Emerald Square Cut Synthetic rutile: what our light census measures
Brilliance 53 · Fire 85 · Scintillation 72 · in our census, where the T73 scores 81 · 94 · 80 in synthetic rutile
How the Emerald Square Cut handles light in synthetic rutile, measured: brilliance 53, fire 85 and 18% leakage, set against the T73 in the same stone and against the same cut in diamond.
Light Return map of the Emerald Square Cut in synthetic rutile, face-up, from our own tracer at refractive index 2.616. Red, green and blue return light to the eye; gray leaks.
Emerald Square Cut Synthetic rutile
Synthetic rutile has a refractive index of 2.616 to 2.903 and a dispersion of 0.330. Its critical angle, from the low end of that range, is 22.5°, so a round design needs a pavilion of at least 39.4° for head-on light to reflect off both sides of the pavilion and leave through the table. We trace it with one index, 2.760, the midpoint of the published range, and a fire spread of 0.284, 0.86 of the published dispersion. Every picture here is our Light Return tracer at 2.616, and every figure is from the same light census that scores the other gemstones; the 3D Gemstone Simulator shows the Emerald Square Cut in synthetic rutile live. Synthetic rutile is strongly doubly refractive (birefringence 0.287): its two rays have critical angles of 22.5° and 20.1°. Our census traces one index, so every figure for it is a rough approximation.
The Emerald Square Cut has 49 facets and a total depth of 61.0% of its width; its pavilion mains sit at 28.3°. In synthetic rutile, the census returns 53 of 100 for brilliance and 85 for fire, against 81 and 94 for the T73, our benchmark, in the same stone; the same Emerald Square Cut in diamond reads 64 and 84.
Is synthetic rutile good in an Emerald Square? Pros and cons, measured
Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in synthetic rutile and with the Emerald Square 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 Emerald Square Cut in synthetic rutile (white) against the T73 Round Brilliant in synthetic rutile (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 synthetic rutile: ahead on 1, level on 1, behind on 6.
Global74, the comparison 88, difference −14
Brilliance53, the comparison 81, difference −28
Fire85, the comparison 94, difference −9
Scintillation72, the comparison 80, difference −8
Spread108, the comparison 100, difference +8
Symmetry100, the comparison 100, difference 0
Shape-norm70, the comparison 87, difference −17
Tilt86, the comparison 94, difference −8
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; these are the same census figures as our Cut Performance Index.
What the Emerald Square Cut gains in synthetic rutile
Against the T73 in synthetic rutile and the same cut in diamond, no figure of the Emerald Square Cut is ahead by the thresholds above. Its figures are in the wheel and the FAQ; Synthetic rutile ranks every cut we score in synthetic rutile.
What the Emerald Square Cut gives up in synthetic rutile
Returns less light than the T73 in synthetic rutile
Brilliance 53 against 81 for the T73 Round Brilliant in synthetic rutile: 28 points lower
Brilliance is the share of the 3,200 census rays that enter the stone and come back out of the crown towards the viewer. In synthetic rutile, whose critical angle is 22.5°, the Emerald Square Cut returns 53 of 100 and the T73 81. The Emerald Square Cut's pavilion mains sit at 28.3°, the T73's at 40.8°. The maps below show where each stone's light returns from and where it leaks.
Emerald Square Cut in synthetic rutile · Brilliance 53
T73 Round Brilliant in synthetic rutile · Brilliance 81
Red, green and blue = light returning to the eye; gray = leakage, light that leaves heading down or stays inside. 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 DG-M5 reads 97 for brilliance in synthetic rutile, the best of the cuts we score there.
1.76 ct at 6.5 mm, against 1.46 ct for the same cut in diamond (+21%)
Weight follows specific gravity: 4.26 for synthetic rutile against 3.52 for diamond, so the same model at the same size weighs 1.76 ct here and 1.46 ct in diamond, 6.5 mm across. Nothing about the light changes with it.
