Asscher Cut Diamonds

Asscher Cuts are square-shaped gems with long, rectangular facets and clipped corners. Due to this unique faceting pattern, Asscher Cuts glimmer, like a hall of mirrors, as opposed to the traditional “sparkle” of round diamonds.

Like all other fancy cut diamonds, the GIA does not grade the cut quality of Asscher Diamonds. So, any jeweler who advertises an Asscher Cut with a cut grade is merely offering their own opinion. The stone’s GIA Certificate will not list a cut grade. For this reason, choosing a great Asscher Cut can be challenging. Furthermore, there is no industry standard of what makes an “Ideal Asscher Cut Diamond.” Because Do Amore strives to educate and help its customers, we provide our opinion on each of our Asscher’s cut grades. Here are the things to look for in a perfect asscher:

WINDMILL

The defining feature of an Asscher cut is its “windmill effect.” Beautiful windmill pattern provides a clear distinction between the stone’s “steps” and its corners. Below is a comparison of a beautiful windmill pattern, as compared with a stone without windmill distinction.

BLACK BOX

Another thing to consider is the pattern of your “contrast” (the dark areas within your stone). Choosing the nicest asscher cuts means staying away from stones with a distracting black box. Here is an example of a beautifully stepped asscher, next to a stone with a distracting black box:

Here are additional parameters that we recommend!

The color grade of an Asscher refers to how much yellow or brown tint (or lack of tint) the diamond shows. In general, Asschers reveal more color compared to other diamond shapes because its long facets do not mask color through traditional sparkle. Because warm candlelight was much more common in the early 1900’s, many Asscher Cut Engagement Rings from that time are warmer-toned colors like I and J. In contrast, with bright LEDs all around us today, many couples prefer colorless Asscher cuts for a whiter look.

Smaller Asschers mask color better than larger Asschers do. So, depending on the size of diamond, you may not need a colorless (D-F) diamond (even if you want your diamond to appear colorless). The color metal you choose also plays a role – warm toned metal (yellow or rose!) helps to hide diamond color.

Here is an example of an E colored Asscher, next to an I colored Asscher:

Here are our recommendations:

The clarity grade of an Asscher reflects how “crystal clear” the diamond is, or, in other words, the amount of birthmarks (“inclusions”) it has. How obvious these inclusions are informs which clarity grade a diamond receives. For example, a larger gem with a small inclusion will receive a better clarity grade than a smaller stone with the same size inclusion. This is because the inclusion is less noticeable in the larger stone.

However, because Asscher cuts do not sparkle the same way brilliant cut diamonds do, inclusions are easier to see in them. So, even a small inclusion is pretty obvious. As a result, couples choosing larger stones will mostly need to consider VVS1 or VVS2 grades for an eye-clean look. The clarity information below provides general guidelines for picking a clarity for your Asscher.

PRO TIP

Always have your jeweler check to confirm eye-clean appearance. We check every Asscher Cut Engagement Ring we sell and inform our couples if it is not eye clean. Because of Asscher’s unique faceting, the GIA Certificate is not enough!

Here is an example of a VS2 clarity asscher diamond next to a VVS2 clarity asscher:

Here is what we recommend: