Old Mine Cut Moissanite: the antique cushion with moissanite's fire

Brilliance 60 · Fire 85 · Scintillation 81 · in our census, where the T73 scores 86 · 97 · 80 in moissanite

Moissanite gives the Old Mine the colour it lacks in diamond; it does not fix the light it loses.

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

Old Mine Cut Moissanite

The Old Mine is the cushion people picture when they say antique. Our model has 74 facets, a wide 60.3% table and a 44.38° pavilion. In moissanite the fire rises well above the diamond version.

The leak barely changes: the steep pavilion lets out nearly as much light in moissanite as in diamond.

The Old Mine and the Peruzzi both have 74 facets on a cushion in our models; in moissanite they differ mainly in light. The Peruzzi returns 71 and leaks 15%; the Old Mine returns 60 and leaks 29%. Both gain the same kind of fire over diamond.

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

Pros

Cons

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite and with the Old Mine 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 Mine 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 Mine 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−14Brilliance−26Fire−12Scintillation+1Spread−2Symmetry−10Shape-norm0Tilt+6

Against the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite: ahead on 2, level on 1, behind on 5.

  • Global77, the comparison 91, difference −14
  • Brilliance60, the comparison 86, difference −26
  • Fire85, the comparison 97, difference −12
  • Scintillation81, the comparison 80, difference +1
  • Spread98, the comparison 100, difference −2
  • Symmetry90, the comparison 100, difference −10
  • Shape-norm93, the comparison 93, difference 0
  • 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 Mine cut

More fire than in diamond

Fire 85 against 72 for the Old Mine Cut in diamond: 13 points higher

Moissanite's dispersion turns the Old Mine's broad facets into broad flashes of colour.

Old mine cut in moissanite face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 85)

Old Mine Cut in moissanite · Fire 85

Old mine cut in diamond face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 72)

Old Mine Cut in diamond · Fire 72

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 the diamond version

1.10 ct at 6.5 mm, against 1.21 ct for the same cut in diamond (−9%)

The broad cushion sits on a lighter material: moissanite's specific gravity is 3.22, diamond's 3.52.

Moissanite1.10 ctDiamond1.21 ct
A Old Mine 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 Mine Cut page

The catch with an Old Mine moissanite

A lot less light than a modern round

Brilliance 60 against 86 for the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite: 26 points lower

Grey fills the cushion's corners in the face-up map: light leaving through the pavilion.

Old mine cut in moissanite face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 60)

Old Mine Cut in moissanite · Brilliance 60

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)

T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite · 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 cushion in moissanite, the Peruzzi Cut Moissanite returns 71; for the most light, DG-Anteros (92).

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

Nearly a third of the light leaks

Leakage 29 against 7 for the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite: 22 points higher

29% in our census, against 7% for the T73 in moissanite. Tipping the stone shifts the grey but does not clear it.

Old Mine Cut in moissanite · Leakage 29

Old mine cut in moissanite tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 33% of the face leaking0° · 33% leak
Old mine cut in moissanite tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 28% of the face leaking10° · 28% leak
Old mine cut in moissanite tilted 20 degrees: Light Return map, 22% of the face leaking20° · 22% leak
Old mine cut in moissanite tilted 30 degrees: Light Return map, 22% of the face leaking30° · 22% leak

T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite · Leakage 7

T73 round brilliant in moissanite tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 10% of the face leaking0° · 10% leak
T73 round brilliant in moissanite tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 6% of the face leaking10° · 6% leak
T73 round brilliant in moissanite tilted 20 degrees: Light Return map, 10% of the face leaking20° · 10% leak
T73 round brilliant in moissanite tilted 30 degrees: Light Return map, 15% of the face leaking30° · 15% 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: The angles set the share, at any size. The Peruzzi Cut Moissanite leaks 15%.

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

A less regular pavilion

Symmetry 90 against 100 for the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite: 10 points lower

Symmetry 90: the pavilion's facets vary more within the design than a modern round's.

Old Mine Cut · 74 facets · Symmetry 90

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 design. The Old European Cut Moissanite scores 100.

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

Marginally smaller for its weight

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

At 65.6% deep it is a touch narrower than the T73 for the same weight.

Old Mine Cut · 6.29 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: A 6.5 mm Old Mine weighs 1.10 ct in moissanite.

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

Who an Old Mine moissanite suits

Choose it for the classic antique cushion with lots of colour, and expect a softer face than a modern cut.

The Peruzzi Cut Moissanite gives a brighter antique cushion; DG-Anteros Moissanite the brightest round.

For cutters: the 44.38° pavilion is already above moissanite's guide minimum of 39.5°, so the leak is not a shallow-pavilion problem. A different cut, not different angles, is the fix our data supports.

Set in a bezel or a low basket, its broad crown shows well; the light it loses is in the pavilion, which no setting changes.

Old Mine Cut Moissanite: questions

Is Old Mine cut moissanite worth it?

For fire, yes: 85 against 72 in diamond. For brightness, it trails a modern round: 60 against 86.

Why does Old Mine moissanite look darker than a round?

29% of its light in our census leaves through the pavilion, against 7% for the T73.

Old Mine or Old European cut moissanite?

The Old European: Brilliance 79 against 60, fire 95 against 85.

How much fire does an Old Mine moissanite have?

Fire 85 in our census: below the T73 in moissanite (97) but well above the same cut in diamond (72).

Get the Old Mine Cut files

6 formatsMillimetresWatertight

Old Mine Cut 3D files

The Old Mine 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 Mine Cut cutting files

The Old Mine Cut as a faceting design: 58 + 16 girdles = 74 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

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

Other cuts in moissanite

The Old Mine Cut in other gemstones