Asscher Cut Engagement Rings

An Asscher is a square step cut with a high crown and a small table, and it produces the deepest hall-of-mirrors effect of any shape. Look into one face-up and you will often see a distinct X pattern in the facets. It is the most Art Deco thing you can put on a hand.

Build a asscher cut ring See stones in person

The asscher cut in brief

Cut style: Step cut. Square, with step-cut facets in three rows on the crown and three below — GIA describes the stone as nearly octagonal, with facets that are larger and more widely set than a brilliant's. The same geometry as an emerald cut, compacted into a square.
Facets: 58 facets — one of the few shapes GIA gives a definite count for.
Length to width: 1.00, and up to about 1.05. GIA describes the Asscher as square rather than rectangular but gives no figure. Trade convention puts the ideal at 1.00, with no visible difference up to about 1.05; beyond that the outline starts to read as rectangular.
One carat measures: About 5.8 × 5.5 mm. A useful sanity check — carat is weight, not size, and two stones of the same weight in different shapes cover quite different amounts of finger.

Choosing a asscher cut diamond

General four Cs advice is written for round brilliants. Where it differs for this shape, it differs like this.

Clarity and colour both matter

GIA is specific: the large open facets show inclusions and body colour more readily than brilliant cuts, and it recommends VS2 clarity and G colour or better — particularly above two to three carats. Budget for the stone rather than the size.

The X pattern

Many Asschers show a distinctive X when viewed face-up. It is a feature of the facet arrangement rather than a flaw, and it is one of the pleasures of the shape.

It faces up larger than a princess

GIA notes princess cuts may appear slightly smaller than other square shapes such as Asschers, because of their deep pavilions. GIA makes no comparison to a round, so neither will we.

Asscher or Royal Asscher

Two different stones with similar names. The original Asscher has 58 facets. The Royal Asscher adds two more rows of eight facets to the pavilion — 74 in total — and is protected by an international patent, so only the Royal Asscher Company may cut one. If a seller uses the two names interchangeably, they are either careless or hoping you are.

Setting a asscher cut

Bevelled corners give the claws a secure seat, as on an emerald cut. GIA notes that for larger stones — three carats and above — double claws are often used at the corners: each is finer than a single claw, but together they hold the stone even if one fails.

The wedding ring beside it

Easy. Square and straight-edged, so a plain band sits flush. Asschers also take a channel-set or baguette band particularly well, since the geometry matches.

All ten shapes compared, with profile, width and whether to solder the pair.

Where the shape comes from

First developed in 1902 by Joseph Asscher, who saw a way to use rough crystals better and retain more weight. It became a signature of Art Deco, and was redesigned and revived around 2002. The Asscher brothers also cut the Cullinan I and Cullinan II from the 3,105 carat Cullinan rough — though those stones are a pear and a cushion, not Asscher cuts.

Asscher cut diamonds, answered

What is the difference between an Asscher and an emerald cut?

The outline, mostly. Both are step cuts with the same hall-of-mirrors character and the same bevelled corners. An emerald cut is rectangular; an Asscher is square, with a higher crown and a smaller table, which deepens the effect and often produces a visible X pattern face-up. A square emerald cut and an Asscher are very close relatives and are frequently confused — the Asscher's higher crown is the tell.

What is the difference between an Asscher and a Royal Asscher?

Sixteen facets and a patent. The original Asscher cut has 58 facets. The Royal Asscher, redesigned by Edward Asscher, adds two further rows of eight facets to the pavilion for 74 in total, and is protected by an international patent — only the Royal Asscher Company is permitted to cut one. They are not interchangeable terms.

Do Asscher cut diamonds sparkle?

Not in the way a brilliant does, and that is deliberate. A step cut returns light in broad flashes from large flat facets rather than scattering it — the hall of mirrors rather than scintillation. What an Asscher gives you instead is depth and geometry. If sparkle is what you want, this is the wrong shape and there is no setting that will fix that.

Why are Asscher cut diamonds more expensive?

Usually because of the stone rather than the cut. Those large open facets show inclusions and colour, so an Asscher needs a higher clarity and colour grade to look right — GIA recommends VS2 and G or better. You are paying for a cleaner, whiter diamond than the same money would buy in a brilliant cut, which is a real cost rather than a premium on the shape.

Are Asscher cut diamonds rare?

Less common than the mainstream shapes, certainly. It is a shape that asks something of the buyer — a cleaner stone, and a taste for geometry over sparkle — so fewer are cut. Practically, that means fewer to choose from and a slightly longer search to find a good one, which is the sort of thing a bespoke workshop is for.

Other shapes

Undecided is a perfectly good place to start — come and see several side by side, which is the only way to settle it. Before that, the natural and laboratory-grown comparison and the ring size guide are the two things worth reading.

Sources

Gemmological claims on this page are from the Gemological Institute of America. Where GIA gives no figure — facet counts for most fancy shapes, several length-to-width ratios — we say so rather than repeat a trade convention as fact.