Hexagon Cut Emerald: a six-sided outline, lighter in weight than the same cut in diamond

Brilliance 52 · Fire 41 · Scintillation 56 · in our census, where the T73 scores 78 · 39 · 80 in emerald

A step-cut crown over a tiered pavilion. In emerald our eight-sided octagon, built to the same tier profile, beats it on light, sparkle and leakage; the hexagon keeps a little more fire.

See it in the simulatorGet the files
The Hexagon Cut in emerald, rendered at an angle in our 3D Gemstone Simulator under studio light
Rendered in our 3D Gemstone Simulator from the Hexagon Cut model, 1.00 ct, studio light.

Hexagon Cut Emerald

The hexagon sits between a step cut and a brilliant: clean lines face-up over a pavilion cut in tiers. Our model has 37 facets, a total depth of 61.0% and a pavilion figure of 29.26°.

In diamond it returns 58; in emerald, 52, a smaller loss than most cuts suffer between the two stones. The pavilion figure is far under emerald's 39.4° guide minimum, a guide worked out for rounds, and we have not measured a steeper hexagon, so we cannot say what one would do.

Hexagon emerald: a good pairing? Pros and cons

Pros

Cons

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in emerald and with the Hexagon Cut 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 Hexagon 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.

Performance wheel: Hexagon Cut in emerald, against the T73 Round Brilliant in emerald as an outline. Solid white marks where it reaches further, hatching where it falls short. The scores are listed below.50100Global−9Brilliance−26Fire+2Scintillation−24Spread0Symmetry0Shape-norm−15Tilt+23

Against the T73 Round Brilliant in emerald: ahead on 2, level on 2, behind on 4.

  • Global64, the comparison 73, difference −9
  • Brilliance52, the comparison 78, difference −26
  • Fire41, the comparison 39, difference +2
  • Scintillation56, the comparison 80, difference −24
  • Spread100, the comparison 100, difference 0
  • Symmetry100, the comparison 100, difference 0
  • Shape-norm69, the comparison 84, difference −15
  • Tilt100, the comparison 77, difference +23
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.
Open it in the Cut Performance Wheel

What emerald gains in a hexagon cut

Lighter than a diamond hexagon

0.99 ct at 6.5 mm, against 1.29 ct for the same cut in diamond (−23%)

Hexagons tile in clusters and bands, so their weight is often counted many times over. A 6.5 mm hexagon is 0.99 ct in emerald, 1.29 ct in diamond.

Emerald0.99 ctDiamond1.29 ct
A Hexagon Cut 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 Hexagon Cut page

The catch with a hexagon emerald

Far less fire than the diamond hexagon

Fire 41 against 85 for the Hexagon Cut in diamond: 44 points lower

41 against 85. Against the T73 in emerald it is about level, 39, so the loss against diamond belongs to the stone, not to the shape.

Hexagon cut in emerald face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 41)

Hexagon Cut in emerald · Fire 41

Hexagon cut in diamond face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 85)

Hexagon Cut in diamond · Fire 85

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: Among cuts that keep their light in emerald, DG-Anteros Emerald reaches 52 and DG-M5 Emerald 46.

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

Less light than a round

Brilliance 52 against 78 for the T73 Round Brilliant in emerald: 26 points lower

52 against 78. Diamond does only a little better with the same plan, 58, which points at the plan rather than the stone.

Hexagon cut in emerald face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 52)

Hexagon Cut in emerald · Brilliance 52

T73 round brilliant in emerald face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 78)

T73 Round Brilliant in emerald · 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.

What helps: On the same tier profile with two more sides, our Octagon Cut Emerald returns 69 in emerald.

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

Fewer flashes than a round

Scintillation 56 against 80 for the T73 Round Brilliant in emerald: 24 points lower

37 facets against the T73's 73 give Scintillation 56. A stepped crown breaks light into fewer, larger flashes in any stone.

Hexagon Cut · 37 facets · Scintillation 56

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: With more facets in the same style, the Octagon Cut Emerald scores 66.

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

More leakage than the T73

Leakage 37 against 22 for the T73 Round Brilliant in emerald: 15 points higher

37% of the light in our census escapes through the pavilion; the T73 in emerald loses 22%, and the diamond hexagon 24%.

Hexagon Cut in emerald · Leakage 37

Hexagon cut in emerald tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 26% of the face leaking0° · 26% leak
Hexagon cut in emerald tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 47% of the face leaking10° · 47% leak
Hexagon cut in emerald tilted 20 degrees: Light Return map, 44% of the face leaking20° · 44% leak
Hexagon cut in emerald tilted 30 degrees: Light Return map, 42% of the face leaking30° · 42% leak

T73 Round Brilliant in emerald · Leakage 22

T73 round brilliant in emerald tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 11% of the face leaking0° · 11% leak
T73 round brilliant in emerald tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 34% of the face leaking10° · 34% leak
T73 round brilliant in emerald tilted 20 degrees: Light Return map, 32% of the face leaking20° · 32% leak
T73 round brilliant in emerald tilted 30 degrees: Light Return map, 37% of the face leaking30° · 37% 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: We have no measurement of a steeper hexagon. Its eight-sided sibling, the Octagon Cut Emerald, loses 31% in emerald, and DG-M5 Emerald only 10%, the least of any cut we measure in the stone.

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

Who a hexagon emerald suits

The hexagon suits geometric emerald designs, clusters and bands, where its outline tiles neatly and a modest return of light is acceptable. Its Tilt score is 100, but that is a share of a modest Brilliance of 52, so we leave it out of the pros.

For a single geometric emerald with more light, the Octagon Cut Emerald is the better choice on our numbers; a round such as DG-M5 Emerald returns more than either.

Hexagon Cut Emerald: questions

Is a hexagon cut good for emerald?

It returns 52 for light against 78 for a round, leaks 37% and scores 41 for fire. Fine for clusters; not the strongest single stone.

Hexagon or octagon cut for an emerald?

The octagon: Brilliance 69 against 52, Scintillation 66 against 56, leakage 31% against 37%. The hexagon has more fire, 41 against 34.

Does a hexagon emerald keep its light when tilted?

Its Tilt score is 100, the top of the scale. That is the share of its own face-up light kept at 20°, and the face-up figure is modest, Brilliance 52.

What does a 6.5 mm hexagon emerald weigh?

Our model gives 0.99 ct in emerald; cut in diamond, 1.29 ct.

Get the Hexagon Cut files

6 formatsMillimetresWatertight

Hexagon Cut 3D files

The Hexagon Cut as exact geometry: 37 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

Hexagon Cut cutting files

The Hexagon Cut as a faceting design: 31 + 6 girdles = 37 facets, 96 index, 6-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 Hexagon Cut: specifications, model and files

Other cuts in emerald

The Hexagon Cut in other gemstones