Emerald Cut Moissanite: Pros, Cons & Fire

Ours runs 1.5 times as long as it is wide, corners cropped, with 57 facets over a 41.0° pavilion and a total depth of 68.6%. Cropping the corners guards them against chips.

In moissanite it has three pros: fire, against the diamond version, and two about size, a lower weight than diamond and a slightly larger face for its weight than a round. All four cons are against the T73 in moissanite: less light, more leakage, a less regular pavilion, and less light kept when tipped.

Step facets show the inside of a stone plainly, and moissanite's birefringence of 0.043 can double the back facet edges seen through a long table. Our renders follow one refractive index, so this page does not score it.

Is moissanite good in an emerald cut? Pros and cons

Pros

Lighter than a diamond emerald cut 2.12 vs 2.31 ct
More fire than in diamond 95 vs 87
Slightly larger for its weight than a round 105 vs 100

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite and with the Emerald 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 Emerald 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: behind on 8.

Global70, the comparison 91, difference −21
Brilliance51, the comparison 86, difference −35
Fire95, the comparison 97, difference −2
Scintillation72, the comparison 80, difference −8
Spread96, the comparison 100, difference −4
Symmetry64, the comparison 100, difference −36
Shape-norm67, the comparison 93, difference −26
Tilt82, the comparison 94, difference −12

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 moissanite gains in an emerald cut

Lighter than a diamond emerald cut

2.12 ct at 6.5 mm, against 2.31 ct for the same cut in diamond (−9%)

At 68.6% deep this is a weighty outline for its width in any stone. Moissanite is the less dense material, 3.22 against diamond's 3.52, so each millimetre costs fewer carats.

A Emerald 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 Emerald Cut page

More fire than in diamond

Fire 95 against 87 for the Emerald Cut in diamond: 8 points higher

Through identical steps, moissanite turns a larger share of its returned light into colour than diamond does. Of the three rectangular step cuts we measure in moissanite it has the most fire; the Rectangle scores 90 and the Baguette 75.

Emerald cut in moissanite face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 95) — 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.

Emerald 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

Slightly larger for its weight than a round

Face-up size 105 against 100 for the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite (T73 = 100): 5% more face-up area for the same weight

Face-up size is outline area per carat, read from each model, T73 = 100. Carat for carat, this emerald cut covers 105; the Rectangle reaches 121.

Emerald Cut · 7.59 x 5.06 mm at 1.00 ct · Face-up size 105

T73 Round Brilliant · 6.68 mm at 1.00 ct · Face-up size 100

Both stones weigh 1.00 ct in moissanite and are drawn to the same scale in millimetres, from each cut's own model. Face-up size is the outline's area per carat, with the T73 at 100: a deeper stone, or a rounder outline, spreads less area for its weight.

Try it yourself: See its size at 1.00 ct in moissanite in the 3D Gemstone Simulator

Where the emerald cut costs moissanite

A less regular pavilion

Symmetry 64 against 100 for the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite: 36 points lower

Our symmetry score asks how evenly the pavilion facets repeat around the stone. With cropped corners beside long sides, this plan scores 64; the square-cornered Rectangle scores 100.

Emerald Cut · 57 facets · Symmetry 64

T73 Round Brilliant · 73 facets · Symmetry 100

Symmetry scores how regular the pavilion facets are within the design. Compare how evenly the facets repeat around each pavilion. Drawn from each cut's own model.

What helps: This is the plan, not the cutting. The Rectangle keeps a long step-cut outline with square corners and scores 100.

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

Much less light than a round

Brilliance 51 against 86 for the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite: 35 points lower

Brilliance 51 against 86. The pavilion is 41.0°, above moissanite's 39.5° guide minimum; we have not measured a steeper one.

Emerald cut in moissanite face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 51) — 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: No rectangular step cut we measure returns more in moissanite. For light, the Square gives 82 on a square outline, and DG-M5 Moissanite 98.

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

More leakage than a round

Leakage 27 against 7 for the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite: 20 points higher

Over a quarter of the light in our census, 27%, leaves through the pavilion; the T73 in moissanite loses 7%. A diamond emerald cut loses 25%, close to the same.

Emerald cut in moissanite tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 36% 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.

Emerald cut in moissanite tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 36% 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: Size leaves the share unchanged. DG-Anteros Moissanite leaks 3%.

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

Keeps less light when tipped

Tilt 82 against 94 for the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite: 12 points lower

Tilted 20° away from face-up, the emerald cut still returns 82 of what it showed face-up; the T73 returns 94. In moissanite only the Asscher, DG-Bowtie and DG-Elongated Hexagon keep less, and the Emerald Square is level with it.

What helps: For a stone that keeps its light as it moves, a round: the Old European keeps 100 at 20°, with Brilliance 79.

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

Who an emerald cut moissanite suits

The emerald cut suits a ring where long, clean steps and colour matter more than brilliance. In moissanite it is the fieriest of our rectangular step cuts and, narrowly ahead of the Rectangle, the brightest.

If light comes first, choose a round such as DG-Anteros Moissanite; if a fully regular step pattern matters, the Rectangle.

Emerald Cut Moissanite: questions

Is emerald cut moissanite a good choice?

For fire it leads our step cuts: Fire 95, the highest share among them, against 87 for a diamond emerald cut. A round returns more light, 86 to its 51.

Does emerald cut moissanite show doubling?

It can: moissanite is doubly refractive, and a step cut shows the inside of the stone plainly. Our single-index renders cannot show it, so we have no figure.

Emerald cut or radiant cut moissanite?

The emerald cut returns more light (51 against 33) and leaks less (27% against 37%); the radiant faces up larger for its weight (118 against 105).

How much does a 6.5 mm emerald cut moissanite weigh?

Measured across its width, our model weighs 2.12 ct in moissanite and 2.31 ct in diamond.

Get the Emerald Cut files

6 formatsMillimetresWatertight

Emerald Cut 3D files

The Emerald Cut as exact geometry: 57 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

Emerald Cut cutting files

The Emerald Cut as a faceting design: 49 + 8 girdles = 57 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

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

Emerald Cut Moissanite: more fire than a diamond emerald cut, in a lighter stone