DG-Elongated Hexagon Cubic Zirconia: Pros, Cons & Fire

DG-Elongated Hexagon is an elongated hexagon with square points, 1.7 to 1, step cut alike on both faces: two steps either side of a six-facet girdle, a 50.0% table in front and a flat of the same size behind. It has 32 facets and is 45.3% deep, the shallowest cut in our CZ census.

Census note: its back flat is a window by design. The cut page leaves it out of the head-on figures, and the census counts the light through it as lost. Read its brilliance and leakage with that in mind.

It was drawn for emerald, and its two finished faces suit pendants and open settings where the back is on show.

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

Pros

The most fire we measure in CZ 97 vs 87
A little more face for its weight 107 vs 100

Cons

The least light of any cut we measure in CZ 16 vs 98
Over two-thirds of the light leaks 69 vs 1
Heavier than diamond 2.97 vs 1.80 ct
Fewer flashes than a round 51 vs 80

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia and with the DG-Elongated Hexagon 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-Elongated Hexagon 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.

Global53, the comparison 93, difference −40
Brilliance16, the comparison 98, difference −82
Fire97, the comparison 87, difference +10
Scintillation51, the comparison 80, difference −29
Spread111, the comparison 100, difference +11
Symmetry73, the comparison 100, difference −27
Shape-norm22, the comparison 106, difference −84
Tilt80, the comparison 87, difference −7

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-Elongated Hexagon gives cubic zirconia

The most fire we measure in CZ

Fire 97 against 87 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: 10 points higher

Fire 97 tops every cut in our CZ census and matches the same design in diamond, 97. It is colour from a small amount of light: with Brilliance at 16, little of what enters comes back to the eye at all.

Dg-elongated hexagon in cubic zirconia face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 97) — 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.

T73 round brilliant in cubic zirconia face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 87) — 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

A little more face for its weight

Face-up size 107 against 100 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia (T73 = 100): 7% more face-up area for the same weight

Measured from its outline, it covers 107 per carat against the T73's 100. At 45.3% deep it carries less weight under its face than the round, at 61.7%.

DG-Elongated Hexagon · 7.69 x 4.52 mm at 1.00 ct · Face-up size 107

T73 Round Brilliant · 5.49 mm at 1.00 ct · Face-up size 100

Both stones weigh 1.00 ct in cubic zirconia and are drawn to the same scale in millimetres, from each cut's own model. Face-up size is the outline's area per carat, with the T73 at 100: a deeper stone, or a rounder outline, spreads less area for its weight.

Try it yourself: See its size at 1.00 ct in cubic zirconia in the 3D Gemstone Simulator

The catch with DG-Elongated Hexagon in CZ

The least light of any cut we measure in CZ

Brilliance 16 against 98 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: 82 points lower

Brilliance 16 against 98 for the T73. The census counts the light through the back window as lost, and that flat is as large as the table.

Dg-elongated hexagon in cubic zirconia face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 16) — 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 window is the design; closing it would make a different cut. Among long step outlines in CZ, the Emerald Cut Cubic Zirconia keeps far more light: 59.

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

Over two-thirds of the light leaks

Leakage 69 against 1 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: 68 points higher

69% in our census, the highest share of any cut we measure in CZ; the diamond version loses 73%. Rays that meet the back flat square on pass straight through it.

Dg-elongated hexagon in cubic zirconia tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 74% 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-elongated hexagon in cubic zirconia tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 74% 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 changes nothing, and the window stays a window. The Emerald Cut Cubic Zirconia leaks 25%.

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

Heavier than diamond

2.97 ct at 6.5 mm, against 1.80 ct for the same cut in diamond (+65%)

Shallow as it is, CZ's density still tells: 6.5 mm wide, it weighs 2.97 ct here and 1.80 ct in diamond.

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

What helps: Specify it by length and width.

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

Fewer flashes than a round

Scintillation 51 against 80 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: 29 points lower

32 facets, mostly steps, against the T73's 73: Scintillation 51 against 80, and the diamond version scores the same.

DG-Elongated Hexagon · 32 facets · Scintillation 51

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.

What helps: This is the step plan. For more sparkle in a long outline, the Marquise Cut Cubic Zirconia scores 86.

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

Who DG-Elongated Hexagon in CZ suits

Choose DG-Elongated Hexagon for a pendant or an open setting where both faces show, and for colour rather than light. By our measure it is a weak stone for light in CZ, partly by design.

If light matters, the Emerald Cut Cubic Zirconia gives a long step outline with far more of it; for the most light in CZ, DG-Rafaello Cubic Zirconia.

DG-Elongated Hexagon Cubic Zirconia: questions

Why does DG-Elongated Hexagon score so low for brilliance?

Its back flat is a window by design, and our census counts the light through it as lost: Brilliance 16, with 69% leaking.

Does DG-Elongated Hexagon have the most fire in CZ?

Yes, 97, the highest of the cuts we measure in CZ. It comes with very little returned light.

Can DG-Elongated Hexagon be seen from both sides?

Yes: both faces are finished, so it reads the same from either side.

What does a 6.5 mm wide DG-Elongated Hexagon CZ weigh?

2.97 ct, against 1.80 ct in diamond.

Get the DG-Elongated Hexagon Cut files

6 formatsMillimetresWatertight

DG-Elongated Hexagon Cut 3D files

The DG-Elongated Hexagon Cut as exact geometry: 32 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-Elongated Hexagon Cut cutting files

The DG-Elongated Hexagon Cut as a faceting design: 26 + 6 girdles = 32 facets, 96 index, 2-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.

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

DG-Elongated Hexagon Cubic Zirconia: the most fire we measure here, from very little light