DG-Bowtie Sapphire: a little more sparkle than a round, in a very deep marquise

Brilliance 18 · Fire 57 · Scintillation 86 · in our census, where the T73 scores 94 · 37 · 80 in sapphire

A very deep marquise: in sapphire it sparkles a little more than a round and returns less light than any other cut we measure.

See it in the simulatorGet the files
The DG-Bowtie in sapphire, rendered at an angle in our 3D Gemstone Simulator under studio light
Rendered in our 3D Gemstone Simulator from the DG-Bowtie model, 1.00 ct, studio light.

DG-Bowtie Sapphire

DG-Bowtie is the library's first marquise, a diamond design kept under its own name when the Marquise was remodelled. Our model is 2.059 to 1, with 87 facets, a 42.0° pavilion figure and a total depth of 93.8%: nearly as deep as it is wide.

It is here to set beside the remodelled Marquise Cut Sapphire, and to render when a bow-tie is what you want to show. Face-up, elongated brilliants can show a dark band across the middle; the census does not measure one, and this page gives it no figure.

In sapphire it has one pro, scintillation, and six cons; the four largest are shown.

Is DG-Bowtie a good cut for sapphire? Pros and cons

Pros

Cons

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire and with the DG-Bowtie 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 DG-Bowtie 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.

Performance wheel: DG-Bowtie in sapphire, against the T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire as an outline. Solid white marks where it reaches further, hatching where it falls short. The scores are listed below.50100Global−24Brilliance−76Fire+20Scintillation+6Spread−13Symmetry−6Shape-norm−81Tilt+17

Against the T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire: ahead on 3, behind on 5.

  • Global55, the comparison 79, difference −24
  • Brilliance18, the comparison 94, difference −76
  • Fire57, the comparison 37, difference +20
  • Scintillation86, the comparison 80, difference +6
  • Spread87, the comparison 100, difference −13
  • Symmetry94, the comparison 100, difference −6
  • Shape-norm21, the comparison 102, difference −81
  • Tilt92, the comparison 75, difference +17
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 a sapphire gains as DG-Bowtie

A little more sparkle than the T73

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

Scintillation 86 against 80, level with the Marquise. Its 87 facets run along an outline about twice as long as it is wide.

DG-Bowtie · 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 DG-Bowtie costs a sapphire

The least light of any cut we measure in sapphire

Brilliance 18 against 94 for the T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire: 76 points lower

Brilliance 18 against 94, the bottom of our sapphire census. The 42.0° pavilion figure clears sapphire's 36.4° guide minimum. The same design in diamond returns 27.

Dg-bowtie in sapphire face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 18)

DG-Bowtie in sapphire · Brilliance 18

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)

T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire · 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 Marquise Cut Sapphire returns 55 on the same kind of outline; for the most light in sapphire, DG-M5 Sapphire at 100.

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

Over half the light leaks

Leakage 55 against 5 for the T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire: 50 points higher

55% of the light in our census goes out through the pavilion, against 5% for the T73 and 36% for DG-Bowtie in diamond. Only the radiant and DG-Elongated Hexagon leak more in sapphire.

DG-Bowtie in sapphire · Leakage 55

Dg-bowtie in sapphire tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 51% of the face leaking0° · 51% leak
Dg-bowtie in sapphire tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 56% of the face leaking10° · 56% leak
Dg-bowtie in sapphire tilted 20 degrees: Light Return map, 58% of the face leaking20° · 58% leak
Dg-bowtie in sapphire tilted 30 degrees: Light Return map, 63% of the face leaking30° · 63% leak

T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire · Leakage 5

T73 round brilliant in sapphire tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 1% of the face leaking0° · 1% leak
T73 round brilliant in sapphire tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 10% of the face leaking10° · 10% leak
T73 round brilliant in sapphire tilted 20 degrees: Light Return map, 29% of the face leaking20° · 29% leak
T73 round brilliant in sapphire 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: At 42.0° the pavilion is past the guide minimum already; we have not measured a steeper version. The Marquise Cut Sapphire leaks 39%.

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

Less fire than in diamond

Fire 57 against 82 for the DG-Bowtie in diamond: 25 points lower

Fire 57 against 82 for the diamond version. It is well above the T73 in sapphire, 37, but it is colour from a stone that returns little light.

Dg-bowtie in sapphire face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 57)

DG-Bowtie in sapphire · Fire 57

Dg-bowtie in diamond face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 82)

DG-Bowtie in diamond · Fire 82

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.

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

Heavier than diamond for its width

3.59 ct at 6.5 mm, against 3.16 ct for the same cut in diamond (+14%)

A DG-Bowtie 6.5 mm wide weighs 3.59 ct in sapphire and 3.16 ct in diamond. Its depth also makes it face up smaller for its weight than the T73: Face-up size 92.

Sapphire3.59 ctDiamond3.16 ct
A DG-Bowtie 6.5 mm across, weighed from the model's measured volume and each stone's specific gravity.

What helps: Buy it by length and width. The Marquise Cut Sapphire has a Face-up size of 121, against 92 here.

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

Who a DG-Bowtie sapphire suits

DG-Bowtie is for study and rendering: set it beside the Marquise to see what the remodel changed, or render it when you need a stone with a bow-tie. In sapphire it is not a cut for a bright stone.

For a marquise to wear, the Marquise Cut Sapphire: more light, 55 against 18, less leakage, and a larger face for its weight. The Oval Cut Sapphire returns more still, 66.

DG-Bowtie Sapphire: questions

What is the DG-Bowtie cut?

Our first marquise design, kept under its own name when the Marquise was remodelled. It is 93.8% deep, where the trade aims for around 60%.

Is DG-Bowtie a good cut for sapphire?

Not for light: Brilliance 18, the lowest in our sapphire census, with 55% leaking. It does sparkle a little more than the T73, 86 against 80.

DG-Bowtie or Marquise for a sapphire?

The Marquise: Brilliance 55 against 18, leakage 39% against 55%, and the same scintillation, 86.

Does a DG-Bowtie sapphire show a bow-tie?

The design was kept for it, and elongated brilliants this deep are prone to one. Our census has no bow-tie measure, so we cannot score how strong it is in this sapphire.

Get the DG-Bowtie Cut files

6 formatsMillimetresWatertight

DG-Bowtie Cut 3D files

The DG-Bowtie 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

DG-Bowtie Cut cutting files

The DG-Bowtie 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

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

Other cuts in sapphire

The DG-Bowtie in other gemstones