Hexagon Cut Sapphire: a six-sided outline with steady light and far less fire than in diamond

Brilliance 64 · Fire 45 · Scintillation 56 · in our census, where the T73 scores 94 · 37 · 80 in sapphire

Six straight sides and a stepped crown: in sapphire the hexagon keeps its light steady when tipped, but it has less of that light than a round, and far less fire than a diamond hexagon.

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

Hexagon Cut Sapphire

The hexagon puts a step-cut crown over a tiered pavilion on a six-sided outline. Our model has 37 facets, is 61.0% deep and has a 29.26° pavilion figure, under sapphire's critical angle of 34.6°.

Measured in sapphire, the hexagon has no pro by our margins. It returns more light than the same hexagon in diamond, 64 against 58, and leaks the same share, 24%, but the gaps that count all run the other way.

Is sapphire a good match for a hexagon cut? Pros and cons

Pros

None by our margins. It is steady at a tilt, from a modest amount of light.

Cons

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire and with the Hexagon 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 Hexagon 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.

Performance wheel: Hexagon Cut 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−9Brilliance−30Fire+8Scintillation−24Spread0Symmetry0Shape-norm−17Tilt+23

Against the T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire: ahead on 2, level on 2, behind on 4.

  • Global70, the comparison 79, difference −9
  • Brilliance64, the comparison 94, difference −30
  • Fire45, the comparison 37, difference +8
  • Scintillation56, the comparison 80, difference −24
  • Spread100, the comparison 100, difference 0
  • Symmetry100, the comparison 100, difference 0
  • Shape-norm85, the comparison 102, difference −17
  • Tilt98, the comparison 75, difference +23
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 a hexagon

No score counts as a pro here. Fire, 45, beats the T73's 37 but trails the diamond hexagon's 85 by more, and light, 64, beats the diamond's 58 but trails the T73's 94 by more. Its Tilt is 98: tipped 20°, it keeps nearly all its face-up light, far more than the T73's 75. We count Tilt as a pro only for a stone whose brilliance is within five points of the baseline, and the hexagon's 64 is well short of 94. What it offers is a geometric outline that tiles in clusters and bands.

Where the hexagon costs a sapphire

Far less fire than the diamond hexagon

Fire 45 against 85 for the Hexagon Cut in diamond: 40 points lower

45 in sapphire, 85 in diamond. The cut is the same, so the gap is the stone: refractive index and dispersion together, which our census does not separate. The T73 in sapphire scores lower still, 37.

Hexagon cut in sapphire face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 45)

Hexagon Cut in sapphire · Fire 45

Hexagon cut in diamond face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 85)

Hexagon Cut in diamond · Fire 85

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: Only one cut near the round's light in sapphire beats it on fire: the Trilliant Cut Sapphire, at 52.

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

About a third less light than the T73

Brilliance 64 against 94 for the T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire: 30 points lower

Brilliance 64 against 94. Sapphire does better than diamond in this design, which returns 58 there, so the shortfall comes with the hexagon itself.

Hexagon cut in sapphire face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 64)

Hexagon Cut in sapphire · Brilliance 64

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 Octagon Cut Sapphire carries the same tier profile on eight sides and returns 78.

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

Fewer flashes than a round

Scintillation 56 against 80 for the T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire: 24 points lower

Scintillation 56 against 80. Its 37 facets are about half the T73's 73.

Hexagon Cut · 37 facets · Scintillation 56

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: With more facets on the same tier plan, the Octagon Cut Sapphire scores 66.

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

Nearly five times the T73's leakage

Leakage 24 against 5 for the T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire: 19 points higher

24% of the light in our census goes out through the back, against 5% for the T73; the diamond hexagon leaks the same 24%.

Hexagon Cut in sapphire · Leakage 24

Hexagon cut in sapphire tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 23% of the face leaking0° · 23% leak
Hexagon cut in sapphire tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 26% of the face leaking10° · 26% leak
Hexagon cut in sapphire tilted 20 degrees: Light Return map, 29% of the face leaking20° · 29% leak
Hexagon cut in sapphire tilted 30 degrees: Light Return map, 29% of the face leaking30° · 29% 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: We have measured no steeper hexagon, and the pavilion figure is under the 36.4° guide minimum, so we promise nothing from the angles. The Octagon Cut Sapphire leaks 20%, DG-M5 Sapphire 0%.

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

Who a hexagon sapphire suits

The hexagon suits clusters, bands and geometric designs where the outline is the point, and a stone that will be seen at an angle as often as face-up.

If you like the tiered look and want more light, the Octagon Cut Sapphire is brighter, sparkles more and leaks a little less. For a bright sapphire in any outline, DG-M5 Sapphire.

Hexagon Cut Sapphire: questions

Is a hexagon cut good for sapphire?

Steadier than it is bright: it keeps 98 of its light tipped 20°, but Brilliance is 64 against 94 for the T73, with 24% leakage.

Hexagon or octagon for a sapphire?

The octagon returns more light (78 against 64); the hexagon has more fire (45 against 33).

What does a 6.5 mm hexagon sapphire weigh?

1.46 ct, measured across the width; a diamond hexagon would weigh 1.29 ct.

Get the Hexagon Cut files

6 formatsMillimetresWatertight

Hexagon Cut 3D files

The Hexagon Cut as exact geometry: 37 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

Hexagon Cut cutting files

The Hexagon Cut as a faceting design: 31 + 6 girdles = 37 facets, 96 index, 6-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

Sapphire: optical properties and the top ten cuts · The Hexagon Cut: specifications, model and files

Other cuts in sapphire

The Hexagon Cut in other gemstones