DG-M5 Cubic Zirconia: Pros, Cons & Fire

DG-M5 rings the table with twelve stars and twenty-four crown mains, and runs twenty-four pavilion mains at one angle, 41.49°, to a pointed culet. There are no halves. In all, 85 facets make up our model, which stands 60.6% deep.

It was drawn for moissanite. In CZ, which bends light less than diamond and far less than moissanite, it loses to the T73 on three of the four cut scores we count.

Against DG-M5 in diamond, CZ trades: more fire, less light, a steadier tilt.

How does DG-M5 do in cubic zirconia? Pros and cons

Pros

A little more sparkle than the T73 85 vs 80

Cons

Much heavier than diamond 1.62 vs 0.98 ct
Much less fire than the T73 in CZ 73 vs 87
More light out of the back 9 vs 1
Less light than the T73 in CZ 91 vs 98

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia and with the DG-M5 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-M5 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.

Global87, the comparison 93, difference −6
Brilliance91, the comparison 98, difference −7
Fire73, the comparison 87, difference −14
Scintillation85, the comparison 80, difference +5
Spread100, the comparison 100, difference 0
Symmetry100, the comparison 100, difference 0
Shape-norm98, the comparison 106, difference −8
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-M5 gives cubic zirconia

A little more sparkle than the T73

Scintillation 85 against 80 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: 5 points higher

Twenty-four crown mains and twelve stars divide the crown more finely than the T73's eight-fold plan, and our scintillation score rewards that division.

DG-M5 · 85 facets · Scintillation 85

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

Where DG-M5 falls short in CZ

Much heavier than diamond

1.62 ct at 6.5 mm, against 0.98 ct for the same cut in diamond (+65%)

CZ is the dense one of the pair: a DG-M5 in CZ carries 65% more weight than in diamond, purely from the material.

A DG-M5 6.5 mm across, weighed from the model's measured volume and each stone's specific gravity.

What helps: Choose the stone by its width.

Try it yourself: Weights in all seven gemstones on the DG-M5 page

Much less fire than the T73 in CZ

Fire 73 against 87 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: 14 points lower

With no halves, each pavilion main is long and broad, and the CZ render shows less colour than the T73 under the same light. It is still more than DG-M5 manages in diamond, 67.

Dg-m5 in cubic zirconia face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 73) — 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.

What helps: For fire in a round CZ, DG-Miliano Cubic Zirconia scores 90. Among our jewelry cuts the Oval Cut Cubic Zirconia reaches 96, at a large cost in light.

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

More light out of the back

Leakage 9 against 1 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: 8 points higher

9% leaks in our census, against 1% for the T73 in CZ. The single 41.49° angle sits above CZ's 38.1° guide minimum, so steepening it is not the remedy.