Marquise Cut Emerald: Pros, Cons & Light Leakage

The marquise, or navette, is the longest of our classic shapes: our model is 2.059 times as long as wide, with 87 facets, a 31.41° pavilion and a depth of 62.0%.

That pavilion figure is well under emerald's 39.4° guide minimum for round designs, and in our census 54% of the light leaks, the most of the jewelry cuts on our emerald pages.

The marquise does have fire for an emerald: 51, above the T73's 39. Its long facets lift scintillation a little too. The cost is light, and more than half of it goes out through the back.

Is a marquise cut a good fit for emerald? Pros and cons

Pros

Lighter than a diamond marquise 1.62 vs 2.09 ct
Slightly more sparkle than a round 86 vs 80

Cons

Much less fire than the diamond marquise 51 vs 89
Over half the light leaks 54 vs 17
A little over half the T73's light 43 vs 78
Loses more light as it tips than in diamond 61 vs 87

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in emerald and with the Marquise 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 Marquise 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 2, level on 1, behind on 5.

Global57, the comparison 73, difference −16
Brilliance43, the comparison 78, difference −35
Fire51, the comparison 39, difference +12
Scintillation86, the comparison 80, difference +6
Spread100, the comparison 100, difference 0
Symmetry94, the comparison 100, difference −6
Shape-norm50, the comparison 84, difference −34
Tilt61, the comparison 77, difference −16

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 a marquise cut

Lighter than a diamond marquise

1.62 ct at 6.5 mm, against 2.09 ct for the same cut in diamond (−23%)

Measured 6.5 mm across its width, a marquise is a long stone: 1.62 ct in emerald, 2.09 ct in diamond.

A Marquise 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 Marquise Cut page

Slightly more sparkle than a round

Scintillation 86 against 80 for the T73 Round Brilliant in emerald: 6 points higher

87 facets against 73 on the T73, stretched along a long axis. The score follows the plan, not the stone.

Marquise Cut · 87 facets · Scintillation 86

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 marquise emerald

Much less fire than the diamond marquise

Fire 51 against 89 for the Marquise Cut in diamond: 38 points lower

51 against 89. It still scores above the T73 in emerald, 39.

Marquise cut in emerald face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 51) — 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.

Marquise cut in diamond face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 89) — 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 half the light leaks

Leakage 54 against 17 for the Marquise Cut in diamond: 37 points higher

54% of the light in our census leaves through the back, three times the diamond marquise's 17%.

Marquise cut in emerald tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 50% 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.

Marquise cut in emerald tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 61% 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: We have no measurement of a steeper marquise. The Oval Cut Emerald leaks 41% in emerald.

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

A little over half the T73's light

Brilliance 43 against 78 for the T73 Round Brilliant in emerald: 35 points lower

43 against 78. Elongated shapes can also show a dark bowtie across the middle, which we do not measure.

Marquise cut in emerald face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 43) — 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 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.

What helps: For an elongated emerald with more light, the Oval Cut Emerald returns 55, the Pear Cut Emerald 56.

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

Loses more light as it tips than in diamond

Tilt 61 against 87 for the Marquise Cut in diamond: 26 points lower

Tipped by 20° it keeps 61 of its face-up light, where the diamond marquise keeps 87.

What helps: The Oval Cut Emerald keeps 71 when tipped, and returns more light as well.

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

Who a marquise emerald suits

The marquise suits an emerald where a long, slim outline is the point, set with protected tips. For light, it is the weakest jewelry cut on our emerald pages. In a ring seen mostly face-up the tilt loss matters less than the leak, which is there from the start.

For an elongated stone with more light and much more fire, the Oval Cut Emerald. For a pointed drop, the Pear Cut Emerald.

Marquise Cut Emerald: questions

Is a marquise cut good for emerald?

Not for light: Brilliance 43 against 78 for the T73, and 54% of the light leaking.

Marquise or oval for an emerald?

The oval returns more light (55 against 43), leaks less (41% against 54%) and has more fire (71 against 51).

Does a marquise emerald look bigger?

Its Spread is 100, level with the T73: no larger for its weight in our census. The long outline may read as larger on the finger.

Get the Marquise Cut files

6 formatsMillimetresWatertight

Marquise Cut 3D files

The Marquise Cut as exact geometry: 87 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

GemCad64 index

Marquise Cut cutting files

The Marquise Cut as a faceting design: 67 + 20 girdles = 87 facets, 64 index, 2-fold mirror-image symmetry, ready for the machine.

.ascGemCad design file, 64 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 Marquise Cut: specifications, model and files

Marquise Cut Emerald: fine sparkle along a long, pointed outline