The material decides how much light a stone can hold; the cut decides what it does with it. Moissanite bends light more strongly than diamond and splits it into colour more than twice as much, so every cut below is lively. The difference between cuts is the kind of sparkle: many small, quick sparks, or a few broad, slow flashes. Each stone here is filmed turning in the same studio light, so you can compare them fairly.
The most sparkle: round, radiant, cushion and princess
Brilliant cuts are faceted to send as much light as possible back up through the top. These four return the most of it.
Sparkle with length: oval, pear, marquise and heart
Brilliant cuts in long or fancy outlines. They sparkle nearly as much as a round, and look larger for their weight because more of the stone faces up.
Calm, mirror-like light: emerald and asscher
Step cuts have long, flat facets in rows, like stairs. Instead of many small sparks they give broad, slow flashes, like light moving on still water.
Fire grows with size
Whatever the cut, a larger stone shows more colour. Light travels further inside it before leaving, so the spectrum fans out wider: a 0.5 ct stone shows fine pinpoints of colour, a 2 ct stone broad flashes you can see across a table. If you want the most fire, go larger in a brilliant cut. If you want a quieter stone, go smaller, or choose a step cut. Our size chart shows every cut in millimetres and carats.
Which cut should you choose?
- For the most sparkle: round, then radiant.
- For the most fire: cushion, in a larger size.
- To look largest for the budget: marquise, oval or pear.
- For a calm, vintage look: emerald or asscher.
- To look most like diamond: a round or oval in a modest size. See does moissanite look fake?
Every stone we sell is DEF colourless and VVS clarity, so nothing in the stone gets in the light's way. You can see each cut at true size on a hand on our stones page, read the physics in why moissanite sparkles, or browse Notes on light.
Which moissanite cut sparkles the most?+
The round brilliant. Its 57 facets are angled to return the most light. The radiant, cushion and princess are close behind.
Which moissanite cut has the most fire?+
The cushion shows the boldest flashes of colour, because its facets are larger than a round's. Fire also grows with size in every cut.
Which moissanite cut sparkles the least?+
The step cuts, emerald and asscher. They give broad, calm, mirror-like flashes rather than many small sparks.
Which moissanite cut looks biggest?+
The marquise has the largest face-up size for its weight, followed by the oval and pear.
Does an oval moissanite have a bow-tie?+
Many elongated brilliants, including ovals, pears and marquises, can show a darker band across the middle as they turn. In a well-cut stone it is faint and moves as the stone moves.