The Royal Asscher Diamond Company (Dutch: Koninklijke Asscher Diamant Maatschappij) was founded in 1854 by the Asscher family of gemcutters. The company is responsible for cutting some of the most famous diamonds in the world including two of the top three largest diamonds ever found. 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).
Royal Asscher is still owned by the Asscher family, today a renowned diamond dynasty. The Asscher Diamond Company, made famous at the turn of the 20th century by Joseph and Abraham Asscher, became Royal Asscher Diamond Company in 1980 when it was bestowed with the Dutch Royal Predicate from Queen Juliana of the Netherlands in recognition of the company's stature both in the Netherlands and across the world. In 2011 Queen Beatrix perpetuated the Royal Prefix for another 25 years.
In 1854 Joseph Isaac Asscher, a known artisan in the diamond industry, established the I.J Asscher diamond company, named for his son Isaac Joseph Asscher, who followed in his father's footsteps and entered the diamond industry. He passed down his expertise to his five sons, including Joseph (a prolific and unrivalled diamond cleaver) and Abraham (a talented innovator and businessman). Together, they became the 20th century's most prodigious diamond experts. Under Joseph and Abraham, the company is known as the Asscher Diamond Company and cuts diamonds to be set in jewellery for world famous boutiques and maisons internationally. As one of the largest diamond polishing companies in the world at that time, the company was known for having Royalty, celebrities and politicians as private clients.
The Asscher Cut
In 1902 Joseph Asscher designed and patented his namesake original Asscher cut.[1] This emblematic cut was the world's first patented diamond cut protecting it from replication by other companies. The Asscher Diamond Company held its exclusive patent until the Second World War and saw strong sales internationally, particularly during the 1920s and 30s when the cut and company were both at the height of success.
The original design had 58 Step cut facets, a small table, high crown and steep pavilion with cut corners. An accurate description would be a cut cornered square emerald cut diamond.
In 1905 the Cullinan diamond was discovered. At 3,106 carats (621.2 g) it was a legendary find, and achieved instant renown across the globe. The diamond was presented to King Edward VII, and he invited the Asscher brothers to London to discuss cleaving the diamond. It was decided that Joseph Asscher would cleave the Cullinan into three parts, necessitated by inclusions within the rough diamond. Nine large stones were cut from it, the largest being the Cullinan I at 530.20 carats (106.040 g).
In February 1908 a notable audience gathered to watch Joseph Asscher cleave the huge stone. In order to yield large, beautiful diamonds he needed to hit the Cullinan in exactly the right place. On his first strike his blade broke, while the stone remained intact. He dismissed all present and set to work creating larger, stronger tools.
The following week, armed with new tools, Joseph resumed his work, allowing no one but the notary public in the cutting room. Urban legend recounts that Joseph fainted after striking the Cullinan diamond with a tremendous blow. He later commented that the adrenaline surging through him the moment the stone split was so strong all he could think to do was to examine the stone and check his workmanship over and over again before rushing to the next room to share the good news. Later, the Cullinan diamonds were polished, ready to take pride of place in Great Britain's Crown Jewels.
During the Second World War battle of the Netherlands the Nazis as part of their extermination plans, entered the Asscher Diamond Company's Amsterdam headquarters and seized its diamonds. Since the Asscher family were Jewish they were eventually deported from the Netherlands and interned in concentration camps, along with nearly all of the company's 500 master polishers. Most of the Asscher family and over 96 percent of the polishers were murdered by the Nazis.
During the war the patent on the original Asscher cut expired. With no one to renew the patent, other companies started to utilize the Asscher cut, leading to market confusion about the origin of many Asscher cut diamonds. Some companies chose to call their Asscher cut diamonds square-emerald cuts instead. Many of these diamonds were cut for yield and did not necessarily follow Joseph Asscher's original proportion calculations for the Asscher cut, which specified parameters for the diamond's crown height, table size, and facet alignment.
After the war
Only ten Asscher family members and fifteen of the five hundred polishers survived the Holocaust. Although once the world's diamond polishing capital, the diamond industry in Amsterdam was virtually wiped out during the war, including the Asscher Diamond Company. Antwerp subsequently emerged as a major diamond polishing center.
In 1946 Joop and Louis Asscher were invited to utilize their expertise to start a new company in New York, but they chose to remain in their home of Amsterdam and rebuild the Asscher Diamond Company. At this point during the 1950s and 1960s the company began exploring new markets and became a prominent diamantaire in Japan.
The fifth and sixth generations of the Asscher family are at the helm of an international company. Edward Asscher, father works in conjunction with daughter Lita and son Mike.
In March 2020, Edward Asscher announced his retirement from the company. With his departure, his daughter Lita Asscher and son Mike Asscher will serve as co-presidents of the firm.[2]
Designed by renowned Architect Gerrit Van Arkel the castle like structure of the original Asscher factory is today the jewel of Amsterdam's De Pijp area, Working on the principle of needing ample light for the diamonds to be worked within, the castle-like factory had huge windows and originally featured a police station outside. At one time over 500 diamond polishers worked in the building alongside numerous administrative staff and family.
It was here in this grand building where some of the largest and most iconic diamonds in the world were cut and polished. Such was the stature of 127 Tolstraat that the area became known as the Diamantbuurt (DiamondDistrict) with street names such as Diamantstraat (Diamondstreet), Robijnstraat (Rubystreet), Saffierstraat (SapphireStreet) and Smaragdstraat (EmeraldStreet). All around the factory are beautiful workers cottages where many of the diamond polishers lived.
Now, the area is known as the “Asscher Quarter” with additional street names such as Cullinanplein. While the old factory is now a light filled luxury apartments complex, the main tower remains Royal Asscher's headquarters to this day.
Inga kommentarer:
Skicka en kommentar