A Emerald Square Cut 6.5 mm across, weighed from the model's measured volume and each stone's specific gravity.
Fire 85 against 94 for the T73 Round Brilliant in synthetic rutile: 9 points lower
Fire is the share of the returned light that splits into color at the exit facet: the census traces each exit again at the refractive index minus and plus the fire spread (0.284 in synthetic rutile) and counts a ray as fire when the two directions differ by more than 0.6°. The Emerald Square Cut reads 85 against 94 for the T73 in synthetic rutile. The figure is the census's; the 3D Gemstone Simulator renders synthetic rutile's fire live.
The fire figure is the census's, traced at the refractive index minus and plus the fire spread. See the fire in the 3D Gemstone Simulator: the Emerald Square Cut in synthetic rutile under the sunny-day lighting.
What helps:the DG-Elongated Hexagon reads 99 for fire in synthetic rutile, the best of the cuts we score there.
Tilt 86 against 94 for the T73 Round Brilliant in synthetic rutile: 8 points lower
Tilt is how much of its face-up brilliance a stone keeps when the census tilts it 20° about its long axis, with 2,200 rays. The Emerald Square Cut keeps 86 against 94 for the T73. The tilt strips below show the maps at 0°, 10°, 20° and 30°, with each picture's own leak share under it.
Emerald Square Cut in synthetic rutile · Tilt 86
0° · 20% leak
10° · 29% leak
20° · 30% leak
30° · 27% leak
T73 Round Brilliant in synthetic rutile · Tilt 94
0° · 10% leak
10° · 6% leak
20° · 10% leak
30° · 15% 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; gray is leakage. The share under each frame is that picture's own.
What helps:the Old European Cut reads 100 for tilt in synthetic rutile, the best of the cuts we score there.
Our verdict on the Emerald Square Cut in synthetic rutile
Against the T73 in synthetic rutile and the same cut in diamond, no figure of the Emerald Square Cut is ahead by our thresholds. The catch: it returns less light than the T73, weighs more than in diamond, shows less fire than the T73 and loses more of its light when tilted.
If that catch matters more to you, the DG-M5 reads 97 for brilliance in synthetic rutile, the best of the cuts we score there.
Every figure on this page is from our light census, traced at one refractive index: a simulation of the geometry, not a grading report. The 3D files and cutting files below are the same Emerald Square Cut model we traced.
Emerald Square Cut Synthetic rutile: questions
Is the Emerald Square a good cut for synthetic rutile?
In our census the Emerald Square Cut returns 53 of 100 for brilliance and 85 for fire in synthetic rutile, against 81 and 94 for the T73 in the same stone. Against that round and against the same cut in diamond it has 0 pros and 4 cons by our thresholds; the summary above names them.
What pavilion angle does synthetic rutile need?
At least 39.4° for a round design: synthetic rutile's critical angle is 22.5°, from the low end of its refractive index range, and head-on light has to reflect off both sides of the pavilion and leave through the table. The Emerald Square Cut's pavilion mains sit at 28.3°.
How much does a Emerald Square weigh in synthetic rutile?
At 6.5 mm across, 1.76 ct in synthetic rutile, against 1.46 ct for the same cut in diamond (+21%): synthetic rutile's specific gravity is 4.26, diamond's 3.52.
Can I see the Emerald Square in synthetic rutile in 3D?
Yes: the 3D Gemstone Simulator renders it live, with synthetic rutile's own refractive index and dispersion. Synthetic rutile is traced by the same light census as the other gemstones, with its refractive index and fire spread derived from published values, so its scores are on the same scale; the pictures here are our Light Return tracer, and the Cut Performance Wheel sets it against any other cut and stone.
Get the Emerald Square Cut files
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Emerald Square Cut 3D files
The Emerald Square Cut as exact geometry: 49 planar facets, real-world scale, ready for CAD,
rendering, printing and casting.
