The Royal Asscher Cut
The Royal Asscher Cut
A 2001 reworking of the original Asscher in seventy-four facets, branded and trademarked
The Royal Asscher cut is a proprietary square step-cut diamond design introduced by the Royal Asscher Diamond Company in 2001, featuring seventy-four facets compared to the fifty-eight of the original Asscher cut. The design was developed by Edward and Joop Asscher, brothers and fifth-generation principals of the Asscher firm, to mark the company's centenary and to revive interest in the square step-cut tradition that had largely disappeared from the post-war diamond market. The cut is trademark-protected and may only be applied by the Royal Asscher Company under licence.
Origin: the original Asscher cut
The original Asscher cut was developed in 1902 by Joseph Asscher in Amsterdam and patented at the time. It is a square step-cut diamond with a high crown, a small table, deeply cut corners, and fifty-eight facets including the culet — the same facet count as a round brilliant but arranged in step-cut tiers rather than the kite-and-star pattern of the brilliant. The cornered square outline produces an octagonal silhouette face-up, and the high crown gives the cut a distinctive deep look through the table. The 1902 cut became fashionable in the Edwardian and Art Deco periods and is the model for the modern square emerald cut.
By the late twentieth century, the original Asscher had become a niche cut, surviving in vintage estate jewellery and occasional commissions but largely displaced in production by the round brilliant and the modern princess. The Royal Asscher cut was the firm's response.
The 2001 redesign
The Royal Asscher cut adds sixteen facets to the original Asscher arrangement: extra steps on the crown, additional pavilion facets, and a redesigned culet. The result is a higher crown, a smaller table, and additional facet tiers that produce greater brilliance and a more intricate facet pattern than the original. The redesign was driven by the goal of returning to a step-cut style while delivering closer to round-brilliant levels of brightness.
The face-up appearance is distinctively octagonal, with the four cornered corners and the four step-cut sides creating a hall-of-mirrors effect through the table when viewed under bright light. The cut is most often produced in larger sizes, where the step-cut tiers are most visible; small Royal Asschers are uncommon in the trade.
Trademark and licence
The Royal Asscher cut is trademark-protected, and stones may only be cut and inscribed by Royal Asscher or its licensed cutters. Each finished stone is laser-inscribed on the girdle with a unique Royal Asscher identification number that links the stone to the company's records. The number serves both as a provenance mark and as a brand authentication, distinguishing trademarked Royal Asscher stones from generic square step cuts that may resemble the design but lack the formal facet arrangement and the company's certification.
The trademark protection sits alongside, and is independent of, GIA grading. A Royal Asscher stone is typically accompanied by a GIA report on colour, clarity, and weight, plus a Royal Asscher company certificate documenting the trademarked cut. The combined documentation is a marketing as well as a grading instrument.
Position in the market
Branded and trademarked diamond cuts occupy a particular niche in the trade: they trade at premium to comparable generic shapes because of the brand value, the cutting precision implied by the trademark, and the marketing infrastructure behind the brand. The Royal Asscher cut competes in this niche with brands such as Hearts on Fire, Forevermark, and the various proprietary princess and cushion cuts marketed by individual cutting houses.
For buyers attracted to the step-cut aesthetic, the Royal Asscher cut offers a distinct face-up appearance with verifiable provenance and a higher level of cutting precision than is typical of generic square step cuts. The premium for the brand is real and can run twenty to forty per cent above an equivalent unbranded square step cut at similar grading.
In the trade
The Royal Asscher cut revived market interest in square step cuts and prompted a resurgence of generic Asscher-style cutting at multiple price points. The trademark cut sits at the top of the segment; below it are unbranded square step cuts marketed simply as Asschers, which lack the seventy-four-facet redesign and the company's certification. Buyers should distinguish between the two: a stone marketed as an Asscher is not necessarily a Royal Asscher, and only stones bearing the inscribed Royal Asscher identification number qualify as the trademarked design.