Mazarin Cut Diamond: Pros, Cons & Light Return

The Mazarin, or double cut, puts sixteen facets above the girdle and sixteen below on a cushion outline. Our model has 42 facets, a 57.5% table, a shallow 31.4° crown and a 44.33° pavilion, and it is 68.8% deep.

We measured it in diamond against the T73 Round Brilliant. It loses on every score we count as a pro or con. This page says by how much, and what it still offers.

Is a Mazarin cut diamond worth it? Pros and cons

Pros

None that we measure: every score trails the T73 or ties with it.

Cons

Nearly a third less light face-up 65 vs 93
Fewer flashes than a modern round 61 vs 80
Less fire, too 63 vs 78
Light leaks through the back 17 vs 2

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in diamond and with the Mazarin 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 Mazarin 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, level on 1, behind on 6.

Global75, the comparison 90, difference −15
Brilliance65, the comparison 93, difference −28
Fire63, the comparison 78, difference −15
Scintillation61, the comparison 80, difference −19
Spread96, the comparison 100, difference −4
Symmetry100, the comparison 100, difference 0
Shape-norm69, the comparison 100, difference −31
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.

Open it in the Cut Performance Wheel

What diamond gains in a Mazarin cut

We found no score where a Mazarin beats the T73 in diamond by our margins. Its Tilt reads 100 against 92, but Tilt measures how much of its own light a stone keeps when tilted. A stone with 65 brilliance keeps a smaller amount, so we do not count that as a pro. What it has is a look: a soft cushion with broad facets.

The Mazarin's costs in diamond

Nearly a third less light face-up

Brilliance 65 against 93 for the T73 Round Brilliant in diamond: 28 points lower

The shallow crown and the steep pavilion work against each other: light that enters the table often meets a pavilion facet at an angle it can pass through. The maps make it plain: grey wedges reach into the corners of the cushion.

Mazarin cut in diamond face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 65) — 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 diamond face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (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: For a cushion in diamond, our modern Cushion Cut returns 80, and the Peruzzi Cut Diamond 75.

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

Fewer flashes than a modern round

Scintillation 61 against 80 for the T73 Round Brilliant in diamond: 19 points lower

Scintillation follows facet count, and 42 facets cannot match the T73's 73.

Mazarin Cut · 42 facets · Scintillation 61

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 facet plan, not the angles. The Peruzzi Cut Diamond keeps a cushion outline with 81 for scintillation.

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

Less fire, too

Fire 63 against 78 for the T73 Round Brilliant in diamond: 15 points lower

Unusually for an old cut, it does not win on fire either: Fire 63 against 78. Its crown is a shallow 31.4°, and a flatter crown usually spreads less colour.

Mazarin cut in diamond face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 63) — 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 diamond face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 78) — 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: In diamond the Old Single Cut Diamond reaches 84 for fire, the most of the antique cuts we measure.

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

Light leaks through the back

Leakage 17 against 2 for the T73 Round Brilliant in diamond: 15 points higher

17% of the light in our census leaves through the pavilion. Tilting the stone moves the grey around but never clears it.

Mazarin cut in diamond 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.

Mazarin cut in diamond tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 25% 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 modern Cushion Cut leaks 9% in diamond.

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

Who a Mazarin cut diamond suits

The Mazarin suits a collector who wants the period look and accepts the light it costs. As a diamond for brightness, it is the weakest of our antique cuts after the Old Mine.

For a brighter antique cushion, see the Peruzzi Cut Diamond; for a brighter antique round, the Old European Cut Diamond.

Mazarin Cut Diamond: questions

Is a Mazarin cut diamond brilliant?

Less than a modern round: Brilliance 65 against 93 for the T73 Round Brilliant in our census.

How much light does a Mazarin cut diamond leak?

17% of the light in our census leaves through the pavilion, against 2% for the T73.

How many facets does a Mazarin cut have?

Our model has 42, on a cushion outline 68.8% deep.

Get the Mazarin Cut files

6 formatsMillimetresWatertight

Mazarin Cut 3D files

The Mazarin Cut as exact geometry: 42 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

Mazarin Cut cutting files

The Mazarin Cut as a faceting design: 34 + 8 girdles = 42 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.

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