DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows Tanzanite: more facets, more sparkle
Brilliance 93 · Fire 46 · Scintillation 86 · in our census, where the T73 scores 92 · 47 · 80 in tanzanite
How the DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows handles light in tanzanite, measured: brilliance 93, fire 46 and 7% leakage, set against the T73 in the same stone and against the same cut in diamond.
Light Return map of the DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows in tanzanite, face-up, from our own tracer at refractive index 1.685. Red, green and blue return light to the eye; gray leaks.
DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows Tanzanite
Tanzanite has a refractive index of 1.685 to 1.707 and a dispersion of 0.019. Its critical angle, from the low end of that range, is 36.4°, so a round design needs a pavilion of at least 36.4° for head-on light to reflect off both sides of the pavilion and leave through the table. We trace it with one index, 1.696, the midpoint of the published range, and a fire spread of 0.016, 0.86 of the published dispersion. Every picture here is our Light Return tracer at 1.685, and every figure is from the same light census that scores the other gemstones; the 3D Gemstone Simulator shows the DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows in tanzanite live.
The DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows has 89 facets, a table of 53.0% of its width and a total depth of 61.7% of its width; its pavilion mains sit at 40.8°. In tanzanite, the census returns 93 of 100 for brilliance and 46 for fire, against 92 and 47 for the T73, our benchmark, in the same stone; the same DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows in diamond reads 93 and 78.
Is tanzanite good in a DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows? Pros and cons, measured
Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in tanzanite and with the DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows 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-Broken Hearts and Arrows in tanzanite (white) against the T73 Round Brilliant in tanzanite (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 tanzanite: ahead on 4, level on 2, behind on 2.
Global80, the comparison 80, difference 0
Brilliance93, the comparison 92, difference +1
Fire46, the comparison 47, difference −1
Scintillation86, the comparison 80, difference +6
Spread100, the comparison 100, difference 0
Symmetry99, the comparison 100, difference −1
Shape-norm100, the comparison 99, difference +1
Tilt74, the comparison 73, difference +1
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 DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows gains in tanzanite
More facets, more sparkle
Scintillation 86 against 80 for the T73 Round Brilliant in tanzanite: 6 points higher
Scintillation follows the number of facets the stone shows: 100 × (1 − e^(−facets / 45)). The DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows has 89 facets and the T73 73, so 86 against 80. It depends on the geometry alone, so it is the same in every stone.
DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows · 89 facets · Scintillation 86
Scintillation follows the number of facets: more facets, more and smaller flashes as the stone moves. Compare the facet counts under the drawings; each drawing shows only the crown. Drawn from each cut's own model.
0.96 ct at 6.5 mm, against 1.01 ct for the same cut in diamond (−5%)
Weight follows specific gravity: 3.35 for tanzanite against 3.52 for diamond, so the same model at the same size weighs 0.96 ct here and 1.01 ct in diamond, 6.5 mm across. Nothing about the light changes with it.
A DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows 6.5 mm across, weighed from the model's measured volume and each stone's specific gravity.
What the DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows gives up in tanzanite
Less fire in tanzanite than in diamond
Fire 46 against 78 for the DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows in diamond: 32 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 (0.016 in tanzanite) and counts a ray as fire when the two directions differ by more than 0.6°. The DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows reads 46 against 78 for the same cut in diamond. The figure is the census's; the 3D Gemstone Simulator renders tanzanite'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 DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows in tanzanite under the sunny-day lighting.
What helps:the DG-Elongated Hexagon reads 79 for fire in tanzanite, the best of the cuts we score there.
Tilt 74 against 93 for the DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows in diamond: 19 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 DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows keeps 74 against 93 for the same cut in diamond. The tilt strips below show the maps at 0°, 10°, 20° and 30°, with each picture's own leak share under it.
DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows in tanzanite · Tilt 74
0° · 9% leak
10° · 18% leak
20° · 30% leak
30° · 32% leak
DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows in diamond · Tilt 93
0° · 3% leak
10° · 2% leak
20° · 9% leak
30° · 14% 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 DG-Miliano reads 84 for tilt in tanzanite, the best of the cuts we score there.
Leakage 7 against 2 for the DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows in diamond: 5 points higher
Leakage is the share of the census rays that enter the stone and leave through the pavilion, or through the crown heading down. The DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows leaks 7% in tanzanite against 2% for the same cut in diamond. Grey in the maps below is leaking light; the share under each picture is that picture's own.
DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows in tanzanite · Leakage 7
0° · 9% leak
10° · 18% leak
20° · 30% leak
30° · 32% leak
DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows in diamond · Leakage 2
0° · 3% leak
10° · 2% leak
20° · 9% leak
30° · 14% leak
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 DG-M5 reads 0% for leakage in tanzanite, the best of the cuts we score there.
Our verdict on the DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows in tanzanite
Pick the DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows in tanzanite for this: it has more facets to sparkle with and weighs less than in diamond. The catch: it shows less fire than in diamond, loses more light when tilted than in diamond and leaks more than in diamond.
If that catch matters more to you, the DG-Elongated Hexagon reads 79 for fire in tanzanite, 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 DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows model we traced.
DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows Tanzanite: questions
Is the DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows a good cut for tanzanite?
In our census the DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows returns 93 of 100 for brilliance and 46 for fire in tanzanite, against 92 and 47 for the T73 in the same stone. Against that round and against the same cut in diamond it has 2 pros and 3 cons by our thresholds; the summary above names them.
What pavilion angle does tanzanite need?
At least 36.4° for a round design: tanzanite's critical angle is 36.4°, 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 DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows's pavilion mains sit at 40.8°.
How much does a DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows weigh in tanzanite?
At 6.5 mm across, 0.96 ct in tanzanite, against 1.01 ct for the same cut in diamond (-5%): tanzanite's specific gravity is 3.35, diamond's 3.52.
Can I see the DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows in tanzanite in 3D?
Yes: the 3D Gemstone Simulator renders it live, with tanzanite's own refractive index and dispersion. Tanzanite 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 DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows Cut files
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DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows Cut 3D files
The DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows Cut as exact geometry: 89 planar facets, real-world scale, ready for CAD,
rendering, printing and casting.
