Trillion Cut Emerald: Pros, Cons & Spread

The trillion's sides bow gently outward. Our model is only 50.7% deep, with a 56.6% table, a 36.0° crown, a 31.91° pavilion and 73 facets.

A shallow stone spreads its weight across a wide face, and the census shows it: Spread 107. It also holds its light well when tipped, 86, but from Brilliance 63, so we do not count that as a pro. The pavilion is far below the 39.4° guide minimum worked out for rounds; for a triangle that guide is only a rough reference.

Trillion cut emerald: a good idea? Pros and cons

Pros

Lighter than a diamond trillion 0.62 vs 0.80 ct
Faces up larger for its weight 107 vs 100

Cons

Much less fire than in diamond 48 vs 87
Less light than a round emerald 63 vs 78
Twice the diamond trillion's leakage 27 vs 13

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in emerald and with the Trillion 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 Trillion 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 2, behind on 3.

Global70, the comparison 73, difference −3
Brilliance63, the comparison 78, difference −15
Fire48, the comparison 39, difference +9
Scintillation80, the comparison 80, difference 0
Spread107, the comparison 100, difference +7
Symmetry100, the comparison 100, difference 0
Shape-norm74, the comparison 84, difference −10
Tilt86, the comparison 77, difference +9

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 trillion cut

Lighter than a diamond trillion

0.62 ct at 6.5 mm, against 0.80 ct for the same cut in diamond (−23%)

Shallow and light: a trillion 6.5 mm wide is 0.62 ct in emerald, the lightest at that width of any cut on our emerald pages, and 0.80 ct in diamond.

A Trillion 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 Trillion Cut page

Faces up larger for its weight

Spread 107 against 100 for the T73 Round Brilliant in emerald: 7 points higher

At 50.7% deep it carries little below the girdle, so a stone of a given carat weight is wider across than a T73. Spread is the same in every stone.

Trillion Cut · 7.63 mm at 1.00 ct · Spread 107

T73 Round Brilliant · 7.06 mm at 1.00 ct · Spread 100

Both stones weigh 1.00 ct in emerald and are drawn to the same scale, from each cut's own model. Spread is face-up size per carat: a deeper stone carries more weight below the girdle and looks smaller for its weight.

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

The catch with a trillion emerald

Much less fire than in diamond

Fire 48 against 87 for the Trillion Cut in diamond: 39 points lower

48 against 87 for a diamond trillion. It is still above the T73 in emerald, 39, but emerald has little colour to give.

Trillion cut in emerald face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 48) — 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.

Trillion cut in diamond face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 87) — 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

Less light than a round emerald

Brilliance 63 against 78 for the T73 Round Brilliant in emerald: 15 points lower

63 against 78. A 31.91° pavilion is far shallower than emerald's 39.4° critical angle, and some head-on light passes through it.

Trillion cut in emerald face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 63) — 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 a triangle with more light, the Trilliant Cut Emerald returns 68; it is deeper and smaller for its weight.

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

Twice the diamond trillion's leakage

Leakage 27 against 13 for the Trillion Cut in diamond: 14 points higher

27% of the light in our census leaves through the pavilion, against 13% in diamond.

Trillion cut in emerald tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 18% 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.

Trillion cut in emerald tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 28% 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 not measured a steeper trillion. Measured alternatives in emerald: DG-M5 Emerald leaks 10%, the Cushion Cut Emerald 25%.

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

Who a trillion emerald suits

Choose a trillion in emerald when face-up size for the weight matters, or for a pair of side stones. It keeps its light well when tipped, which helps a stone seen from many angles.

For more light, the Trilliant Cut Emerald or a round, DG-M5 Emerald. For a large face with a step cut's look, the Emerald Square Cut Emerald spreads 108.

Trillion Cut Emerald: questions

Does a trillion emerald look bigger?

Per carat it shows more face than a round: Spread 107 to the T73's 100, from a stone only 50.7% deep.

Is a trillion cut good for emerald?

For size and steadiness when tipped, yes; for light it trails the round, Brilliance 63 against 78.

Trillion or trilliant for an emerald?

The trilliant returns a little more light (68 against 63); the trillion faces up larger (107 against 101) and its pavilion is fully symmetrical (100 against 62).

Does a trillion emerald hold its light when tilted?

Well: it keeps 86 of its face-up light at 20°, against 77 for the T73 in emerald. With Brilliance 63, that is a steady share of a smaller amount.

Get the Trillion Cut files

6 formatsMillimetresWatertight

Trillion Cut 3D files

The Trillion Cut as exact geometry: 73 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

GemCad120 index

Trillion Cut cutting files

The Trillion Cut as a faceting design: 61 + 12 girdles = 73 facets, 120 index, 3-fold symmetry, ready for the machine.

.ascGemCad design file, 120 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 Trillion Cut: specifications, model and files

Trillion Cut Emerald: a larger face for its weight than a round