Marquise was remodelled. Our model has 87 facets, is 2.059 times as long as wide over a 42.0° pavilion, and is 93.8% deep: the deepest cut in our CZ census.

It is here to study beside the Marquise Cut Cubic Zirconia, and to render when a bow-tie is what you want to show. We have no bow-tie metric, so the band across its middle gets no number on this page.

Is DG-Bowtie worth cutting in cubic zirconia? Pros and cons

Cons

About a quarter of the T73's light 26 vs 98
Very heavy for its width 5.20 vs 3.16 ct
Two-fifths of the light leaks 41 vs 1
Loses more light when tipped 77 vs 87

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia and with the DG-Bowtie 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 DG-Bowtie 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 2, behind on 6.

Global63, the comparison 93, difference −30
Brilliance26, the comparison 98, difference −72
Fire90, the comparison 87, difference +3
Scintillation86, the comparison 80, difference +6
Spread87, the comparison 100, difference −13
Symmetry94, the comparison 100, difference −6
Shape-norm30, the comparison 106, difference −76
Tilt77, the comparison 87, difference −10

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 DG-Bowtie gives cubic zirconia

More fire than in diamond

Fire 90 against 82 for the DG-Bowtie in diamond: 8 points higher

The diamond version scores 82; in CZ it reaches 90, a few points above the T73 in CZ. With Brilliance at 26, the colour comes from a small share of the light that enters.

Dg-bowtie in cubic zirconia face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 90) — 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-bowtie in diamond 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.

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

More sparkle than the T73

Scintillation 86 against 80 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: 6 points higher

It has 87 facets against the T73's 73, and the score follows the count. It ties the remodelled Marquise, 86.

DG-Bowtie · 87 facets · Scintillation 86

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.

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

The catch with DG-Bowtie in CZ

About a quarter of the T73's light

Brilliance 26 against 98 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: 72 points lower

Only DG-Elongated Hexagon returns less among the cuts in our CZ census. The diamond version returns about the same, 27, so the cause lies in the design, not the stone.

Dg-bowtie in cubic zirconia face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 26) — 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: The remodelled Marquise Cut Cubic Zirconia returns 66 in the same kind of outline. For light first, DG-Rafaello Cubic Zirconia (100).

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

Very heavy for its width

5.20 ct at 6.5 mm, against 3.16 ct for the same cut in diamond (+65%)

At 93.8% deep there is a great deal of stone below the girdle: a DG-Bowtie 6.5 mm wide weighs 5.20 ct in CZ and 3.16 ct in diamond.

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

What helps: Compare it with other marquises by length and width, not weight.

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

Two-fifths of the light leaks

Leakage 41 against 1 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: 40 points higher

41% leaves through the back in our census, the third highest share in CZ, against 1% for the T73. The diamond version leaks 36%.

Dg-bowtie in cubic zirconia tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 48% 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-bowtie in cubic zirconia tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 45% 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: Steepening is not the fix: the pavilion is already 42.0°, above the 38.1° guide minimum. The Marquise Cut Cubic Zirconia leaks 20%.

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

Loses more light when tipped

Tilt 77 against 87 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: 10 points lower

At 20° it keeps 77 of its face-up light; the T73 keeps 87, and the diamond DG-Bowtie 83.

What helps: For light that holds as the stone tips, a round: the Old European Cut Cubic Zirconia keeps 91 at 20° in CZ.

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

Who DG-Bowtie in CZ suits

DG-Bowtie in CZ is a study piece: for setting beside the Marquise, for showing what a bow-tie is, and for renders that need one. As a stone to wear for its light, it is one of the weakest pairings we measure.

For a marquise to wear, choose the remodelled Marquise Cut Cubic Zirconia: more light, half the leak and a far larger face for its weight, 121 against 92.

DG-Bowtie Cubic Zirconia: questions

What is DG-Bowtie?

Our first marquise design, kept under its own name and 93.8% deep. Face-up it shows the dark band across the middle that elongated brilliants are prone to.

DG-Bowtie or Marquise in CZ?

Choose the Marquise. It returns 66 to DG-Bowtie's 26, leaks 20% to its 41%, and faces up 121 per carat to its 92. Scintillation is level.

Why is DG-Bowtie so heavy?

It is 93.8% deep, so a stone 6.5 mm wide weighs 5.20 ct in CZ.

Does DG-Bowtie have more fire in CZ than in diamond?

Yes: 90 against 82. It returns little light in either stone, 26 and 27.

Get the DG-Bowtie Cut files

6 formatsMillimetresWatertight

DG-Bowtie Cut 3D files

The DG-Bowtie Cut as exact geometry: 87 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

GemCad64 index

DG-Bowtie Cut cutting files

The DG-Bowtie Cut as a faceting design: 67 + 20 girdles = 87 facets, 64 index, 2-fold mirror-image symmetry, ready for the machine.

.ascGemCad design file, 64 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-Bowtie: specifications, model and files

DG-Bowtie Cubic Zirconia: more fire than in diamond, and more sparkle than the T73