Mazarin Cut Emerald: lighter in weight than diamond, and more light than the Old Mine or the Peruzzi in this stone

Brilliance 46 · Fire 31 · Scintillation 61 · in our census, where the T73 scores 78 · 39 · 80 in emerald

A 42-facet cushion. In emerald it loses much of its light, and still returns more than the Peruzzi or the Old Mine.

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

Mazarin Cut Emerald

The Mazarin, from the mid-1600s, puts sixteen facets above the girdle and sixteen below, on a cushion outline with an octagonal table and a wide, open culet. Our model has 42 facets, a 57.5% table, a shallow 31.4° crown, a steep 44.33° pavilion and a depth of 68.8%.

In diamond the Mazarin trails the Peruzzi; in emerald the order flips. Our census gives the Mazarin 46 for light, the Old Mine 40 and the Peruzzi 30. Of the Old Single, Old European, Old Mine, Peruzzi and T57 in emerald, only the Old European and the T57 return more.

The pavilion is well above emerald's 39.4° guide minimum, so a shallow pavilion is not the cause of what it loses.

Mazarin cut emerald: how does it measure? Pros and cons

Pros

Cons

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in emerald and with the Mazarin 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 Mazarin 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: Mazarin 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−15Brilliance−32Fire−8Scintillation−19Spread−4Symmetry0Shape-norm−35Tilt+21

Against the T73 Round Brilliant in emerald: ahead on 1, level on 1, behind on 6.

  • Global58, the comparison 73, difference −15
  • Brilliance46, the comparison 78, difference −32
  • Fire31, the comparison 39, difference −8
  • Scintillation61, the comparison 80, difference −19
  • Spread96, the comparison 100, difference −4
  • Symmetry100, the comparison 100, difference 0
  • Shape-norm49, the comparison 84, difference −35
  • Tilt98, the comparison 77, difference +21
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 Mazarin cut

Lighter than a diamond Mazarin

1.02 ct at 6.5 mm, against 1.32 ct for the same cut in diamond (−23%)

The cushion is 68.8% deep, a lot of stone below the girdle. In emerald a 6.5 mm Mazarin weighs 1.02 ct; the same cut in diamond, 1.32 ct.

Emerald1.02 ctDiamond1.32 ct
A Mazarin 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 Mazarin Cut page

The catch with a Mazarin emerald

Over half the light leaks

Leakage 53 against 17 for the Mazarin Cut in diamond: 36 points higher

53% of the light leaves through the pavilion in emerald, against 17% in diamond. Emerald returns light only beyond 39.4° of incidence, diamond beyond about 24°, and that difference leaves this plan exposed.

Mazarin Cut in emerald · Leakage 53

Mazarin cut in emerald tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 51% of the face leaking0° · 51% leak
Mazarin cut in emerald tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 45% of the face leaking10° · 45% leak
Mazarin cut in emerald tilted 20 degrees: Light Return map, 54% of the face leaking20° · 54% leak
Mazarin cut in emerald tilted 30 degrees: Light Return map, 52% of the face leaking30° · 52% leak

Mazarin Cut in diamond · Leakage 17

Mazarin cut in diamond tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 13% of the face leaking0° · 13% leak
Mazarin cut in diamond tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 25% of the face leaking10° · 25% leak
Mazarin cut in diamond tilted 20 degrees: Light Return map, 23% of the face leaking20° · 23% leak
Mazarin cut in diamond tilted 30 degrees: Light Return map, 21% of the face leaking30° · 21% 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: Steepening is not the fix: the pavilion is already 44.33°, above 39.4°. For an antique round that leaks less in emerald, the Old European Cut Emerald loses 36%; for a modern cushion, the Cushion Cut Emerald 25%.

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

Much less light than a round

Brilliance 46 against 78 for the T73 Round Brilliant in emerald: 32 points lower

46 against 78 for the T73, and 65 for the Mazarin in diamond. Even so, no antique cushion we measure in emerald returns more.

Mazarin cut in emerald face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 46)

Mazarin Cut in emerald · Brilliance 46

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: In a cushion outline, our modern Cushion Cut Emerald returns 74; as an antique round, the Old European Cut Emerald 64.

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

About half the diamond Mazarin's fire

Fire 31 against 63 for the Mazarin Cut in diamond: 32 points lower

31 against 63 for the Mazarin in diamond. It sits below the T73 in emerald as well, 39.

Mazarin cut in emerald face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 31)

Mazarin Cut in emerald · Fire 31

Mazarin cut in diamond face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 63)

Mazarin Cut in diamond · Fire 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.

What helps: This is the stone. If fire matters, DG-Anteros Emerald scores 52 with Brilliance 86.

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

Fewer flashes than a round

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

Scintillation tracks the facet count: 42 here against the T73's 73, for 61 against 80. The diamond Mazarin scores the same.

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: It follows the plan. The modern Cushion Cut Emerald keeps the outline with 85 for scintillation.

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

Who a Mazarin emerald suits

If you want an antique cushion in emerald, choose the Mazarin over the Peruzzi and the Old Mine: it returns the most light of the three and leaks the least. It suits period pieces where the cushion outline and broad facets are the point.

For more light in the same outline, the modern Cushion Cut Emerald. If the outline may be round, the Old European Cut Emerald returns 64, and the T57 Round Brilliant Emerald 78, level with the T73.

Mazarin Cut Emerald: questions

Is a Mazarin cut good for emerald?

Better than the other antique cushions, weaker than a round: Brilliance 46 against 78 for the T73, with 53% of the light leaking.

Mazarin or Peruzzi for an emerald?

The Mazarin returns more light (46 against 30), leaks less (53% against 69%) and has more fire (31 against 15). The Peruzzi has more facets and more sparkle, 81 against 61.

How much light does a Mazarin emerald leak?

More than half: 53% of the light in our census exits through the pavilion. A diamond Mazarin loses 17%, a T73 in emerald 22%.

What does a 6.5 mm Mazarin emerald weigh?

1.02 ct in emerald and 1.32 ct in diamond, from the model's measured volume.

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.

More gemstones and cuts

Emerald: optical properties and the top ten cuts · The Mazarin Cut: specifications, model and files

Other cuts in emerald

The Mazarin Cut in other gemstones