Marquise Cut Ruby: Pros, Cons & Leakage

Stretched to 2.059 times its width and pointed at both ends, our marquise has 87 facets, a 31.41° pavilion and 62.0% depth.

That pavilion sits under both of ruby's reference angles: the 34.6° critical angle and the 36.4° guide minimum. Much of the light from above meets it at angles it can pass through, which fits the leak and the low light we measure.

In return it sparkles a little more than the T73, and its length makes a ruby of modest weight read as a long line of red on the finger.

Is a marquise a sensible cut for ruby? Pros and cons

Pros

A little more sparkle than a round 86 vs 80

Cons

Much less light than a round ruby 55 vs 94
Less fire than a diamond marquise 54 vs 89
Nearly two-fifths of the light leaks 39 vs 5
Loses much of its light at an angle 56 vs 87

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in ruby and with the Marquise 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 Marquise Cut 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 2, level on 1, behind on 5.

Global63, the comparison 79, difference −16
Brilliance55, the comparison 94, difference −39
Fire54, the comparison 37, difference +17
Scintillation86, the comparison 80, difference +6
Spread100, the comparison 100, difference 0
Symmetry94, the comparison 100, difference −6
Shape-norm64, the comparison 102, difference −38
Tilt56, the comparison 75, difference −19

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 a marquise

A little more sparkle than a round

Scintillation 86 against 80 for the T73 Round Brilliant in ruby: 6 points higher

The long outline carries 87 facets against 73 for the T73, and our scintillation score, which follows the facet plan, rises with them.

Marquise Cut · 87 facets · Scintillation 86

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

Where the marquise falls short in ruby

Much less light than a round ruby

Brilliance 55 against 94 for the T73 Round Brilliant in ruby: 39 points lower

Brilliance 55 against 94: the lowest of the modern shapes on our ruby pages.

Marquise cut in ruby face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 55) — 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 ruby face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 94) — 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: The Oval Cut Ruby, less stretched, returns 66 in ruby. We have not measured a marquise with a steeper pavilion, so we cannot promise what one would gain.

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

Less fire than a diamond marquise

Fire 54 against 89 for the Marquise Cut in diamond: 35 points lower

Fire 54 against 89. In ruby it still shows more colour than any round, but less than the oval.

Marquise cut in ruby face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 54) — 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.

Marquise cut in diamond face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 89) — 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: Fire peaks in the Oval Cut Ruby among our ruby cuts, at 74.

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

Nearly two-fifths of the light leaks

Leakage 39 against 5 for the T73 Round Brilliant in ruby: 34 points higher

Nearly two-fifths, 39%, leaves through the shallow pavilion; the T73 in ruby loses 5%.

Marquise cut in ruby tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 39% of the face leaking — 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.

Marquise cut in ruby tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 39% of the face leaking — 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: A shorter elongated shape helps: the Oval Cut Ruby loses 26%, and size changes neither figure.

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

Loses much of its light at an angle

Tilt 56 against 87 for the Marquise Cut in diamond: 31 points lower

Tipped 20°, the ruby marquise keeps 56 of its face-up light; in diamond, 87.

What helps: No elongated ruby we measure holds light well when tipped; the Oval Cut Ruby keeps 58.

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

Who a marquise ruby suits

The marquise suits a ruby where the long, pointed outline is the point, in a navette ring or as accents, and a dimmer face is acceptable. The points need protecting, usually with V-prongs.

For an elongated ruby with more light and fire, the Oval Cut Ruby; for one rounded end, the Pear Cut Ruby. Like any elongated cut it may show a darker bow-tie across the middle; we do not measure that.

Marquise Cut Ruby: questions

Is a marquise a good cut for ruby?

For sparkle, a little better than a round (86 against 80); for light, much worse: Brilliance 55 and 39% leakage.

Marquise or oval ruby?

The oval: Brilliance 66 against 55, Fire 74 against 54, leakage 26% against 39%.

What does a marquise ruby 6.5 mm wide weigh?

About 2.38 ct, the heaviest at that width on our ruby pages, because it runs 2.059 times as long as it is wide. In diamond, 2.09 ct.

Get the Marquise Cut files

6 formatsMillimetresWatertight

Marquise Cut 3D files

The Marquise Cut as exact geometry: 87 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

GemCad64 index

Marquise Cut cutting files

The Marquise Cut as a faceting design: 67 + 20 girdles = 87 facets, 64 index, 2-fold mirror-image symmetry, ready for the machine.

.ascGemCad design file, 64 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 Marquise Cut: specifications, model and files

Marquise Cut Ruby: a little more sparkle than a round, on a long outline