Brilliance 54 · Fire 63 · Scintillation 81 · in our census, where the T73 scores 79 · 39 · 80 in morganite
How the Teardrop Cut handles light in morganite, measured: brilliance 54, fire 63 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 Teardrop Cut in morganite live.
The Teardrop Cut has 74 facets and a total depth of 60.0% of its width; its pavilion mains sit at 38.5°. In morganite, the census returns 54 of 100 for brilliance and 63 for fire, against 79 and 39 for the T73, our benchmark, in the same stone; the same Teardrop Cut in diamond reads 46 and 89.
Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in morganite and with the Teardrop 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 Teardrop 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, behind on 5.
1.04 ct at 6.5 mm, against 1.28 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 1.04 ct here and 1.28 ct in diamond, 6.5 mm across. Nothing about the light changes with it.
Try it yourself: Weights in every gemstone on the Teardrop Cut page
Face-up size 116 against 100 for the T73 Round Brilliant in morganite (T73 = 100): 16% more face-up area for the same weight
Face-up size is the outline's area per carat, measured from each model (T73 = 100): 116 for the Teardrop 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.
Teardrop Cut · 9.27 x 6.42 mm at 1.00 ct · Face-up size 116
T73 Round Brilliant · 6.94 mm at 1.00 ct · Face-up size 100
Try it yourself: See its size at 1.00 ct in morganite in the 3D Gemstone Simulator
Tilt 53 against 80 for the Teardrop Cut in diamond: 27 points lower
Tilt is how much of its face-up brilliance a stone keeps when the census tilts it 20° about its long axis, with 2,200 rays. The Teardrop Cut keeps 53 against 80 for the same cut in diamond. The tilt strips below show the maps at 0°, 10°, 20° and 30°, with each picture's own leak share under it.
Teardrop Cut in morganite · Tilt 53
Teardrop Cut in diamond · Tilt 80
What helps: the Square Cut reads 85 for tilt in morganite, the best of the cuts we score there.
Try it yourself: Compare the Tilt spoke in the Cut Performance Wheel
Fire 63 against 89 for the Teardrop Cut in diamond: 26 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 Teardrop Cut reads 63 against 89 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 Teardrop 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.
Brilliance 54 against 79 for the T73 Round Brilliant in morganite: 25 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 Teardrop Cut returns 54 of 100 and the T73 79. The Teardrop Cut's pavilion mains sit at 38.5°, the T73's at 40.8°. The maps below show where each stone's light returns from and where it leaks.
Teardrop Cut in morganite · Brilliance 54
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
Leakage 36 against 21 for the T73 Round Brilliant in morganite: 15 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 Teardrop Cut leaks 36% in morganite against 21% for the T73 in morganite. Grey in the maps below is leaking light; the share under each picture is that picture's own.
Teardrop Cut in morganite · Leakage 36
T73 Round Brilliant in morganite · Leakage 21
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
Pick the Teardrop Cut in morganite for this: it weighs less than in diamond and faces up larger for its weight. The catch: it loses more light when tilted than in diamond, shows less fire than in diamond, returns less light than the T73 and leaks more light than the T73.
If that catch matters more to you, the Square Cut reads 85 for tilt 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 Teardrop Cut model we traced.
In our census the Teardrop Cut returns 54 of 100 for brilliance and 63 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 2 pros 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 Teardrop Cut's pavilion mains sit at 38.5°.
At 6.5 mm across, 1.04 ct in morganite, against 1.28 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 Teardrop Cut as exact geometry: 74 planar facets, real-world scale, ready for CAD, rendering, printing and casting.
The Teardrop Cut as a faceting design: 56 + 18 girdles = 74 facets, 64 index, 1-fold mirror-image symmetry, ready for the machine.
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 Teardrop Cut: specifications, model and files