As Asscher family legend goes, Abraham Asscher had a gun in his left pocket and the Cullinan Diamond in his right in 1907 when he traveled by public ferry to Amsterdam from England, where King Edward VII had entrusted him with what still is known more than a century later as the world’s largest gem-quality rough diamond.
After studying the 3,106-carat gem for almost a year, Abraham’s brother, Joseph, cut it into nine large stones — two of which are still highlights of the British Crown Jewels. The legend notes that Joseph Asscher then fainted from the stress.
“When I started in this business I asked my grandfather, ‘I really want to know if this story is true,’” said Mike Asscher, one of Joseph’s great-grandsons and a co-president — with his sister, Lita — of the Royal Asscher Diamond Company. “He replied, ‘Well, actually, when he successfully cleaved the stone, they drank a lot of Champagne, then he fainted.’”
Champagne has been flowing at the company this year, too, as it celebrates its 170th anniversary.
The company, founded as I.J. Asscher in 1854, has been hosting events around the globe, including in Japan, with the debut in January of a special jewelry collection with diamond pieces featuring its patented pear-shape cut. Its sixth patented cut, the Royal Asscher Emerald, was introduced in October at a celebration in the Tower of London, where the Crown Jewels are displayed.
Also, a Dutch-language history of the business by Igor Vladimirov was published last month, with an English translation, “Royal Asscher, the History of an Amsterdam Family Business,” scheduled to be published next year. (The name was changed to Royal Asscher in 1980, when the Dutch queen at the time, Juliana, gave the company permission to use the word “royal” in its name.)
Being a family-run business is still one of the company’s main selling points, as is its status as a heritage brand — having cut prominent gems such as a 33.19-carat diamond in Elizabeth Taylor’s collection and the orange diamond in the engagement ring given to Queen Máxima of the Netherlands before her 2002 wedding. It also produces a line of diamond-set jewelry, sold online and through authorized dealers around the world.
“Royal Asscher is more than just a name in the diamond industry; it is a fundamental part of the diamond story itself,” Feriel Zerouki, the president of the World Diamond Council, wrote in an email. “Marking its 170th anniversary, Royal Asscher remains as relevant today as it was in its earliest days.” (Royal Asscher has long been a member of the council, an industry association; currently, Mike Asscher is a member of its board. His father, Edward, was its president twice.)
The company’s history is directly linked to that of Amsterdam, once known as the City of Diamonds because of its long history in the gem trade. In the mid-1800s, most Jewish families in Amsterdam were involved in the diamond business. That was when Isaac Joseph Asscher, the son of the company’s founder, began an apprenticeship at a master polisher. “And he turned out to have a real gift for it,” said Mike Asscher, who himself has been certified as a gemologist by the Gemological Institute of America in Carlsbad, Calif.
By 1902, Isaac Joseph’s sons — the Joseph and Abraham of Cullinan fame — had patented the world’s first diamond cut: the 58-facet Asscher. Though the patent expired in 1945, the shape remains an industry standard.
Ms. Zerouki, who also is the senior vice president of corporate affairs at the De Beers Group, wrote that, as a young girl, she actually thought the Asscher cut was simply an industry cut. “Discovering that it was the unique creation of the Asscher family gave it so much more significance,” she said.
After World War II, only 15 of the business’s 500 employees had survived the Holocaust, and there was some thought about moving the company out of Amsterdam. But Mike Asscher said family members felt a responsibility not to leave. So after selling part of the factory to amass some capital, they “started to rebuild the business from scratch.”
The Asschers declined to disclose the company’s annual revenue, but said it now employed about 100 people worldwide. Significant stones are still handled in Amsterdam, but smaller ones are cut by employees in India.
Mr. Asscher and Orian Bohbot, the company’s only full-time cutter and polisher in Amsterdam, created some of Royal Asscher’s patented cuts. “The basic rule for a one-carat rough stone,” said Mr. Bohbot, who was using tweezers to hold a diamond that he was examining with a magnifying loupe held to his eye, “is it takes a full eight-hour day to cut.”
Arnold Saddal of Atelier Saddal, the Amsterdam business that makes the Royal Asscher line of bridal jewelry, said the company’s work on diamond cuts had paid off, such as with the 74-facet Royal Asscher cut introduced in 2001: “It is the most beautiful stone there is.”
And the Asschers themselves have focused on environmental issues, said Iris Van der Veken, the executive director and secretary general of the Watch & Jewellery Initiative 2030, an industry organization.
“Edward, Lita and Mike have always been at the forefront of working on the sustainability agenda,” she said, referring to Edward Asscher, who led the company for 50 years before he retired in 2020. “They have been ambassadors on this topic, and the family truly engages with the wider industry.”
Ms. Asscher said that Edward Asscher had helped to establish the Kimberly Process, credited with all but ending the sale of conflict diamonds, and now is vice chairman of the Responsible Diamond Council.
Such activities have been part of what has made the brand such a success over the generations, Ms. Asscher noted.
“There are so many people that come to us and say, ‘My grandfather went to your grandfather and bought my grandmother a beautiful diamond,’” she said, joking that one day she wants to write a book on how to stage a proper marriage proposal. “That’s the beauty of our business, the heirlooms. Everybody keeps these things forever because they are so precious and so special.”
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