Rendered in our 3D Gemstone Simulator from the DG-M5 model, 1.00 ct, studio light.
DG-M5 Sapphire
DG-M5 was drawn for moissanite on a twelve-fold plan: twenty-four crown mains and twelve stars around the table, and one tier of twenty-four pavilion mains, all at 41.49°, running to a pointed culet. With no upper or lower halves, our model has just 85 facets.
Measured in sapphire, it returns more light than any other cut in our census and lets none of it out through the back. Against the same cut in diamond it gives up what sapphire always gives up: fire, a little of its hold on light at a tilt, and some weight.
That matters most in dark blue rough, where a cut that wastes light can make the stone read as inky.
Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire and with the DG-M5 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-M5 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
Brilliance100, the comparison 94, difference +6
Fire39, the comparison 37, difference +2
Scintillation85, the comparison 80, difference +5
Spread100, the comparison 100, difference 0
Symmetry100, the comparison 100, difference 0
Shape-norm107, the comparison 102, difference +5
Tilt76, the comparison 75, difference +1
Face-up light census, a different measure from the Cut Grading Tool; Spread and Shape-norm above 100 sit on the ring.
Brilliance 100 against 94 for the T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire: 6 points higher
Every pavilion main sits at one steep angle, well clear of sapphire's 36.4° guide minimum, and our census finds that returns light from across the whole face. Where the T73 splits its pavilion into mains and lower halves, DG-M5 keeps a single cone.
DG-M5 in sapphire · Brilliance 100
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.
Scintillation 85 against 80 for the T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire: 5 points higher
85 facets arranged twelve-fold, against the T73's 73 in an eight-fold pattern. The gain is modest, a few points, but it comes without any cost in light.
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.
Leakage 0 against 5 for the T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire: 5 points lower
Our census finds 0% of the light leaving through the pavilion, against 5% for the T73 in sapphire. Every other round we measure in sapphire lets some through.
DG-M5 in sapphire · Leakage 0
0° · 0% leak
10° · 1% leak
20° · 25% leak
30° · 31% leak
T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire · Leakage 5
0° · 1% leak
10° · 10% leak
20° · 29% leak
30° · 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.
Fire 39 against 67 for the DG-M5 in diamond: 28 points lower
In diamond DG-M5 scores 67 for fire; in sapphire, 39. The drop is still the smallest of all our rounds on the move from diamond to sapphire.
DG-M5 in sapphire · Fire 39
DG-M5 in diamond · Fire 67
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: Sapphire caps it. Among rounds, DG-Anteros Sapphire reaches 43; for coloured flashes the Oval Cut Sapphire scores 74, at only 66 brilliance.
Holds a little less light when tipped than in diamond
Tilt 76 against 83 for the DG-M5 in diamond: 7 points lower
At 20° of tilt the sapphire keeps 76 of its face-up light, the diamond 83. That gap is smaller than on most of our sapphire rounds.
DG-M5 in sapphire · Tilt 76
0° · 0% leak
10° · 1% leak
20° · 25% leak
30° · 31% leak
DG-M5 in diamond · Tilt 83
0° · 0% leak
10° · 4% leak
20° · 14% leak
30° · 26% leak
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:DG-Miliano Sapphire keeps 83 when tipped, the most of our modern rounds in sapphire, at 90 brilliance.
If the brief is the liveliest round sapphire we can measure, this is it: the top light score, no measurable leakage and sparkle above the baseline. None of those gains depend on fire, which sapphire lacks, so they hold for a blue, a pink or a colourless stone alike.
If the stone will swing in an earring, DG-Miliano Sapphire keeps more of its light at an angle. For the traditional eight-fold pattern a setter will recognise, the T73 Round Brilliant Sapphire.
DG-M5 Sapphire: questions
Which cut gives a sapphire the most light?
In our census, DG-M5: Brilliance 100, ahead of DG-Anteros (97) and the T73 (94).
Does a DG-M5 sapphire leak light?
We measure 0% leakage, against 5% for the T73 in sapphire and 3% for DG-M5 in diamond.
Does DG-M5 give a sapphire more fire?
Only a touch over the T73, 39 against 37, which is inside our margins. Diamond in the same cut reaches 67.
Can a DG-M5 sapphire be worn every day?
Sapphire's hardness of 9 makes it one of the harder-wearing everyday ring stones. The pointed culet of a single-tier pavilion should sit well inside the setting.
Get the DG-M5 Cut files
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DG-M5 Cut 3D files
The DG-M5 Cut as exact geometry: 85 planar facets, real-world scale, ready for CAD,
rendering, printing and casting.
