Trilliant Cut Moissanite: Pros, Cons & Fire

The trilliant is a three-sided brilliant with straight sides, 58.9% deep with a 39.0° pavilion. It is often set as a pair, one either side of a centre stone.

Of the three-sided cuts we measure in moissanite, it returns the most light: 71, against 60 for the Trillion and 52 for the Triangle. Against the round it still loses on symmetry, light, tilt and leakage.

Trilliant moissanite: a good match? Pros and cons

Pros

More fire than a diamond trilliant 95 vs 83
Lighter than in diamond 0.88 vs 0.96 ct

Cons

An uneven pavilion 62 vs 100
Less light than a round 71 vs 86
Keeps a little less light when tipped 90 vs 94
More leakage than a round 11 vs 7

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite and with the Trilliant 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 Trilliant 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 1, behind on 7.

Global80, the comparison 91, difference −11
Brilliance71, the comparison 86, difference −15
Fire95, the comparison 97, difference −2
Scintillation79, the comparison 80, difference −1
Spread101, the comparison 100, difference +1
Symmetry62, the comparison 100, difference −38
Shape-norm83, the comparison 93, difference −10
Tilt90, the comparison 94, difference −4

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 a trilliant cut

More fire than a diamond trilliant

Fire 95 against 83 for the Trilliant Cut in diamond: 12 points higher

In diamond this cut already shows good fire, 83. Moissanite's stronger dispersion lifts it to 95, close to the T73's 97.

Trilliant 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.

Trilliant cut in diamond face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 83) — 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

0.88 ct at 6.5 mm, against 0.96 ct for the same cut in diamond (−9%)

Weight per millimetre is lower in moissanite; the bars show it for a trilliant 6.5 mm across.

A Trilliant 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 Trilliant Cut page

The catch with a trilliant moissanite

An uneven pavilion

Symmetry 62 against 100 for the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite: 38 points lower

Symmetry here means how evenly the pavilion repeats itself around the stone. The trilliant's facets differ in size from corner to flat, and it scores 62; the three-sided Trillion scores 100.

Trilliant Cut · 70 facets · Symmetry 62

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: The Trillion Cut Moissanite is three-sided with a fully regular pavilion, but returns less light, 60.

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

Less light than a round

Brilliance 71 against 86 for the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite: 15 points lower

71 against 86. Light that reaches the sharp corners of a triangle has little pavilion to reflect from.

Trilliant cut in moissanite face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 71) — 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 three-sided cut we sell does better in moissanite. For more light, a round: DG-M5 Moissanite returns 98.

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

Keeps a little less light when tipped

Tilt 90 against 94 for the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite: 4 points lower

Tilt 90 against 94: a small gap, and the trilliant starts from less light than the round, so what it keeps when tipped is less again.

Trilliant cut in moissanite tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 14% of the face leaking — Tilt is how much of its own face-up light a stone keeps when tilted. 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.

Trilliant cut in moissanite tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 21% of the face leaking — Tilt is how much of its own face-up light a stone keeps when tilted. 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: DG-Octagonal Kite Moissanite keeps 100 when tipped, with the same brilliance, 71.

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

More leakage than a round

Leakage 11 against 7 for the T73 Round Brilliant in moissanite: 4 points higher

11% of the light in our census escapes through the pavilion; the T73 loses 7%. Its pavilion, at 39.0°, is a little under the 39.5° guide minimum for rounds, and we have not measured a steeper trilliant.

What helps: Size does not change the share, and no triangle we sell leaks much less. DG-Anteros, a round, loses 3%.

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

Who a trilliant moissanite suits

The trilliant suits side stones and bold modern designs where the outline matters and fire is welcome. Among triangles in moissanite it is the one to choose for light.

If an even pavilion matters more than light, choose the Trillion Cut Moissanite. For a centre stone where brightness leads, a round such as DG-M5 Moissanite. Its sharp corners need protecting in a setting.

Trilliant Cut Moissanite: questions

Is moissanite good in a trilliant cut?

For fire, yes: 95, against 83 for a diamond trilliant. For light it trails a round: 71 against 86.

Trilliant or trillion cut moissanite?

The trilliant returns more light (71 against 60); the trillion has a regular pavilion (100 against 62) and a wider face for its weight.

Does a trilliant moissanite leak light?

11% in our census, against 7% for the T73 and 11% for a diamond trilliant.

What does a 6.5 mm trilliant moissanite weigh?

0.88 ct, and 0.96 ct for a diamond trilliant that wide.

Get the Trilliant Cut files

6 formatsMillimetresWatertight

Trilliant Cut 3D files

The Trilliant Cut as exact geometry: 72 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

Trilliant Cut cutting files

The Trilliant Cut as a faceting design: 58 + 12 girdles = 70 facets, 96 index, 3-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 Trilliant Cut: specifications, model and files

Trilliant Cut Moissanite: a bold triangle with far more fire than in diamond