Choosing the most beautiful and fitting engagement ring is quite a difficult task these days with so many choices on the market. You might even know that you want to buy a solitaire diamond ring, but that just opens up a series of other questions, such as what metal the band should be made from, or which gem cut should be used for the stone. However, the fashionable celebrities are the ones who come to the rescue. The celebrity magazines have shown pictures of stars like Jessica Alba and Mariah Carey, both wearing asscher cut diamond engagement rings, so we can take our lead from them. And if that was not enough evidence to guide us, then we only need to remember that Charlotte from hit TV show “Sex and the City” was also given an asscher cut engagement ring.
Many people assume that an asscher cut diamond is actually emerald cut when they first see one. The truth however, is that asscher cut gemstones are square in shape, and the emerald cut is rectangular. Rather confusingly, the asscher cut has also been referred to as “square emerald cut”, so that doesn’t help very much. It is not a new cut, despite the fact that is has gained in popularity in recent times. It was originally devised over a century ago by the Dutch Asscher brothers, and has been widely used ever since.
Today, the Asscher Diamond Company still exists and is still owned and run by the same family, although they changed the name to the Royal Asscher Diamond Company in 1980, having obtained the honor of a royal seal of approval from Queen Juliana. In response, they set to work developing a new more precise cut, which they call the Royal Asscher cut. It looks similar to the traditional one, but the higher precision has improved the symmetry of the cut.
A closer look at the square shape of the asscher cut diamond will show you that actually, the four corners have been snipped off in the cutting process to produce a stone which is an irregular octagon. The purpose of this is to draw your gaze deep into the center of the diamond. It is a cut which is ideal for diamond solitaire engagement rings, and also for three stone rings featuring the asscher cut diamond at the center sandwiched between two round cut gems.
It is becoming more fashionable for couples to want to buy genuine antique engagement rings these days, but unfortunately there is very little likelihood of finding any asscher cut antique diamond rings now, because as their popularity has grown over the last decade or two, collectors have gradually snapped them all up, as well as other couples who had the same romantic idea and beat you to it. Luckily there is a vast selection of antique-style asscher cut engagement rings to choose from for your own engagement.