Brilliance 83 · Fire 55 · Scintillation 79 · in our census, where the T73 scores 92 · 47 · 80 in tanzanite
How the Trilliant Cut handles light in tanzanite, measured: brilliance 83, fire 55 and 16% leakage, set against the T73 in the same stone and against the same cut in diamond.
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 Trilliant Cut in tanzanite live.
The Trilliant Cut has 70 facets and a total depth of 58.9% of its width; its pavilion mains sit at 39.0°. In tanzanite, the census returns 83 of 100 for brilliance and 55 for fire, against 92 and 47 for the T73, our benchmark, in the same stone; the same Trilliant Cut in diamond reads 78 and 83.
Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in tanzanite and with the Trilliant 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.
At a glance: the Trilliant Cut 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 2, behind on 6.
0.91 ct at 6.5 mm, against 0.96 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 0.91 ct here and 0.96 ct in diamond, 6.5 mm across. Nothing about the light changes with it.
Try it yourself: Weights in every gemstone on the Trilliant Cut page
Symmetry 62 against 100 for the T73 Round Brilliant in tanzanite: 38 points lower
Symmetry reads how evenly the pavilion facets of each design family are cut: 100 − 6 × their scatter in degrees. The Trilliant Cut reads 62, the T73 100. It depends on the geometry alone, so it is the same in every stone.
Trilliant Cut · 70 facets · Symmetry 62
T73 Round Brilliant · 73 facets · Symmetry 100
Try it yourself: Compare the Symmetry spoke in the Cut Performance Wheel
Fire 55 against 83 for the Trilliant Cut in diamond: 28 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 Trilliant Cut reads 55 against 83 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 Trilliant Cut 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 71 against 89 for the Trilliant Cut in diamond: 18 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 Trilliant Cut keeps 71 against 89 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.
Trilliant Cut in tanzanite · Tilt 71
Trilliant Cut in diamond · Tilt 89
What helps: the DG-Miliano reads 84 for tilt in tanzanite, the best of the cuts we score there.
Try it yourself: Compare the Tilt spoke in the Cut Performance Wheel
Brilliance 83 against 92 for the T73 Round Brilliant in tanzanite: 9 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 tanzanite, whose critical angle is 36.4°, the Trilliant Cut returns 83 of 100 and the T73 92. The Trilliant Cut's pavilion mains sit at 39.0°, the T73's at 40.8°. The maps below show where each stone's light returns from and where it leaks.
Trilliant Cut in tanzanite · Brilliance 83
T73 Round Brilliant in tanzanite · Brilliance 92
What helps: the DG-M5 reads 100 for brilliance in tanzanite, the best of the cuts we score there.
Try it yourself: Open this Light Return map in the simulator
Pick the Trilliant Cut in tanzanite for this: it weighs less than in diamond. The catch: it has a less regular pavilion than the T73, shows less fire than in diamond, loses more light when tilted than in diamond and returns less light than the T73.
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 Trilliant Cut model we traced.
In our census the Trilliant Cut returns 83 of 100 for brilliance and 55 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 1 pro and 4 cons by our thresholds; the summary above names them.
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 Trilliant Cut's pavilion mains sit at 39.0°.
At 6.5 mm across, 0.91 ct in tanzanite, against 0.96 ct for the same cut in diamond (-5%): tanzanite's specific gravity is 3.35, diamond's 3.52.
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.
The Trilliant Cut as exact geometry: 72 planar facets, real-world scale, ready for CAD, rendering, printing and casting.
The Trilliant Cut as a faceting design: 58 + 12 girdles = 70 facets, 96 index, 3-fold mirror-image symmetry, ready for the machine.
Not sure the files open in your software? Get the cube free: the same six formats, for your email address, used only to send them (privacy).
Questions before you buy? Email us.
Tanzanite: optical properties and the top ten cuts · The Trilliant Cut: specifications, model and files