Trilliant Cut Cubic Zirconia: Pros, Cons & Fire

The trilliant is a three-sided brilliant with straight sides, often used as a pair of side stones. Measured, our trilliant's pavilion runs at 39.0° and the stone is 58.9% deep from table to culet.

Its fire, 94, is among the highest we measure in CZ. What it lacks is a round's regularity and some of its light: a three-fold outline cannot repeat its pavilion facets the way an eight-fold round does.

Is a trilliant a good shape for CZ? Pros and cons

Pros

More fire than the diamond trilliant 94 vs 83

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia and with the Trilliant 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 Trilliant 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 3, behind on 5.

Global84, the comparison 93, difference −9
Brilliance84, the comparison 98, difference −14
Fire94, the comparison 87, difference +7
Scintillation79, the comparison 80, difference −1
Spread101, the comparison 100, difference +1
Symmetry62, the comparison 100, difference −38
Shape-norm97, the comparison 106, difference −9
Tilt88, the comparison 87, difference +1

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 the trilliant gives cubic zirconia

More fire than the diamond trilliant

Fire 94 against 83 for the Trilliant Cut in diamond: 11 points higher

CZ's stronger dispersion lifts the same facets above the diamond version, and the trilliant clears the T73 in CZ as well, at 87. The renders show the extra colour.

Trilliant cut in cubic zirconia face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 94) — 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.

Trilliant cut in diamond face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 83) — 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 trilliant CZ

Heavier than diamond

1.58 ct at 6.5 mm, against 0.96 ct for the same cut in diamond (+65%)

A trilliant 6.5 mm across weighs 1.58 ct in CZ and 0.96 ct in diamond; the difference is all material.

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

What helps: Measure side stones in millimetres.

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

A much less regular pavilion

Symmetry 62 against 100 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: 38 points lower

Our symmetry score measures how evenly pavilion facets repeat around the stone. Straight sides and sharp corners cannot repeat them as evenly as a round; the pavilion diagram shows why.

Trilliant Cut · 70 facets · Symmetry 62

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: This is the design, not poor cutting. The Trillion Cut Cubic Zirconia, with gently curved sides, scores 100 in our model.

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

Less light than the T73 in CZ

Brilliance 84 against 98 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: 14 points lower

Light reaching the trilliant's corners meets the pavilion at awkward angles. Against a T73 that returns almost everything in CZ, the shortfall is wide.

Trilliant 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 84) — 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: For more light, a round: DG-Rafaello Cubic Zirconia returns 100 in CZ.

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

About a ninth of the light leaks

Leakage 11 against 1 for the T73 Round Brilliant in cubic zirconia: 10 points higher

11% escapes through the pavilion in our census, exactly the share the trilliant loses in diamond. The T73 in CZ loses 1%.

Trilliant cut in cubic zirconia tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 13% 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.

Trilliant cut in cubic zirconia tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 13% 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: A smaller trilliant leaks the same share. DG-Rafaello Cubic Zirconia leaks 0%.

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

Who a trilliant CZ suits

For side stones that should flash colour, the trilliant is a strong CZ choice: more fire than a modern round, in a graphic outline. Protect its points in the setting.

For a three-sided stone with a regular pavilion and wider spread, the Trillion Cut Cubic Zirconia; for light in a centre stone, the T73 Round Brilliant Cubic Zirconia.

Of our two three-sided cuts in CZ, the trilliant is the brighter: 84 against 73 for the trillion.

Against the trilliant in diamond, CZ returns a little more light (84 against 78) and holds it about as well when tipped (88 against 89).

Trilliant Cut Cubic Zirconia: questions

Is a trilliant cut good for cubic zirconia?

For fire, yes: 94, more than the T73 in CZ (87). For light, less: Brilliance 84 against 98.

Trilliant or trillion in CZ?

The trilliant returns more light (84 against 73) and leaks less (11% against 14%). The trillion is more regular and faces up larger for its weight.

Why does a trilliant score low on symmetry?

Its straight sides cannot repeat pavilion facets as evenly as a round: Symmetry 62 against 100 for the T73.

What does a 6.5 mm trilliant CZ weigh?

1.58 ct in our model; the same outline in diamond comes to 0.96 ct.

Get the Trilliant Cut files

6 formatsMillimetresWatertight

Trilliant Cut 3D files

The Trilliant Cut as exact geometry: 72 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

Trilliant Cut cutting files

The Trilliant Cut as a faceting design: 58 + 12 girdles = 70 facets, 96 index, 3-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 Trilliant Cut: specifications, model and files

Trilliant Cut Cubic Zirconia: more fire than a modern round, in three straight sides