One would think that it would be easy to find data on emerald cut
emeralds, but Web searches yields almost entirely emerald cut
*diamonds*. I have to specifically exclude the word "diamond" from the
search in order for the Web to acknowledge that any other gems exist on
this planet other than diamonds.
But even so, it seems impossible to find information on cut angles for
emerald. Lots of descriptions of the emerald cut, but no actual
numbers. I did find one informal recommendation for an emerald cut--for
sapphire! But sapphire's IOR is considerably higher than emerald's.
So, I tried finding some viable angles myself. I'm not having any luck;
all but the shallowest crowns leak light like a sieve:
emerald_specs-flat.png
Demonstrates the range of pavilion angles that contain the light
with a flat crown.
emerald_specs-near_flat.png
Any crowns steeper than this will leak light.
emerald_specs-shallow.png
A damn shallow crown.
emerald_specs-steep.png
And it doesn't get any better at steeper angles.
I used an IOR of 1.584, which is what I estimate is emerald's IOR at a
green wavelength, based on 1.580 at D and a dispersion of 1.089.
I went searching deeper, and found a cut designed by Jim Perkins, and
published in Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist, October 2010. Although
his cut is not a traditional step cut, I tested his angles in my rig:
emerald_specs-perkins-long.png
The angles Perkins used on the long side of his cut.
It still leaks, even though he calibrated his cut for an IOR of 1.54,
which I imagine less forgiving than emerald's. Is it possible to get a
leakless emerald cut with a decent crown? Or do they count on leaked
light being reflected back from the setting? Will light coming into the
crown at an angle leak less, or at least compensate? (I suppose I can
find out if I budget more render time.) Can someone channel Steve Paget?
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Preview of image 'emerald_specs-flat.png'
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