Mazarin Cut Sapphire: Pros, Cons & Light Leakage

Cushions are a common shape for sapphire, because they follow the rough. The Mazarin is the oldest cushion in our catalogue: 42 facets, a shallow 31.4° crown and a 44.33° pavilion.

In sapphire it keeps more of its light than the Old Single, but far less than a modern cut.

The guide minimum pavilion for sapphire is 36.4°, and the Mazarin's mains sit at 44.33°, comfortably above it. So this is not the textbook window of a shallow pavilion: our census lights the stone from a wide cone, light meets the pavilion from many angles, and sapphire's critical angle of 34.6° lets much of it through.

Is sapphire good in a Mazarin cut? Pros and cons

Pros

None by our margins. Its fire, 40, is a few points over the T73's 37 in sapphire.

Cons

Much less light than the T73 in sapphire 58 vs 94
A third of the light leaks 37 vs 5
Far less fire than in diamond 40 vs 63
Fewer flashes than a modern round 61 vs 80

Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire and with the Mazarin Cut 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 Mazarin 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 2, level on 1, behind on 5.

Global66, the comparison 79, difference −13
Brilliance58, the comparison 94, difference −36
Fire40, the comparison 37, difference +3
Scintillation61, the comparison 80, difference −19
Spread96, the comparison 100, difference −4
Symmetry100, the comparison 100, difference 0
Shape-norm63, the comparison 102, difference −39
Tilt100, the comparison 75, difference +25

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 sapphire gains in a Mazarin cut

No score beats a baseline by our margins once each score is counted once. Its fire, 40, is a little above the T73's 37 in sapphire, but far below the same cut in diamond, and that is the larger gap. What the cushion offers is a soft outline for a coloured stone.

Where the Mazarin falls short in sapphire

Much less light than the T73 in sapphire

Brilliance 58 against 94 for the T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire: 36 points lower

Grey wedges run from the corners to the table in the face-up map.

Mazarin cut in sapphire face-up Light Return map: red, green and blue show where the light returns from, grey shows where it leaks (Brilliance 58) — 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.

What helps: For a cushion in sapphire, our modern Cushion Cut returns 88.

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

A third of the light leaks

Leakage 37 against 5 for the T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire: 32 points higher

In our census 37% is lost this way, where the T73 loses 5%. The strip shows it at every angle.

Mazarin cut in sapphire tilted 0 degrees: Light Return map, 42% of the face leaking — 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.

Mazarin cut in sapphire tilted 10 degrees: Light Return map, 38% of the face leaking — 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: Steepening is not the fix: the mains are at 44.33°, above sapphire's 36.4° guide minimum. The modern Cushion Cut leaks 11%.

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

Far less fire than in diamond

Fire 40 against 63 for the Mazarin Cut in diamond: 23 points lower

Sapphire's dispersion is under half of diamond's: Fire 40 against 63 for the same cut in diamond.

Mazarin cut in sapphire face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 40) — 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.

Mazarin cut in diamond face-up under a single bright light: a render from our simulator, its coloured flashes are the fire (score 63) — 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: This is the material. The most fire we measure in sapphire is the Oval Cut's 74.

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

Fewer flashes than a modern round

Scintillation 61 against 80 for the T73 Round Brilliant in sapphire: 19 points lower

42 facets against 73.

Mazarin Cut · 42 facets · Scintillation 61

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: The facet plan sets this; the Cushion Cut scores 85.

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

Who a Mazarin sapphire suits

The Mazarin suits a sapphire where the antique outline and colour matter more than brightness.

For a bright sapphire cushion, our modern Cushion Cut. For a round, DG-Anteros or the T73 Round Brilliant.

If you cut sapphire, the Mazarin is a quick plan for practising the cushion outline. For a finished stone sold on brightness, it is not one we would choose.

Mazarin Cut Sapphire: questions

Is a Mazarin cut good for sapphire?

It trails a modern round: Brilliance 58 against 94, with 37% of the light leaking.

What is the best cushion cut for sapphire?

Of our cuts, the modern Cushion: Brilliance 88 and 11% leakage in sapphire.

Does a Mazarin sapphire have fire?

Little: Fire 40, against 63 for the same cut in diamond.

Does a Mazarin sapphire sparkle?

Less than a modern round: 42 facets give scintillation 61, against 80 for the T73.

Get the Mazarin Cut files

6 formatsMillimetresWatertight

Mazarin Cut 3D files

The Mazarin Cut as exact geometry: 42 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

Mazarin Cut cutting files

The Mazarin Cut as a faceting design: 34 + 8 girdles = 42 facets, 96 index, 4-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 Mazarin Cut: specifications, model and files

Mazarin Cut Sapphire: a soft antique cushion that loses a third of its light