Mazarin Cut Ruby: more light than the Peruzzi or the Old Mine, and well short of a round

Brilliance 58 · Fire 40 · Scintillation 61 · in our census, where the T73 scores 94 · 37 · 80 in ruby

A cushion of 42 facets: in ruby it returns 58 for brilliance to a modern round's 94, and loses 37% of its light through the back.

See it in the simulatorGet the files
The Mazarin Cut in ruby, rendered at an angle in our 3D Gemstone Simulator under studio light
Rendered in our 3D Gemstone Simulator from the Mazarin Cut model, 1.00 ct, studio light.

Mazarin Cut Ruby

Sixteen facets above the girdle and sixteen below, on a cushion with an octagonal table: that is the Mazarin, or double cut. Our model has 42 facets, a 57.5% table, a 31.4° crown and a 44.33° pavilion, 68.8% deep.

In diamond the Peruzzi is the brightest of the three historic cushions we measure. In ruby the Peruzzi drops to last and the Mazarin leads: it returns 58, the Old Mine 50 and the Peruzzi 46.

Is a Mazarin cut good for ruby? Pros and cons

Pros

None by our margins. Tilt reads 100, on modest light.

Cons

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in ruby and with the Mazarin 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.

All eight scores against the T73

At a glance: the Mazarin 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.

Performance wheel: Mazarin Cut in ruby, against the T73 Round Brilliant in ruby as an outline. Solid white marks where it reaches further, hatching where it falls short. The scores are listed below.50100Global−13Brilliance−36Fire+3Scintillation−19Spread−4Symmetry0Shape-norm−39Tilt+25

Against the T73 Round Brilliant in ruby: ahead on 2, level on 1, behind on 5.

  • Global66, the comparison 79, difference −13
  • Brilliance58, the comparison 94, difference −36
  • Fire40, the comparison 37, difference +3
  • Scintillation61, the comparison 80, difference −19
  • Spread96, the comparison 100, difference −4
  • Symmetry100, the comparison 100, difference 0
  • Shape-norm63, the comparison 102, difference −39
  • Tilt100, the comparison 75, difference +25
Face-up light census, a different measure from the Cut Grading Tool; Spread and Shape-norm above 100 sit on the ring. Spread is the census's estimate from depth alone; the face-up size in the pros and cons is measured from each model's outline.
Open it in the Cut Performance Wheel

What ruby gains in a Mazarin cut

Tilt and Fire both clear the T73, yet neither is a pro by our rules. The Mazarin's Tilt is 100 to the T73's 75, but a stone returning 58 keeps all of a modest amount, and we count tilt as a pro only near the T73's light. Fire edges the T73 in ruby, 40 to 37, but the larger gap is to diamond, so fire lands among the cons. What it does offer is the historic cushion with the most light of the three we measure in ruby.

The Mazarin's costs in ruby

Much less light than a round ruby

Brilliance 58 against 94 for the T73 Round Brilliant in ruby: 36 points lower

Its 44.33° pavilion clears ruby's 36.4° guide minimum under a shallow 31.4° crown, and the cushion still sends a good part of its light out of the back. Of the three historic cushions we measure in ruby, it returns the most.

Mazarin cut in ruby face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 58)

Mazarin Cut in ruby · Brilliance 58

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)

T73 Round Brilliant in ruby · 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: We have not measured a steeper Mazarin; its 44.33° pavilion already clears the 36.4° guide minimum. For a cushion with far more light, the modern Cushion Cut Ruby returns 88; for a historic round, the Old European Cut Ruby 78.

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

Over a third of the light leaks

Leakage 37 against 5 for the T73 Round Brilliant in ruby: 32 points higher

37% leaves through the pavilion in our census; the T73 loses 5%. That is still less than the Old Mine (49%) or the Peruzzi (52%) lose in ruby.

Mazarin Cut in ruby · Leakage 37

Mazarin cut in ruby tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 42% of the face leaking0° · 42% leak
Mazarin cut in ruby tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 38% of the face leaking10° · 38% leak
Mazarin cut in ruby tilted 20 degrees: Light Return map, 30% of the face leaking20° · 30% leak
Mazarin cut in ruby tilted 30 degrees: Light Return map, 43% of the face leaking30° · 43% leak

T73 Round Brilliant in ruby · Leakage 5

T73 round brilliant in ruby tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 1% of the face leaking0° · 1% leak
T73 round brilliant in ruby tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 10% of the face leaking10° · 10% leak
T73 round brilliant in ruby tilted 20 degrees: Light Return map, 29% of the face leaking20° · 29% leak
T73 round brilliant in ruby tilted 30 degrees: Light Return map, 30% of the face leaking30° · 30% leak
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: Size leaves the share unchanged. The modern Cushion Cut Ruby leaks 11%.

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

Less fire than a diamond Mazarin

Fire 40 against 63 for the Mazarin Cut in diamond: 23 points lower

Fire 40 in ruby, 63 for the diamond Mazarin. The ruby Mazarin does carry the most fire of the three historic cushions here: the Old Mine scores 36, the Peruzzi 22.

Mazarin cut in ruby face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 40)

Mazarin Cut in ruby · Fire 40

Mazarin cut in diamond face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 63)

Mazarin Cut in diamond · Fire 63

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: Among ruby cuts near the T73's light, the Trilliant Cut Ruby reaches 52.

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

Fewer flashes than a round

Scintillation 61 against 80 for the T73 Round Brilliant in ruby: 19 points lower

42 facets against 73, so a lower score from the facet plan. The Peruzzi and the Old Mine, with more facets, both score 81.

Mazarin Cut · 42 facets · Scintillation 61

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.

What helps: For a historic cushion with more sparkle, the Peruzzi Cut Ruby scores 81, though it returns less light.

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

Who a Mazarin ruby suits

Choose the Mazarin for a period piece in ruby where the historic cushion is the point: of the three we measure, it keeps the most light, leaks the least and shows the most fire. Next to a modern round it is still a dim stone.

For a cushion with modern light, the Cushion Cut Ruby. For a historic round with more light, the Old European Cut Ruby returns 78.

Mazarin Cut Ruby: questions

Is a Mazarin cut good for ruby?

Of the three historic cushions we measure in ruby, it returns the most light. Against a modern round it is dim: Brilliance 58 against 94.

Mazarin, Peruzzi or Old Mine cut ruby?

The Mazarin returns the most light (58, against 46 for the Peruzzi and 50 for the Old Mine) and leaks the least; the Peruzzi and Old Mine sparkle more.

What does a 6.5 mm Mazarin ruby weigh?

1.50 ct, measured from the model, or 1.32 ct cut in diamond.

Get the Mazarin Cut files

6 formatsMillimetresWatertight

Mazarin Cut 3D files

The Mazarin Cut as exact geometry: 42 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

Mazarin Cut cutting files

The Mazarin Cut as a faceting design: 34 + 8 girdles = 42 facets, 96 index, 4-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

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More gemstones and cuts

Ruby: optical properties and the top ten cuts · The Mazarin Cut: specifications, model and files

Other cuts in ruby

The Mazarin Cut in other gemstones