Brilliance 53 · Fire 53 · Scintillation 43 · in our census, where the T73 scores 94 · 37 · 80 in sapphire
A slim step cut of 21 facets: in sapphire it out-fires the round and shows more face for its weight, and gives up much of the round's light and sparkle.
The baguette is a long, narrow step cut, most often set beside a larger centre stone or in a channel-set row. The model we measured is 1.974 times as long as it is wide and 66.8% deep, with 21 facets over a 32.37° pavilion figure.
Against the T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire it gains on fire and on face-up size. Its four largest costs are an irregular pavilion, a weaker hold on light when tipped, less light face-up and far fewer flashes; it also leaks 35% against the T73's 5%, and weighs more than diamond.
One figure stands out: this baguette returns more light in sapphire than in diamond, 53 against 40.
Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire and with the Baguette 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 Baguette Cut in sapphire (white) against the T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire (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 sapphire: ahead on 1, behind on 7.
Fire 53 against 37 for the T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire: 16 points higher
The same baguette in diamond reaches 62. Within sapphire, a larger share of the light it returns is split into colour than in the round, 53 against 37, though from less light overall, Brilliance 53 against 94.
Baguette Cut in sapphire · Fire 53
T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire · Fire 37
Face-up size 108 against 100 for the T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire (T73 = 100): 8% more face-up area for the same weight
Measured from the model's outline, a baguette spreads more of each carat into face-up area than the T73 does. The two outlines under this claim are both 1.00 ct, drawn to one scale.
Baguette Cut · 8.00 x 4.05 mm at 1.00 ct · Face-up size 108
T73 Round Brilliant · 6.21 mm at 1.00 ct · Face-up size 100
Try it yourself: See its size at 1.00 ct in sapphire in the 3D Gemstone Simulator
Symmetry 39 against 100 for the T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire: 61 points lower
Our symmetry score reads how evenly the pavilion facets repeat around the stone. In this baguette's plan the steps along the sides and across the ends do not repeat evenly, and the score falls to 39, the lowest in our sapphire census.
Baguette Cut · 21 facets · Symmetry 39
T73 Round Brilliant · 73 facets · Symmetry 100
What helps: This is the facet design. The Rectangle Cut Sapphire, also a square-cornered step-cut rectangle, scores 100, though it returns less light, 41.
Try it yourself: Compare the Symmetry spoke in the Cut Performance Wheel
Tilt 57 against 100 for the Baguette Cut in diamond: 43 points lower
Tilted 20°, the sapphire baguette keeps 57 of its face-up light; the diamond baguette keeps 100. Bear in mind the diamond starts from less light, Brilliance 40 against 53 here.
Baguette Cut in sapphire · Tilt 57
Baguette Cut in diamond · Tilt 100
What helps: Of the sapphire cuts that keep near a round's light, DG-Miliano Sapphire holds the most when tipped, 83, though it is a round.
Try it yourself: Compare the Tilt spoke in the Cut Performance Wheel
Brilliance 53 against 94 for the T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire: 41 points lower
Brilliance 53 against 94. The pavilion figure, 32.37°, sits below both sapphire's critical angle of 34.6° and its 36.4° guide minimum, which fits a stone that lets part of its light through the back.
Baguette Cut in sapphire · Brilliance 53
T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire · Brilliance 94
What helps: For a rectangle with more light, the Emerald Cut Sapphire returns 65. For the most, a round: DG-M5 Sapphire at 100.
Try it yourself: Open this Light Return map in the simulator
Scintillation 43 against 80 for the T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire: 37 points lower
Scintillation is read from the facet count of the census model: 21 facets against the T73's 73. In our sapphire census only the triangle scores lower.
Baguette Cut · 21 facets · Scintillation 43
T73 Round Brilliant · 73 facets · Scintillation 80
What helps: The facet count sets it. With more steps on a similar outline, the Emerald Cut Sapphire scores 72.
Try it yourself: Compare the Scintillation spoke in the Cut Performance Wheel
The baguette suits side stones and channel-set rows, where a straight edge and a run of matched stones matter more than each stone's light. Its fire and face-up size are real gains over the round; its light is not.
For a single sapphire that should look bright, choose a round: DG-M5 Sapphire or the T73 Round Brilliant Sapphire. For a step-cut rectangle with more light and sparkle, the Emerald Cut Sapphire.
For cutters: we measured this design only at its 32.37° pavilion figure, under sapphire's 36.4° guide minimum, so we cannot say what a steeper pavilion would recover.
It has two measured gains: Fire 53 against 37 for the T73, and Face-up size 108. For light it is dim, at Brilliance 53.
Less than a round: Scintillation 43 against 80, from 21 facets where the T73 has 73.
4.13 ct for our 1.974 to 1 model, against 3.64 ct for the same baguette in diamond.
The emerald cut returns more light (65 against 53) and sparkles more (72 against 43); the baguette has more fire, 53 against 47.
The Baguette Cut as exact geometry: 21 planar facets, real-world scale, ready for CAD, rendering, printing and casting.
The Baguette Cut as a faceting design: 17 + 4 girdles = 21 facets, 96 index, 2-fold mirror-image symmetry, ready for the machine.
Questions before you buy? Email us.
Sapphire: optical properties and the top ten cuts · The Baguette Cut: specifications, model and files