Rendered in our 3D Gemstone Simulator from the Baguette Cut model, 1.00 ct, studio light.
Baguette Cut Diamond
A baguette is a step cut on a slim rectangle: rows of long facets running parallel to its edges, and few of them. Our model has 21 facets, a 32.37° pavilion and a depth of 66.8%, and it is 1.974 times as long as it is wide.
Measured in diamond beside the T73 Round Brilliant, it wins on one score, face-up size, and loses on five, all by wide margins: the four set out below, and fire, 62 against 78, level with the radiant square for the least we measure in diamond.
Its Tilt reads 100, the top of the scale. We count Tilt as a pro only for a stone whose brilliance is close to the round's, and this one's is not.
Is a baguette a good cut for diamond? Pros and cons
Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant 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 Baguette Cut in diamond (white) against the T73 Round Brilliant in diamond (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 diamond: ahead on 1, behind on 7.
Global57, the comparison 90, difference −33
Brilliance40, the comparison 93, difference −53
Fire62, the comparison 78, difference −16
Scintillation43, the comparison 80, difference −37
Spread97, the comparison 100, difference −3
Symmetry39, the comparison 100, difference −61
Shape-norm53, the comparison 100, difference −47
Tilt100, the comparison 92, difference +8
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.
Face-up size 108 against 100 for the T73 Round Brilliant in diamond (T73 = 100): 8% more face-up area for the same weight
Drawn at the same weight beside the T73, the baguette's outline covers slightly more area. It manages that while standing deeper than the round, 66.8% against 61.7%.
Baguette Cut · 8.35 x 4.23 mm at 1.00 ct · Face-up size 108
T73 Round Brilliant · 6.48 mm at 1.00 ct · Face-up size 100
Both stones weigh 1.00 ct in diamond 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.
Symmetry 39 against 100 for the T73 Round Brilliant in diamond: 61 points lower
Our symmetry score sorts the pavilion facets into families by angle and asks how evenly each family sits around the centre. The baguette scores lower than any other cut we measure. On a stone this long, facets of one angle lie close to the centre along the sides and far from it at the ends.
Baguette Cut · 21 facets · Symmetry 39
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 Rectangle Cut Diamond, wider for its length, keeps a rectangular step cut whose pavilion scores 100.
Brilliance 40 against 93 for the T73 Round Brilliant in diamond: 53 points lower
Only three cuts we measure in diamond return less: the radiant, DG-Bowtie and DG-Elongated Hexagon. Its pavilion, at 32.37°, sits well under the 38.9° guide minimum we use for round designs, and 21 facets give few surfaces to turn light back up.
Baguette Cut in diamond · Brilliance 40
T73 Round Brilliant in diamond · Brilliance 93
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: Among rectangular step cuts in diamond, the Emerald Cut Diamond returns 55 and the Rectangle Cut Diamond 50. We have not measured a steeper baguette, so we cannot say what other angles would recover.
Scintillation 43 against 80 for the T73 Round Brilliant in diamond: 37 points lower
Scintillation is read from the facet count of the census's model of the cut, which has about a third of the T73's 73. Only the triangle scores lower in diamond. Expect a few long flashes from the steps rather than a fine glitter.
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: The facet plan sets this. For a slim outline with far more sparkle, the Marquise Cut Diamond scores 86.
Leakage 38 against 2 for the T73 Round Brilliant in diamond: 36 points higher
In our census 38% of the light leaves through the pavilion; the T73 loses 2%. Two cuts leak more in diamond: the radiant and DG-Elongated Hexagon.
Baguette Cut in diamond · Leakage 38
0° · 43% leak
10° · 44% leak
20° · 44% leak
30° · 44% leak
T73 Round Brilliant in diamond · Leakage 2
0° · 4% leak
10° · 2% leak
20° · 9% leak
30° · 14% leak
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 baguette leaks the same share. The Emerald Cut Diamond loses 25%.
Choose the baguette as a side stone or in a channel-set band, where its straight edges line up and its job is to frame the centre stone. For cutters, its 21 facets make a short first design in which every angle shows.
Judged on its own light, it is one of the weakest diamonds we measure. For a long stone that returns more, the Emerald Cut Diamond keeps the step-cut look; the Marquise Cut Diamond gives a slim brilliant with more light, more fire and an even larger face for its weight, 121.
Baguette Cut Diamond: questions
Is a baguette diamond less brilliant than a round?
Much less in our census: Brilliance 40 against 93 for the T73 Round Brilliant, and 38% of the light leaking where the T73 lets out 2%.
Does a baguette diamond look bigger for its carat weight?
A little. Face-up size, measured from the model's outline per carat, is 108 against 100 for the T73.
How many facets does a baguette cut have?
Our cutting design has 21; among the cuts we measure, only the triangle has fewer. The census's model of the cut has a few more, and its scintillation reads 43 against 80 for the T73.
What does a 6.5 mm wide baguette diamond weigh?
3.64 ct. At a ratio of 1.974, a baguette 6.5 mm wide is nearly twice that long.
Get the Baguette Cut files
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Baguette Cut 3D files
The Baguette Cut as exact geometry: 21 planar facets, real-world scale, ready for CAD,
rendering, printing and casting.
