Old European Cut Moissanite: 21 more points of fire than in diamond

Brilliance 79 · Fire 95 · Scintillation 81 · in our census, where the T73 scores 86 · 97 · 80 in moissanite

The antique round with moissanite's colour: fire close to a modern round's, at the cost of a little light.

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

Old European Cut Moissanite

The Old European is the antique round that nearly matches the T73 in diamond. In moissanite it gains what moissanite always gives, fire, and gives up a little of the light the diamond version keeps.

Our model has 74 facets, a small 45.0% table and a 41.5° pavilion.

Against the T73 in moissanite the gaps are small in both directions: Brilliance 79 against 86, Fire 95 against 97, scintillation level. The pros and cons below come mostly from the comparison with diamond, because that is where the differences are large.

Is moissanite good in an Old European cut? Pros and cons

Pros

Cons

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite and with the Old European 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 Old European 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.

Performance wheel: Old European Cut in moissanite, against the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite as an outline. Solid white marks where it reaches further, hatching where it falls short. The scores are listed below.50100Global−2Brilliance−7Fire−2Scintillation+1Spread−2Symmetry0Shape-norm+30Tilt+6

Against the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite: ahead on 3, level on 1, behind on 4.

  • Global89, the comparison 91, difference −2
  • Brilliance79, the comparison 86, difference −7
  • Fire95, the comparison 97, difference −2
  • Scintillation81, the comparison 80, difference +1
  • Spread98, the comparison 100, difference −2
  • Symmetry100, the comparison 100, difference 0
  • Shape-norm123, the comparison 93, difference +30
  • Tilt100, the comparison 94, difference +6
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 Old European cut

Much more fire than in diamond

Fire 95 against 74 for the Old European Cut in diamond: 21 points higher

Moissanite's dispersion is more than twice diamond's. Under the same light, the moissanite render shows larger and brighter flashes of colour across the same facets.

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

Old European Cut in moissanite · Fire 95

Old european cut in diamond face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 74)

Old European Cut in diamond · Fire 74

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 for its size

1.00 ct at 6.5 mm, against 1.09 ct for the same cut in diamond (−9%)

Moissanite is the lighter material, 3.22 against 3.52 in specific gravity: lighter in the ear and on the hand.

Moissanite1.00 ctDiamond1.09 ct
A Old European 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 Old European Cut page

The catch with an Old European moissanite

Less light than the same cut in diamond

Brilliance 79 against 90 for the Old European Cut in diamond: 11 points lower

The Old European's angles suit diamond; moissanite bends light more strongly, so a little more of it misses the eye. Head-on, the two maps look equally full: the loss shows in the wider cone of light the score averages.

Old european cut in moissanite face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 79)

Old European Cut in moissanite · Brilliance 79

Old european cut in diamond face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 90)

Old European Cut in diamond · Brilliance 90

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: DG-Anteros Moissanite is our round re-solved for moissanite: Brilliance 92.

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

A little more leakage when tilted

Leakage 9 against 5 for the Old European Cut in diamond: 4 points higher

9% against 5% in diamond. The strip is mixed: face-up both hold their light, at 10° the moissanite shows more grey, at 20° and 30° the two are about level. The census averages light from every direction, and there moissanite comes out a few points behind.

Old European Cut in moissanite · Leakage 9

Old european cut in moissanite tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 1% of the face leaking0° · 1% leak
Old european cut in moissanite tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 13% of the face leaking10° · 13% leak
Old european cut in moissanite tilted 20 degrees: Light Return map, 9% of the face leaking20° · 9% leak
Old european cut in moissanite tilted 30 degrees: Light Return map, 15% of the face leaking30° · 15% leak

Old European Cut in diamond · Leakage 5

Old european cut in diamond tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 3% of the face leaking0° · 3% leak
Old european cut in diamond tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 7% of the face leaking10° · 7% leak
Old european cut in diamond tilted 20 degrees: Light Return map, 10% of the face leaking20° · 10% leak
Old european cut in diamond tilted 30 degrees: Light Return map, 17% of the face leaking30° · 17% 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: Set it face-up; the leak shows as it tilts. DG-Anteros leaks 3%.

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

Marginally smaller for its weight

Spread 98 against 100 for the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite: 2 points lower

At 64.7% deep it is slightly narrower than the T73 for the same weight.

Old European Cut · 6.51 mm at 1.00 ct · Spread 98

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.

What helps: The gap is two points: two per cent of the width, about 0.13 mm on a 6.5 mm stone.

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

Who an Old European moissanite suits

The antique round to choose in moissanite: a modern round's sparkle, a little less of its light, and fire close to the top of our scale. It suits a vintage engagement ring that should still look bright. Some find this much colour too much in a high-crowned antique cut; that is taste, not a measure.

For the most light in a round, DG-Anteros Moissanite. For an antique cushion, the Peruzzi Cut Moissanite.

Old European Cut Moissanite: questions

Is Old European cut moissanite fiery?

Very: 95 in our census, against 74 for the same cut in diamond and 97 for the T73 in moissanite.

Old European cut moissanite or diamond?

Moissanite has more fire (95 against 74); diamond returns more light (90 against 79).

Old European moissanite or DG-Anteros?

DG-Anteros returns more light (92 against 79) and leaks less (3% against 9%); the Old European has a little more fire (95 against 91) and the antique look.

Does Old European moissanite look like an antique diamond?

The facet pattern is the same, the colour is not: it scores 95 for fire where the diamond scores 74, and the renders above show the difference under one light.

Get the Old European Cut files

6 formatsMillimetresWatertight

Old European Cut 3D files

The Old European Cut as exact geometry: 74 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

Old European Cut cutting files

The Old European Cut as a faceting design: 58 + 16 girdles = 74 facets, 96 index, 8-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

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

Other cuts in moissanite

The Old European Cut in other gemstones