Brilliance 63 · Fire 55 · Scintillation 72 · in our census, where the T73 scores 79 · 39 · 80 in morganite
How the Asscher Cut handles light in morganite, measured: brilliance 63, fire 55 and 36% leakage, set against the T73 in the same stone and against the same cut in diamond.
Morganite has a refractive index of 1.572 to 1.600 and a dispersion of 0.014. Its critical angle, from the low end of that range, is 39.5°, so a round design needs a pavilion of at least 39.5° for head-on light to reflect off both sides of the pavilion and leave through the table. We trace it with one index, 1.586, the midpoint of the published range, and a fire spread of 0.012, 0.86 of the published dispersion. Every picture here is our Light Return tracer at 1.572, and every figure is from the same light census that scores the other gemstones; the 3D Gemstone Simulator shows the Asscher Cut in morganite live.
The Asscher Cut has 58 facets and a total depth of 60.4% of its width; its pavilion mains sit at 27.6°. In morganite, the census returns 63 of 100 for brilliance and 55 for fire, against 79 and 39 for the T73, our benchmark, in the same stone; the same Asscher Cut in diamond reads 69 and 80.
Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in morganite and with the Asscher 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.
At a glance: the Asscher Cut in morganite (white) against the T73 Round Brilliant in morganite (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 morganite: ahead on 3, level on 1, behind on 4.
1.09 ct at 6.5 mm, against 1.34 ct for the same cut in diamond (−19%)
Weight follows specific gravity: 2.855 for morganite against 3.52 for diamond, so the same model at the same size weighs 1.09 ct here and 1.34 ct in diamond, 6.5 mm across. Nothing about the light changes with it.
Try it yourself: Weights in every gemstone on the Asscher Cut page
Fire 55 against 80 for the Asscher Cut in diamond: 25 points lower
Fire is the share of the returned light that splits into color at the exit facet: the census traces each exit again at the refractive index minus and plus the fire spread (0.012 in morganite) and counts a ray as fire when the two directions differ by more than 0.6°. The Asscher Cut reads 55 against 80 for the same cut in diamond. The figure is the census's; the 3D Gemstone Simulator renders morganite's fire live.
The fire figure is the census's, traced at the refractive index minus and plus the fire spread. See the fire in the 3D Gemstone Simulator: the Asscher Cut in morganite under the sunny-day lighting.
What helps: the Oval Cut reads 70 for fire in morganite, the best of the cuts we score there.
Leakage 36 against 11 for the Asscher Cut in diamond: 25 points higher
Leakage is the share of the census rays that enter the stone and leave through the pavilion, or through the crown heading down. The Asscher Cut leaks 36% in morganite against 11% for the same cut in diamond. Grey in the maps below is leaking light; the share under each picture is that picture's own.
Asscher Cut in morganite · Leakage 36
Asscher Cut in diamond · Leakage 11
What helps: the DG-M5 reads 9% for leakage in morganite, the best of the cuts we score there.
Try it yourself: Tilt it yourself in the simulator's light map
Brilliance 63 against 79 for the T73 Round Brilliant in morganite: 16 points lower
Brilliance is the share of the 3,200 census rays that enter the stone and come back out of the crown towards the viewer. In morganite, whose critical angle is 39.5°, the Asscher Cut returns 63 of 100 and the T73 79. The Asscher Cut's pavilion mains sit at 27.6°, the T73's at 40.8°. The maps below show where each stone's light returns from and where it leaks.
Asscher Cut in morganite · Brilliance 63
T73 Round Brilliant in morganite · Brilliance 79
What helps: the DG-M5 reads 91 for brilliance in morganite, the best of the cuts we score there.
Try it yourself: Open this Light Return map in the simulator
Scintillation 72 against 80 for the T73 Round Brilliant in morganite: 8 points lower
Scintillation follows the number of facets the stone shows: 100 × (1 − e^(−facets / 45)). The Asscher Cut has 58 facets and the T73 73, so 72 against 80. It depends on the geometry alone, so it is the same in every stone.
Asscher Cut · 58 facets · Scintillation 72
T73 Round Brilliant · 73 facets · Scintillation 80
What helps: the DG-Miliano reads 98 for scintillation in morganite, the best of the cuts we score there.
Try it yourself: Compare the Scintillation spoke in the Cut Performance Wheel
Pick the Asscher Cut in morganite for this: it weighs less than in diamond. The catch: it shows less fire than in diamond, leaks more than in diamond, returns less light than the T73 and has fewer facets to sparkle with.
If that catch matters more to you, the Oval Cut reads 70 for fire in morganite, the best of the cuts we score there.
Every figure on this page is from our light census, traced at one refractive index: a simulation of the geometry, not a grading report. The 3D files and cutting files below are the same Asscher Cut model we traced.
In our census the Asscher Cut returns 63 of 100 for brilliance and 55 for fire in morganite, against 79 and 39 for the T73 in the same stone. Against that round and against the same cut in diamond it has 1 pro and 4 cons by our thresholds; the summary above names them.
At least 39.5° for a round design: morganite's critical angle is 39.5°, from the low end of its refractive index range, and head-on light has to reflect off both sides of the pavilion and leave through the table. The Asscher Cut's pavilion mains sit at 27.6°.
At 6.5 mm across, 1.09 ct in morganite, against 1.34 ct for the same cut in diamond (-19%): morganite's specific gravity is 2.855, diamond's 3.52.
Yes: the 3D Gemstone Simulator renders it live, with morganite's own refractive index and dispersion. Morganite is traced by the same light census as the other gemstones, with its refractive index and fire spread derived from published values, so its scores are on the same scale; the pictures here are our Light Return tracer, and the Cut Performance Wheel sets it against any other cut and stone.
The Asscher Cut as exact geometry: 58 planar facets, real-world scale, ready for CAD, rendering, printing and casting.
The Asscher Cut as a faceting design: 58 facets, 96 index, 4-fold symmetry, ready for the machine.
Save with a bundle: the Asscher Cut 3D files are also in Jewelry Essentials 3D, 10 cuts for €29.99 until 1 December, then €39.99 (€99.90 as single files). Buy the bundle.
Save with a bundle: the Asscher Cut cutting files are also in Faceter's Classics, 10 cuts for €22.49 until 1 December, then €29.99 (€69.90 as single files). Buy the bundle.
Not sure the files open in your software? Get the cube free: the same six formats, for your email address, used only to send them (privacy).
Questions before you buy? Email us.
Morganite: optical properties and the top ten cuts · The Asscher Cut: specifications, model and files