Asscher Cut Moissanite: Pros, Cons & Fire

The Asscher is a square step cut whose cropped corners give it an octagonal outline. Ours carries 58 facets over a 27.6° pavilion, 60.4% deep overall. Its stepped pavilion gives the concentric 'hall of mirrors' look.

In moissanite it has three pros, fire, weight and spread, and four cons against the T73. The largest are light and tilt.

Step cuts show the inside of a stone plainly, and moissanite's double refraction can show as doubled facet edges through broad steps. Our renders trace one refractive index, so doubling is not modelled.

Is an Asscher cut right for moissanite? Pros and cons

Pros

More fire than a diamond Asscher 94 vs 80
Lighter than in diamond 1.23 vs 1.34 ct
Wide for its weight 107 vs 100

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite and with the Asscher 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 Asscher Cut in moissanite (white) against the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite (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 moissanite: ahead on 1, level on 1, behind on 6.

Global79, the comparison 91, difference −12
Brilliance64, the comparison 86, difference −22
Fire94, the comparison 97, difference −3
Scintillation72, the comparison 80, difference −8
Spread107, the comparison 100, difference +7
Symmetry100, the comparison 100, difference 0
Shape-norm85, the comparison 93, difference −8
Tilt77, the comparison 94, difference −17

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 moissanite gains in an Asscher cut

More fire than a diamond Asscher

Fire 94 against 80 for the Asscher Cut in diamond: 14 points higher

Moissanite's dispersion lifts this step cut from 80 in diamond to 94, within a few points of the T73's 97.

Asscher cut in moissanite face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 94) — 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.

Asscher cut in diamond face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 80) — 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

Lighter than in diamond

1.23 ct at 6.5 mm, against 1.34 ct for the same cut in diamond (−9%)

Weighed at 6.5 mm across, the Asscher comes in lighter in moissanite: density 3.22 against diamond's 3.52.

A Asscher 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 Asscher Cut page

Wide for its weight

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

Spread 107 against 100: for a given carat weight the Asscher shows more face-up area than the round.

Asscher Cut · 6.07 mm at 1.00 ct · Spread 107

T73 Round Brilliant · 6.68 mm at 1.00 ct · Spread 100

Both stones weigh 1.00 ct in moissanite 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 an Asscher moissanite

Much less light than a round

Brilliance 64 against 86 for the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite: 22 points lower

64 against 86. In the face-up Light Return maps the Asscher carries clearly more grey than the T73.

Asscher cut in moissanite face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 64) — 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 moissanite face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 86) — 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 square outline with more light, the Square Cut Moissanite returns 82; it is a brilliant, not a step cut.

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

Darkens as it tips

Tilt 77 against 94 for the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite: 17 points lower

At 20° of tip the Asscher holds on to 77 of its face-up light; the T73 holds 94. Its strip shows the grey growing at every step from 0° to 30°.

Asscher cut in moissanite tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 18% of the face leaking — Tilt is how much of its own face-up light a stone keeps when tilted. 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.

Asscher cut in moissanite tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 22% of the face leaking — Tilt is how much of its own face-up light a stone keeps when tilted. 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: The Octagon Cut Moissanite, with a stepped crown on eight sides, holds 100 when tipped and returns slightly more light, 67.

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

Fewer flashes than a round

Scintillation 72 against 80 for the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite: 8 points lower

A step cut's long facets are few: 58 against the T73's 73, and our scintillation score follows the count.

Asscher Cut · 58 facets · Scintillation 72

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: This is the step plan. For more flashes on a square outline, the Cushion Cut Moissanite scores 85.

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

More leakage than a round

Leakage 12 against 7 for the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite: 5 points higher

The census loses 12% of the Asscher's light through the back, the T73's 7%. Head-on, its map is slightly greyer than the diamond Asscher's too.

What helps: Size does not change the share. The Square Cut Moissanite leaks 11%.

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

Who an Asscher moissanite suits

The Asscher suits Art Deco designs and clean stones, where the stepped look matters more than brightness. In moissanite its fire and spread are real; its light is not a round's.

For more light in a square outline, the Square Cut Moissanite. For a stepped look that holds its light when tipped, the Octagon Cut Moissanite.

Asscher Cut Moissanite: questions

Is moissanite good in an Asscher cut?

For fire and face-up size, yes: Fire 94 and Spread 107. Its light is the weak point, 64 where the T73 gives 86.

Does an Asscher moissanite show doubling?

It can, through the broad steps, but our single-index renders cannot show it. Cutting the table square to the optic axis is the usual way to reduce it.

Why does an Asscher moissanite get darker when tilted?

Its strip of Light Return maps shows more grey at each step of tilt; the census puts its Tilt at 77, against 94 for the T73.

What does a 6.5 mm Asscher moissanite weigh?

1.23 ct; a diamond Asscher of that width weighs 1.34 ct.

Get the Asscher Cut files

6 formatsMillimetresWatertight

Asscher Cut 3D files

The Asscher Cut as exact geometry: 58 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

Asscher Cut cutting files

The Asscher Cut as a faceting design: 58 facets, 96 index, 4-fold 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

Moissanite: optical properties and the top ten cuts · The Asscher Cut: specifications, model and files

Asscher Cut Moissanite: a wide face and strong fire from a square step cut