Asscher Cut Diamonds

The Asscher cut diamond was developed in 1902 by the Asscher Brothers of Holland. The Royal Asscher Diamond Company was founded in 1854 by the Asscher family. The company is responsible for cutting some of the most famous diamonds in the world. Its headquarters still stand at its original location Tolstraat 127 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The company also has regional headquarters in New York City (Royal Asscher of America) and Tokyo (Royal Asscher of Japan).

It is a stepped square cut, often called the ‘square emerald cut’ and like an emerald cut, the Asscher has cropped corners. The Asscher cut is designed to draw the eye into the diamond.

It is only recently that the Asscher cut has become popular after it was featured on the television show “sex and the city” and stars such as Kate Hudson have received an asscher cut engagement ring.

The Asscher cut diamonds tend to retain colour slightly more than round brilliants and princess cut, therefore going higher in diamond colour may not give you a incremental benefit. Step cuts aren’t cut for their brilliant so theres no break up of light to hide inclusions. The table of an emerald or asscher cut is a big window in the centre of the stone so any inclusions will be clearly visible.

There are two types of Asscher cuts, the standard asscher cut and the royal asscher cut. Both were created by the Royal Asscher company. The original Asscher cut design has 58 facets and was never patented. It is this design – the square emerald cut – that is referred to universally as the “Asscher Cut.” The following is a quote from the Royal Asscher Website

“The Royal Asscher Cut has a high crown and 74 facets – whereas the modern square-emerald cut, and the original Asscher both have 58 facets.”