Peruzzi Cut Cubic Zirconia: Pros, Cons & Fire

The Peruzzi has as many facets as a modern round, so it sparkles like one in any stone. In CZ it also gains fire over the diamond version, because CZ's dispersion is higher.

What it loses is light. In CZ its tall 46.0° crown and 46.22° pavilion let more light out of the back than in diamond: 30% against 19%.

Against the same cut in diamond, CZ keeps less light here than on any other of our CZ pages: Brilliance 67 against 75. The steep pavilion meets CZ's larger critical angle of 27.7°.

Its scintillation is the one figure that keeps pace: 81, level with the T73's 80 in CZ, because the two plans carry nearly the same number of facets.

Is CZ good in a Peruzzi cut? Pros and cons

Pros

More fire than in diamond 79 vs 68

Cons

Far heavier than diamond 2.17 vs 1.32 ct
A third less light than the T73 in CZ 67 vs 98
Nearly a third of the light leaks 30 vs 1
A less regular pavilion 85 vs 100

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia and with the Peruzzi Cut 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 Peruzzi 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: ahead on 2, behind on 6.

Global78, the comparison 93, difference −15
Brilliance67, the comparison 98, difference −31
Fire79, the comparison 87, difference −8
Scintillation81, the comparison 80, difference +1
Spread96, the comparison 100, difference −4
Symmetry85, the comparison 100, difference −15
Shape-norm105, the comparison 106, difference −1
Tilt100, the comparison 87, difference +13

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 cubic zirconia gains in a Peruzzi cut

More fire than in diamond

Fire 79 against 68 for the Peruzzi Cut in diamond: 11 points higher

The coloured flashes in the CZ render come from the material's higher dispersion, through the same facets.

Peruzzi cut in cubic zirconia face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 79) — 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.

Peruzzi cut in diamond face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 68) — 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

The catch with a Peruzzi CZ

Far heavier than diamond

2.17 ct at 6.5 mm, against 1.32 ct for the same cut in diamond (+65%)

The Peruzzi is deep already; in CZ, at a specific gravity of about 5.8, it is among the heaviest stones for its width on these pages.

A Peruzzi Cut 6.5 mm across, weighed from the model's measured volume and each stone's specific gravity.

What helps: None in the cut; set it by size.

Try it yourself: Weights in all seven gemstones on the Peruzzi Cut page

A third less light than the T73 in CZ

Brilliance 67 against 98 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: 31 points lower

Grey fills the corners and edges of the face-up map.

Peruzzi cut in cubic zirconia face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 67) — 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 modern Cushion Cut returns 88 in CZ.

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

Nearly a third of the light leaks

Leakage 30 against 1 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: 29 points higher

30% in our census: more than in diamond (19%), because CZ's lower refractive index lets more light through the steep pavilion.

Peruzzi cut in cubic zirconia tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 31% 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.

Peruzzi cut in cubic zirconia tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 27% 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: The Cushion Cut leaks 7% in CZ, the Old European Cut 7%.

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

A less regular pavilion

Symmetry 85 against 100 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: 15 points lower

The pavilion mixes facets of different sizes: Symmetry 85.

Peruzzi Cut · 74 facets · Symmetry 85

T73 Round Brilliant · 73 facets · Symmetry 100

Symmetry scores how regular the pavilion facets are within the design. Compare how evenly the facets repeat around each pavilion. Drawn from each cut's own model.

What helps: It is the design. The Old European Cut Cubic Zirconia scores 100.

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

Who a Peruzzi CZ suits

The Peruzzi in CZ suits a cutter learning the triple cut, or a setter trying the outline. As a finished CZ it is dimmer than a modern cushion.

For a brighter antique look in CZ, the Old European Cut Cubic Zirconia.

Weight matters more with a Peruzzi in CZ than with most cuts: at 69.1% deep it is a heavy outline already, so a 6.5 mm stone comes to 2.17 ct. Check the setting can carry it.

It does not out-fire the T73 in CZ, 79 against 87; the fire pro we list is against the same cut in diamond (68).

Peruzzi Cut Cubic Zirconia: questions

Does Peruzzi cut CZ sparkle?

Yes: scintillation 81, against 80 for the T73 in CZ.

Why does a Peruzzi leak more light in CZ than in diamond?

CZ bends light less than diamond, so more light meets the steep pavilion at an angle it can pass through: 30% against 19%.

Peruzzi or Mazarin cut in CZ?

The Peruzzi: Brilliance 67 against 62, Fire 79 against 77.

Peruzzi CZ or Old European CZ?

The Old European, for light: Brilliance 92 against 67, and leakage 7% against 30%. The Peruzzi keeps the cushion outline.

Get the Peruzzi Cut files

6 formatsMillimetresWatertight

Peruzzi Cut 3D files

The Peruzzi Cut as exact geometry: 74 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

Peruzzi Cut cutting files

The Peruzzi Cut as a faceting design: 58 + 16 girdles = 74 facets, 96 index, 4-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 Peruzzi Cut: specifications, model and files

Peruzzi Cut Cubic Zirconia: more fire than the same cut in diamond