DG-Anteros Sapphire: Pros, Cons & Light Return

DG-Anteros keeps the T73's facet plan and eases its proportions: a 53.5% table, a 33.0° crown and a 40.1° pavilion, 59.4% deep. The changes were made for moissanite, and in sapphire they help as well.

It returns the second-most light of any cut we measure in sapphire, behind only DG-M5, and has the most fire of our sapphire rounds, 43. The cons are sapphire's own: far less fire than diamond, a weaker hold on light at a tilt and more weight for the size.

Is DG-Anteros a good round for sapphire? Pros and cons

Pros

More light than the T73 in sapphire 97 vs 94

Cons

Fire still far below the diamond version 43 vs 74
Weighs more than diamond 1.10 vs 0.97 ct
Keeps less light when tipped than in diamond 78 vs 85

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire and with the DG-Anteros 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-Anteros 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 6, level on 2.

Global82, the comparison 79, difference +3
Brilliance97, the comparison 94, difference +3
Fire43, the comparison 37, difference +6
Scintillation80, the comparison 80, difference 0
Spread101, the comparison 100, difference +1
Symmetry100, the comparison 100, difference 0
Shape-norm104, the comparison 102, difference +2
Tilt78, the comparison 75, difference +3

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 DG-Anteros does for a sapphire

More light than the T73 in sapphire

Brilliance 97 against 94 for the T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire: 3 points higher

The facet count is the same as the T73's, so the gain comes from the angles and the table. It shows in the leakage too: 3% against 5% for the T73.

Dg-anteros in sapphire face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 97) — 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 sapphire 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.

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

What a sapphire gives up in DG-Anteros

Fire still far below the diamond version

Fire 43 against 74 for the DG-Anteros in diamond: 31 points lower

Fire 43 is the best we measure in a sapphire round, and the same design reaches 74 in diamond. Nothing else changes between the two, so the gap is dispersion.

Dg-anteros in sapphire face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 43) — 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-anteros in diamond face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 74) — 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: A round sapphire will not show much fire. The highest fire figure in our sapphire census is the Oval Cut Sapphire's 74.

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

Weighs more than diamond

1.10 ct at 6.5 mm, against 0.97 ct for the same cut in diamond (+14%)

At a width of 6.5 mm: 1.10 ct as sapphire, 0.97 ct as diamond.

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

What helps: Buy and set by diameter: the same carat figure buys a smaller sapphire than diamond.

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

Keeps less light when tipped than in diamond

Tilt 78 against 85 for the DG-Anteros in diamond: 7 points lower

Tilted 20°, 78 of the face-up light stays, against 85 in diamond. Diamond's refractive index, 2.417 against about 1.77, keeps light inside at angles where sapphire lets it go.

Dg-anteros in sapphire 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-anteros in sapphire tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 5% 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: Among modern rounds in sapphire, DG-Miliano Sapphire keeps 83 when tipped, at 90 brilliance against 97 here.

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

Who a DG-Anteros sapphire suits

For a round sapphire, DG-Anteros is the balanced choice: the second-most light we measure, the most fire of our rounds and little leakage, on a facet plan any cutter who knows the T73 can follow.

For the last few points of light, DG-M5 Sapphire. For a stone that will tip and swing, DG-Miliano Sapphire.

Its 53.5% table gives a well-oriented blue a broad window for its face-up colour; cutters usually lay the table across the crystal's optic axis for the purest blue.

DG-Anteros Sapphire: questions

Is DG-Anteros good for sapphire?

Yes: Brilliance 97 against 94 for the T73, 3% leakage, and the most fire of our sapphire rounds at 43.

DG-Anteros or DG-M5 for sapphire?

DG-M5 returns more light (100) and leaks less (0%); DG-Anteros has a little more fire (43 against 39) and the familiar 73-facet pattern.

Does a moissanite design work in sapphire?

This one does in our census: 97 for light against 94 for the T73. We measure the result, not the reason, so we make no claim about why.

Get the DG-Anteros Cut files

6 formatsMillimetresWatertight

DG-Anteros Cut 3D files

The DG-Anteros Cut as exact geometry: 73 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-Anteros Cut cutting files

The DG-Anteros Cut as a faceting design: 57 + 16 girdles = 73 facets, 96 index, 8-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

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

DG-Anteros Sapphire: more light than the T73 from the same 73 facets