Hexagon Cut Zircon: what our light census measures
Brilliance 64 · Fire 72 · Scintillation 56 · in our census, where the T73 scores 98 · 69 · 80 in zircon
How the Hexagon Cut handles light in zircon, measured: brilliance 64, fire 72 and 25% leakage, set against the T73 in the same stone and against the same cut in diamond.
Light Return map of the Hexagon Cut in zircon, face-up, from our own tracer at refractive index 1.925. Red, green and blue return light to the eye; gray leaks.
Hexagon Cut Zircon
Zircon has a refractive index of 1.925 to 1.984 and a dispersion of 0.039. Its critical angle, from the low end of that range, is 31.3°, so a round design needs a pavilion of at least 37.2° for head-on light to reflect off both sides of the pavilion and leave through the table. We trace it with one index, 1.955, the midpoint of the published range, and a fire spread of 0.034, 0.86 of the published dispersion. Every picture here is our Light Return tracer at 1.925, and every figure is from the same light census that scores the other gemstones; the 3D Gemstone Simulator shows the Hexagon Cut in zircon live. Zircon is strongly doubly refractive (birefringence up to 0.059), so its back facets can look doubled. Our census traces one index (1.955), so the doubling is not in these figures.
The Hexagon Cut has 37 facets and a total depth of 61.0% of its width; its pavilion mains sit at 29.3°. In zircon, the census returns 64 of 100 for brilliance and 72 for fire, against 98 and 69 for the T73, our benchmark, in the same stone; the same Hexagon Cut in diamond reads 58 and 85.
Is zircon good in a Hexagon? Pros and cons, measured
Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in zircon 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 zircon (white) against the T73 Round Brilliant in zircon (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 zircon: ahead on 2, level on 2, behind on 4.
Global75, the comparison 88, difference −13
Brilliance64, the comparison 98, difference −34
Fire72, the comparison 69, difference +3
Scintillation56, the comparison 80, difference −24
Spread100, the comparison 100, difference 0
Symmetry100, the comparison 100, difference 0
Shape-norm85, the comparison 105, difference −20
Tilt100, the comparison 82, difference +18
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 Hexagon Cut gains in zircon
Against the T73 in zircon and the same cut in diamond, no figure of the Hexagon Cut is ahead by the thresholds above. Its figures are in the wheel and the FAQ; Zircon ranks every cut we score in zircon.
What the Hexagon Cut gives up in zircon
Returns less light than the T73 in zircon
Brilliance 64 against 98 for the T73 Round Brilliant in zircon: 34 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 zircon, whose critical angle is 31.3°, the Hexagon Cut returns 64 of 100 and the T73 98. The Hexagon Cut's pavilion mains sit at 29.3°, the T73's at 40.8°. The maps below show where each stone's light returns from and where it leaks.
Hexagon Cut in zircon · Brilliance 64
T73 Round Brilliant in zircon · Brilliance 98
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.
1.71 ct at 6.5 mm, against 1.29 ct for the same cut in diamond (+33%)
Weight follows specific gravity: 4.665 for zircon against 3.52 for diamond, so the same model at the same size weighs 1.71 ct here and 1.29 ct in diamond, 6.5 mm across. Nothing about the light changes with it.
A Hexagon Cut 6.5 mm across, weighed from the model's measured volume and each stone's specific gravity.
Scintillation 56 against 80 for the T73 Round Brilliant in zircon: 24 points lower
Scintillation follows the number of facets the stone shows: 100 × (1 − e^(−facets / 45)). The Hexagon Cut has 37 facets and the T73 73, so 56 against 80. It depends on the geometry alone, so it is the same in every stone.
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.
What helps:the DG-Miliano reads 98 for scintillation in zircon, the best of the cuts we score there.
Leakage 25 against 2 for the T73 Round Brilliant in zircon: 23 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 Hexagon Cut leaks 25% in zircon against 2% for the T73 in zircon. Grey in the maps below is leaking light; the share under each picture is that picture's own.
Hexagon Cut in zircon · Leakage 25
0° · 29% leak
10° · 20% leak
20° · 25% leak
30° · 27% leak
T73 Round Brilliant in zircon · Leakage 2
0° · 1% leak
10° · 6% leak
20° · 15% leak
30° · 26% 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.
Against the T73 in zircon and the same cut in diamond, no figure of the Hexagon Cut is ahead by our thresholds. The catch: it returns less light than the T73, weighs more than in diamond, has fewer facets to sparkle with and leaks more light than the T73.
If that catch matters more to you, the DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows reads 98 for brilliance in zircon, 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 Hexagon Cut model we traced.
Hexagon Cut Zircon: questions
Is the Hexagon a good cut for zircon?
In our census the Hexagon Cut returns 64 of 100 for brilliance and 72 for fire in zircon, against 98 and 69 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 zircon need?
At least 37.2° for a round design: zircon's critical angle is 31.3°, 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 Hexagon Cut's pavilion mains sit at 29.3°.
How much does a Hexagon weigh in zircon?
At 6.5 mm across, 1.71 ct in zircon, against 1.29 ct for the same cut in diamond (+33%): zircon's specific gravity is 4.665, diamond's 3.52.
Can I see the Hexagon in zircon in 3D?
Yes: the 3D Gemstone Simulator renders it live, with zircon's own refractive index and dispersion. Zircon 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 Hexagon Cut files
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Hexagon Cut 3D files
The Hexagon Cut as exact geometry: 37 planar facets, real-world scale, ready for CAD,
rendering, printing and casting.
