Oval Cut Moissanite: Pros, Cons & Sparkle

Stretch a round brilliant along one axis and you have an oval. Ours reaches 1.331 times its width, sits 64.0% deep on a 40.99° pavilion, and counts 93 facets in the cutting design.

It has four pros in moissanite, all modest: a larger face for the weight, a lighter stone than diamond, more sparkle than the T73, and a few points more fire than the oval in diamond. Its two cons are large: Brilliance 38 against 86, and a third of the light lost through the pavilion.

The oval's known weakness is the bow-tie: a darker band across the middle, where the pavilion is at its shallowest. We have no bow-tie metric, so this page gives it no number.

Oval moissanite: is it a good match? Pros and cons

Pros

Lighter than a diamond oval 1.30 vs 1.42 ct
Larger for its weight than a round 108 vs 100
More sparkle than a round 87 vs 80
A little more fire than in diamond 95 vs 92

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite and with the Oval 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 Oval 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 2, behind on 6.

Global73, the comparison 91, difference −18
Brilliance38, the comparison 86, difference −48
Fire95, the comparison 97, difference −2
Scintillation87, the comparison 80, difference +7
Spread99, the comparison 100, difference −1
Symmetry98, the comparison 100, difference −2
Shape-norm45, the comparison 93, difference −48
Tilt97, the comparison 94, difference +3

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 oval cut

Lighter than a diamond oval

1.30 ct at 6.5 mm, against 1.42 ct for the same cut in diamond (−9%)

Specific gravity decides it: 3.22 for moissanite, 3.52 for diamond. An oval cut to the same length and width therefore weighs less in moissanite.

A Oval 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 Oval Cut page

Larger for its weight than a round

Face-up size 108 against 100 for the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite (T73 = 100): 8% more face-up area for the same weight

Our face-up size measures each model's outline area against its carat weight, the T73 being 100. At the same weight the oval covers 108 to the T73's 100, so a one-carat oval has a larger face-up outline than a one-carat round.

Oval Cut · 7.92 x 5.95 mm at 1.00 ct · Face-up size 108

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

More sparkle than a round

Scintillation 87 against 80 for the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite: 7 points higher

The figure is read off the facets, so it holds for an oval in any gemstone. Read from the census's model of the oval, it scores 87 against the T73's 80, the most of the elongated cuts we measure.

Oval Cut · 93 facets · Scintillation 87

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.

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

A little more fire than in diamond

Fire 95 against 92 for the Oval Cut in diamond: 3 points higher

The diamond oval already scores 92, so there is little room left; in moissanite the same oval reaches 95.

Oval 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.

Oval cut in diamond face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 92) — 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

The catch with an oval moissanite

Much less light than a round

Brilliance 38 against 86 for the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite: 48 points lower

38 against 86, and below the diamond oval's 47. The pavilion is 40.99°, above the 39.5° guide minimum; we have not measured a steeper oval.

Oval cut in moissanite face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 38) — 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: The brightest elongated cut we measure in moissanite is the Marquise, at 59. For the most light, give up the long outline for DG-M5 Moissanite at 98.

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

A third of the light leaks

Leakage 33 against 7 for the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite: 26 points higher

33% of the light in our census goes out through the back; the T73 in moissanite loses 7%. Only DG-Elongated Hexagon, the Baguette and the Radiant leak more in moissanite.

Oval cut in moissanite tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 41% 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.

Oval cut in moissanite tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 38% 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 does not change the share. The Marquise leaks 19% and the Pear 22%; a round such as DG-Anteros Moissanite 3%.

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

Who an oval moissanite suits

The oval suits a ring where a long outline, plenty of face for the carat weight and fine sparkle matter more than brilliance. It is not the cut for the brightest moissanite.

Among elongated cuts in moissanite, the Marquise returns the most light, and both it and the Pear leak less than the oval; for a bright stone, a round such as DG-Anteros Moissanite.

Oval Cut Moissanite: questions

Is oval moissanite less bright than round?

Yes, by a wide margin in our census: Brilliance 38 for the oval against 86 for the T73 Round Brilliant, with 33% of the light leaking against 7%.

Does an oval moissanite look bigger than a round of the same carat weight?

Its outline is larger: face-up size 108 against 100 for the T73. An oval 6.5 mm wide weighs 1.30 ct.

Does oval moissanite have a bow-tie?

Many ovals show one. We have no bow-tie measure, so we cannot say how strong this one is.

Oval moissanite or oval diamond?

Moissanite gives a little more fire (95 against 92) and weighs less; diamond returns more light (47 against 38) and leaks less (27% against 33%).

Get the Oval Cut files

6 formatsMillimetresWatertight

Oval Cut 3D files

The Oval Cut as exact geometry: 97 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

Oval Cut cutting files

The Oval Cut as a faceting design: 73 + 20 girdles = 93 facets, 96 index, 2-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 Oval Cut: specifications, model and files

Oval Cut Moissanite: a larger face for its weight than a round, and more sparkle than the T73