DG-Rafaello Ruby: Sparkle, Fire & Leakage

DG-Rafaello is a twelve-fold round: twenty-four crown mains and twelve stars on top, and a pavilion cut in five tiers, each shallower than the one above, curving from girdle to point. The model counts 145 facets in all; its pavilion reads 40.0° and its depth 59.0%.

We drew it for diamond, where it scores 94 for brilliance and 80 for fire. In ruby the twelve-fold plan still sparkles, but the shallower lower tiers sit closer to corundum's 34.6° critical angle, and light starts to slip out.

Is DG-Rafaello a good cut for ruby? Pros and cons

Pros

Much finer sparkle than the T73 96 vs 80

Cons

The least fire of our modern ruby rounds 25 vs 80
Keeps less light when tilted than the diamond 81 vs 97
Heavier than in diamond 1.07 vs 0.94 ct
More leakage than the T73 15 vs 5

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in ruby and with the DG-Rafaello 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 DG-Rafaello in ruby (white) against the T73 Round Brilliant in ruby (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 ruby: ahead on 3, level on 1, behind on 4.

Global75, the comparison 79, difference −4
Brilliance85, the comparison 94, difference −9
Fire25, the comparison 37, difference −12
Scintillation96, the comparison 80, difference +16
Spread101, the comparison 100, difference +1
Symmetry100, the comparison 100, difference 0
Shape-norm92, the comparison 102, difference −10
Tilt81, the comparison 75, difference +6

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 ruby gains in DG-Rafaello

Much finer sparkle than the T73

Scintillation 96 against 80 for the T73 Round Brilliant in ruby: 16 points higher

Twelve-fold symmetry and five pavilion tiers give 145 facets against the T73's 73, and the scintillation score climbs with them. Only DG-Vitruvio and DG-Miliano sparkle more on our ruby pages.

DG-Rafaello · 145 facets · Scintillation 96

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.

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

DG-Rafaello's costs in ruby

The least fire of our modern ruby rounds

Fire 25 against 80 for the DG-Rafaello in diamond: 55 points lower

Fire 25 in ruby against 80 for the same design in diamond: the largest fire gap on our ruby pages after the Old Single. Low dispersion and a pavilion tuned for diamond both play a part.

Dg-rafaello in ruby face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 25) — 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.

Dg-rafaello in diamond face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 80) — 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.

What helps: No retuning of the tiers would give corundum diamond's dispersion. The Oval Cut Ruby is the most fiery ruby we measure, at 74.

Try it yourself: See the fire in the 3D Gemstone Simulator

Keeps less light when tilted than the diamond

Tilt 81 against 97 for the DG-Rafaello in diamond: 16 points lower

In diamond DG-Rafaello is one of our steadiest rounds when tipped, 97. In ruby it keeps 81: still better than the T73's 75, but well short of the stone it was drawn for.

Dg-rafaello in ruby tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 1% 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.

Dg-rafaello in ruby tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 20% 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: Its tiered sibling DG-Miliano Ruby does a little better at an angle in ruby: 83.

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

Heavier than in diamond

1.07 ct at 6.5 mm, against 0.94 ct for the same cut in diamond (+14%)

1.07 ct for a ruby 6.5 mm across, against 0.94 ct in diamond; the shallow, curved pavilion keeps both figures modest for a round.

A DG-Rafaello 6.5 mm across, weighed from the model's measured volume and each stone's specific gravity.

What helps: Corundum's density is the cause; order by diameter.

Try it yourself: Weights in all seven gemstones on the DG-Rafaello page

More leakage than the T73

Leakage 15 against 5 for the T73 Round Brilliant in ruby: 10 points higher

In our ruby census 15% of the light goes out through the pavilion; the T73 loses 5%. The same loss shows on the brilliance spoke: 85 against 94.

What helps: Leak share does not depend on size. For a fine-sparkling round that leaks less, DG-Vitruvio Ruby loses 6%; DG-M5 Ruby loses 0%.

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

Who a DG-Rafaello ruby suits

DG-Rafaello is a diamond design first. In ruby it suits someone who wants its twelve-fold pattern and fine sparkle and accepts a dimmer, less colourful stone than the other modern rounds.

Both DG-Vitruvio Ruby and DG-Miliano Ruby sparkle at least as finely, with more light. For a twelve-fold ruby round at the top of our light scale, DG-M5 Ruby. In diamond, where it belongs, see DG-Rafaello Diamond.

DG-Rafaello Ruby: questions

Is DG-Rafaello good in ruby?

For sparkle, yes: Scintillation 96. On light it falls behind the T73, 85 to 94, and 15% leaks.

DG-Rafaello or DG-M5 for a ruby?

Both are twelve-fold. DG-M5 returns more light (100 against 85) and leaks 0%; DG-Rafaello sparkles more (96 against 85).

Why is DG-Rafaello better in diamond than in ruby?

Its five tiers were set for diamond's refractive index of 2.417, not corundum's 1.762 to 1.770. In diamond it scores Brilliance 94 and Fire 80; in ruby, 85 and 25.

What does a 6.5 mm DG-Rafaello ruby weigh?

Near 1.07 ct at that width, a little lighter than a T73 ruby; the diamond version is 0.94 ct.

Get the DG-Rafaello Cut files

6 formatsMillimetresWatertight

DG-Rafaello Cut 3D files

The DG-Rafaello Cut as exact geometry: 145 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

DG-Rafaello Cut cutting files

The DG-Rafaello Cut as a faceting design: 121 + 24 girdles = 145 facets, 96 index, 12-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

Ruby: optical properties and the top ten cuts · The DG-Rafaello: specifications, model and files

DG-Rafaello Ruby: a five-tier pavilion that keeps its fine sparkle