Radiant Cut Moissanite: Pros, Cons & Size

A radiant borrows the cropped-corner outline of a step cut and fills it with brilliant facets. Our radiant carries 74 of them on an outline 1.284 times as long as wide, at a total depth of 53.8%; the model records no pavilion angle, so we give no pavilion advice.

Per carat, only the Marquise and the Rectangle cover more area face-up. Light is the weak side: Brilliance 33 against 86 for the T73, with 37% of the light leaking.

Set beside our Radiant Square, the trade is plain. The Radiant Square returns 71 and leaks 11%, but faces up smaller for its weight, 91.

Radiant cut moissanite: worth choosing? Pros and cons

Pros

Among the largest faces for the weight 118 vs 100
Far more fire than a diamond radiant 92 vs 77
Lighter than in diamond 1.43 vs 1.56 ct

Cons

Very little light for a brilliant 33 vs 86
Over a third of the light leaks 37 vs 7
Slightly fewer flashes than a round 74 vs 80

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite and with the Radiant 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 Radiant 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.

Global69, the comparison 91, difference −22
Brilliance33, the comparison 86, difference −53
Fire92, the comparison 97, difference −5
Scintillation74, the comparison 80, difference −6
Spread105, the comparison 100, difference +5
Symmetry99, the comparison 100, difference −1
Shape-norm39, the comparison 93, difference −54
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. 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 a radiant cut

Among the largest faces for the weight

Face-up size 118 against 100 for the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite (T73 = 100): 18% more face-up area for the same weight

We take face-up size from each model as outline area per carat, the T73 scoring 100. At 118, the radiant covers more than every cut we measure except the Marquise and the Rectangle, both at 121.

Radiant Cut · 7.12 x 3.88 mm at 1.00 ct · Face-up size 118

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

Far more fire than a diamond radiant

Fire 92 against 77 for the Radiant Cut in diamond: 15 points higher

In diamond this radiant scores 77; the same model in moissanite scores 92, a few points under the T73's 97.

Radiant cut in moissanite 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.

Radiant cut in diamond face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 77) — 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

1.43 ct at 6.5 mm, against 1.56 ct for the same cut in diamond (−9%)

For a given length and width, a moissanite radiant weighs less than a diamond one, since the specific gravities are 3.22 and 3.52.

A Radiant 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 Radiant Cut page

The catch with a radiant moissanite

Very little light for a brilliant

Brilliance 33 against 86 for the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite: 53 points lower

33 against 86: only DG-Elongated Hexagon, DG-Bowtie and the Baguette return less in moissanite. Its diamond twin is no better, at 32.

Radiant cut in moissanite face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 33) — 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 more light on a cropped-corner outline, the Radiant Square returns 71, with a smaller face for its weight. DG-M5 Moissanite, a round, tops our moissanite census at 98.

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

Over a third of the light leaks

Leakage 37 against 7 for the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite: 30 points higher

37% of the light in our census leaves through the back; the T73 loses 7%. With no pavilion angle in our model, we cannot say how far it sits from the 39.5° guide minimum.

Radiant cut in moissanite tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 50% 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.

Radiant cut in moissanite tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 50% 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 Radiant Square leaks 11%, DG-Anteros Moissanite 3%.

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

Slightly fewer flashes than a round

Scintillation 74 against 80 for the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite: 6 points lower

The census reads scintillation from its own model of the radiant, whose facets differ from our 74-facet design, and scores it 74 against the T73's 80.

Radiant Cut · 74 facets · Scintillation 74

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: The Oval gives 87 on an elongated outline; for the most sparkle, DG-Miliano Moissanite at 98, a score DG-Vitruvio and the Portuguese Bird's Nest share.

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

Who a radiant moissanite suits

The radiant suits someone who wants a big, fiery rectangular stone for the carat weight and accepts a dim face. On light it is one of the weakest pairings we measure in moissanite.

For light in a cropped-corner stone, the Radiant Square. For a long outline with more light and less leakage, the Emerald Cut or the Marquise.

We sell this radiant as a 3D model only, without a cutting file.

Radiant Cut Moissanite: questions

Is radiant cut moissanite bright?

Not by a round's measure: Brilliance 33 against 86, and 37% of the light leaks out of the pavilion.

Does a radiant cut moissanite look big for its carat weight?

Yes. Its face-up size is 118 against 100 for the T73, the third largest of the cuts we measure.

Radiant or radiant square moissanite?

The radiant faces up larger for its weight (118 against 91); the radiant square returns far more light (71 against 33) and leaks less (11% against 37%).

What does a 6.5 mm wide radiant moissanite weigh?

1.43 ct. Cut from diamond, the same radiant would weigh 1.56 ct.

Get the Radiant Cut files

6 formatsMillimetresWatertight

Radiant Cut 3D files

The Radiant 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

In preparation

Radiant Cut cutting files

The faceting design for the Radiant Cut is in preparation. It will include the GemCad file, the tier table and a printable diagram.

Checkout opens soonComing soon

Questions before you buy? Email us.

More gemstones and cuts

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

Radiant Cut Moissanite: one of the largest faces for its weight that we measure