DG-Vitruvio Emerald: Pros, Cons & Scintillation

DG-Vitruvio keeps the T-series crown and pavilion and resolves the girdle into a band of 96 facets, 153 in all. The pavilion sits at 40.75°, the classic angle, and the stone is 61.9% deep.

Because the main angles are the T73's, its light figures in emerald are the T73's too: Brilliance 78, 22% leakage. What the girdle adds is scintillation. What emerald takes away, here as in every cut, is fire, and some light against the diamond version.

DG-Vitruvio in emerald: worth it? Pros and cons

Pros

Lighter in the hand than diamond 0.79 vs 1.02 ct
Much finer sparkle than the T73 98 vs 80

Cons

Fire falls by half against diamond 40 vs 79
Over a fifth of the light leaks 22 vs 2
Less light than in diamond 78 vs 93
Keeps less light when tipped than in diamond 78 vs 93

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in emerald and with the DG-Vitruvio 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 DG-Vitruvio 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 4, level on 4.

Global74, the comparison 73, difference +1
Brilliance78, the comparison 78, difference 0
Fire40, the comparison 39, difference +1
Scintillation98, the comparison 80, difference +18
Spread100, the comparison 100, difference 0
Symmetry100, the comparison 100, difference 0
Shape-norm84, the comparison 84, difference 0
Tilt78, the comparison 77, 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 emerald gains in DG-Vitruvio

Lighter in the hand than diamond

0.79 ct at 6.5 mm, against 1.02 ct for the same cut in diamond (−23%)

At 6.5 mm across, the model comes to 0.79 ct in emerald and 1.02 ct in diamond, because beryl is the lighter material.

A DG-Vitruvio 6.5 mm across, weighed from the model's measured volume and each stone's specific gravity.

Try it yourself: Weights in all seven gemstones on the DG-Vitruvio page

Much finer sparkle than the T73

Scintillation 98 against 80 for the T73 Round Brilliant in emerald: 18 points higher

Our scintillation score counts the facet plan, and the plan is identical in every stone. 153 facets against the T73's 73 put DG-Vitruvio at the top of the scale: many small flashes as the stone moves.

DG-Vitruvio · 153 facets · Scintillation 98

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.

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

The catch with a DG-Vitruvio emerald

Fire falls by half against diamond

Fire 40 against 79 for the DG-Vitruvio in diamond: 39 points lower

40 here, 79 for the diamond version. Emerald disperses light less than a third as strongly as diamond, and a finer girdle cannot make up for it.

Dg-vitruvio in emerald face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 40) — 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.

Dg-vitruvio in diamond 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.

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

Over a fifth of the light leaks

Leakage 22 against 2 for the DG-Vitruvio in diamond: 20 points higher

22% of the light in our census goes through the pavilion, exactly as in the T73, since the main angles are shared. In diamond the same design leaks 2%.

Dg-vitruvio in emerald tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 12% 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.

Dg-vitruvio in emerald tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 35% 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: Not by steepening: the mains are at 40.75°, already above emerald's guide minimum of 39.4°. DG-M5 Emerald leaks 10%.

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

Less light than in diamond

Brilliance 78 against 93 for the DG-Vitruvio in diamond: 15 points lower

The extra facets sit at the edge of the stone, where they change the sparkle more than the light. Brilliance stays where the T73 puts it in emerald, well under the diamond version's 93.

Dg-vitruvio in emerald face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 78) — 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.

Dg-vitruvio 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: Among rounds in emerald, DG-M5 Emerald returns 90 and DG-Anteros Emerald 86.

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

Keeps less light when tipped than in diamond

Tilt 78 against 93 for the DG-Vitruvio in diamond: 15 points lower

At 20° it keeps 78 of its face-up light; in diamond, 93. The T73 in emerald scores the same within a point, as its shared angles would suggest.

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

Who a DG-Vitruvio emerald suits

Choose DG-Vitruvio for a round emerald where fine sparkle matters as much as light: it gives the T73's light with far more flashes. The site's cut notes also suggest it for renders and settings that want a smooth outline.

For more light, DG-M5 Emerald. For a simpler girdle a setter will recognise, the T73 Round Brilliant Emerald gives the same light with fewer facets to cut.

DG-Vitruvio Emerald: questions

Does DG-Vitruvio sparkle more than a round brilliant?

Yes: scintillation 98 against 80 for the T73. The score is the same in any stone, because it follows the facet plan.

Does DG-Vitruvio return as much light as the T73 in emerald?

Exactly as much: Brilliance 78 for both, and 22% leakage for both. Their crowns and pavilions share the same angles.

How many facets does DG-Vitruvio have?

Our model has 153, against 73 on the T73; the site's cut notes put all the extra work at the girdle.

Get the DG-Vitruvio Cut files

6 formatsMillimetresWatertight

DG-Vitruvio Cut 3D files

The DG-Vitruvio Cut as exact geometry: 265 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

DG-Vitruvio Cut cutting files

The DG-Vitruvio Cut as a faceting design: 57 + 96 girdles = 153 facets, 96 index, 8-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

Emerald: optical properties and the top ten cuts · The DG-Vitruvio: specifications, model and files

DG-Vitruvio Emerald: the T73's light with the finest sparkle we measure