Brilliance 66 · Fire 41 · Scintillation 81 · in our census, where the T73 scores 79 · 39 · 80 in morganite
How the Old European Cut handles light in morganite, measured: brilliance 66, fire 41 and 34% 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 Old European Cut in morganite live.
The Old European Cut has 74 facets, a table of 45.0% of its width and a total depth of 64.7% of its width; its pavilion mains sit at 41.5°. In morganite, the census returns 66 of 100 for brilliance and 41 for fire, against 79 and 39 for the T73, our benchmark, in the same stone; the same Old European Cut in diamond reads 90 and 74.
Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in morganite and with the Old European 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 Old European 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 4, level on 1, behind on 3.
0.88 ct at 6.5 mm, against 1.09 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 0.88 ct here and 1.09 ct in diamond, 6.5 mm across. Nothing about the light changes with it.
Try it yourself: Weights in every gemstone on the Old European Cut page
Fire 41 against 74 for the Old European Cut in diamond: 33 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 Old European Cut reads 41 against 74 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 Old European 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 34 against 5 for the Old European Cut in diamond: 29 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 Old European Cut leaks 34% in morganite against 5% for the same cut in diamond. Grey in the maps below is leaking light; the share under each picture is that picture's own.
Old European Cut in morganite · Leakage 34
Old European Cut in diamond · Leakage 5
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 66 against 90 for the Old European Cut in diamond: 24 points lower
The same cut in diamond returns 90. Morganite bends light less than diamond: its critical angle is 39.5°, diamond's 24.4°, so a pavilion facet has to be steeper before light reflects off it rather than passing out. The Old European Cut's pavilion returns less of morganite's light than of diamond's, as the two maps show.
Old European Cut in morganite · Brilliance 66
Old European Cut in diamond · Brilliance 90
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
Face-up size 95 against 100 for the T73 Round Brilliant in morganite (T73 = 100): 5% less face-up area for the same weight
Face-up size is the outline's area per carat, measured from each model (T73 = 100): 95 for the Old European Cut against 100 for the T73. The same volume spread over a longer or shallower outline shows more face for the weight; it is the same in every stone, because specific gravity scales every cut alike.
Old European Cut · 6.78 mm at 1.00 ct · Face-up size 95
T73 Round Brilliant · 6.94 mm at 1.00 ct · Face-up size 100
What helps: the Marquise Cut reads 121 for face-up size in morganite, the best of the cuts we score there.
Try it yourself: See its size at 1.00 ct in morganite in the 3D Gemstone Simulator
Pick the Old European 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 in diamond and faces up smaller for its weight.
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 Old European Cut model we traced.
In our census the Old European Cut returns 66 of 100 for brilliance and 41 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 Old European Cut's pavilion mains sit at 41.5°.
At 6.5 mm across, 0.88 ct in morganite, against 1.09 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 Old European Cut as exact geometry: 74 planar facets, real-world scale, ready for CAD, rendering, printing and casting.
The Old European Cut as a faceting design: 58 + 16 girdles = 74 facets, 96 index, 8-fold mirror-image symmetry, ready for the machine.
Save with a bundle: the Old European Cut 3D and cutting files are also in Historic Cuts Complete, 6 cuts for €29.99 until 1 December, then €39.99 (€101.88 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 Old European Cut: specifications, model and files