Brilliance 62 · Fire 55 · Scintillation 72 · in our census, where the T73 scores 78 · 39 · 80 in emerald
A square step cut with deeply cropped corners: in emerald it faces up large for its weight, and over a third of the light goes through it.
Emeralds are traditionally step cut. The site's gemstone notes give the reasons: typical inclusions, some brittleness, and a colour that a step cut shows plainly. The Asscher is the square version, with its corners cropped into an octagon. We measured it as a 60.4% deep stone of 58 facets, with a pavilion figure of 27.6°.
Our census says what the step cut costs in emerald. The Asscher returns 62 against 78 for the T73, and our rectangular Emerald Cut returns 58 and is not in emerald's top ten at all. The Asscher is, among the jewelry cuts, alongside the Emerald Square Cut Emerald; every step cut we measure in emerald trails the T73 on light.
Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in emerald and with the Asscher 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.
At a glance: the Asscher Cut in emerald (white) against the T73 Round Brilliant in emerald (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 emerald: ahead on 3, level on 1, behind on 4.
1.04 ct at 6.5 mm, against 1.34 ct for the same cut in diamond (−23%)
A 6.5 mm Asscher is 1.04 ct in emerald and 1.34 ct in diamond. Emerald's density, 2.72 against 3.52, is the whole difference.
Try it yourself: Weights in all seven gemstones on the Asscher Cut page
Spread 107 against 100 for the T73 Round Brilliant in emerald: 7 points higher
Spread 107: for each carat it shows more surface than the T73, and the score holds in any stone.
Asscher Cut · 6.42 mm at 1.00 ct · Spread 107
T73 Round Brilliant · 7.06 mm at 1.00 ct · Spread 100
Try it yourself: Compare the Spread spoke in the Cut Performance Wheel
Leakage 37 against 11 for the Asscher Cut in diamond: 26 points higher
37% in our census against 11% for the diamond Asscher. The strip shows it plainly: about a third of the face-up map is grey head-on, rising to two-fifths at 20° and 30°.
Asscher Cut in emerald · Leakage 37
Asscher Cut in diamond · Leakage 11
What helps: Of the step cuts, the Emerald Square Cut Emerald leaks a little less, 32%. For the least leakage in emerald, DG-M5 Emerald, 10%.
Try it yourself: Tilt it yourself in the simulator's light map
Fire 55 against 80 for the Asscher Cut in diamond: 25 points lower
Fire 55 against 80. It does score more than the T73's 39 in emerald; the broad steps give what colour emerald has a larger stage.
Asscher Cut in emerald · Fire 55
Asscher Cut in diamond · Fire 80
Brilliance 62 against 78 for the T73 Round Brilliant in emerald: 16 points lower
62 against 78. The steps run at shallow angles, 27.6° for the pavilion figure, and in a stone with a 39.4° critical angle head-on light can pass straight through them.
Asscher Cut in emerald · Brilliance 62
T73 Round Brilliant in emerald · Brilliance 78
What helps: The Emerald Square Cut Emerald returns 66 in the same square step outline.
Try it yourself: Open this Light Return map in the simulator
Scintillation 72 against 80 for the T73 Round Brilliant in emerald: 8 points lower
A step cut shows broad flashes, not glitter: 58 facets in long parallel steps give scintillation 72 against 80.
Asscher Cut · 58 facets · Scintillation 72
T73 Round Brilliant · 73 facets · Scintillation 80
Try it yourself: Compare the Scintillation spoke in the Cut Performance Wheel
Choose the Asscher for a traditional square step-cut emerald, an Art Deco design, or a clean stone whose colour should read plainly. Accept that a third of the light goes through it.
For a square step cut with a little more light, the Emerald Square Cut Emerald. For a square with far more light, the Cushion Cut Emerald or the Square Cut Emerald brilliant.
It faces up large (Spread 107) and shows more fire than a round in emerald, but leaks 37% of the light and returns 62 against 78.
Tradition, inclusions and brittleness, according to the site's gemstone notes. Our census measures the optics only, and on those every step cut trails the round on light.
The Emerald Square returns a little more light (66 against 62) and leaks less; the Asscher has more fire (55 against 46).
The Asscher Cut as exact geometry: 58 planar facets, real-world scale, ready for CAD, rendering, printing and casting.
The Asscher Cut as a faceting design: 58 facets, 96 index, 4-fold symmetry, ready for the machine.
Questions before you buy? Email us.
Emerald: optical properties and the top ten cuts · The Asscher Cut: specifications, model and files