Asscher is a square step-cut designed in 1902 by Joseph Asscher in Holland. It has the same hall-of-mirrors optics as an emerald cut but in a square outline with cropped corners.
Original "Royal Asscher" cuts (pre-1940) command a premium for their historical value. Modern Asscher cuts share the look but not the rarity.
Pricing 20-25% below round. Like emerald, the step-cut faceting reveals inclusions — buy VS1 or higher.
Looks best in vintage Art Deco-style settings. Distinctive enough that it's instantly recognizable.
At a glance
- Price vs round
- -22%
- Face-up coverage
- 0.90×
- Sparkle character
- Hall-of-mirrors
- Resale liquidity
- Mid
- Length-to-width
- 1.00-1.05 (square, corner to corner)
- Clarity to buy
- VS1 or better — no exceptions
- Colour
- G-H floor; step facets show tint
- Setting
- Art Deco, milgrain, bezel, round halo
- Watch out for
- Symmetry of the concentric steps
What the Asscher cut is
The Asscher was designed in 1902 by Joseph Asscher in Amsterdam: a square step cut with cropped corners, so light bounces through concentric squares stepping down into the stone. Where an emerald cut stretches that pattern along a rectangle, the Asscher keeps it compact and symmetrical, and the read is denser — a stack of mirrors rather than a corridor.
The cropped corners matter practically as well as optically. They are far less vulnerable than a princess's sharp points, and they are why the ratio check has to be done properly: the outline is eight-sided, not four, so a stone can measure a little off while still reading square. This is also the cut most strongly tied to a period — Art Deco mounts do not merely suit it, they grew up alongside it.
Proportions, symmetry, and the step pattern
Step cuts expose alignment instantly, so the checks are specific.
Length-to-width ratio
A square Asscher measures 1.00-1.05 corner to corner. Because the corners are cut away, the eight sides have to be even for the pattern to close properly — check that the two dimensions on the report are genuinely close. Rectangular Asschers exist, but they are a different silhouette; choose deliberately rather than by accident.
Symmetry of the steps
If the concentric squares are not centred, the pattern looks wrong to almost anyone, trained or not. Look straight down at the stone in a photograph: the steps should stack evenly around a centred point. This is one of the few cuts where a Symmetry grade below Very Good is visible to the naked eye rather than under a loupe.
Depth and windowing
Same rule as the emerald: a shallow step cut shows a window straight down the middle. Hold the stone over printed text — if you can read through it, keep looking. A high crown is normal on an Asscher and part of the look, but the pavilion still has to be deep enough to return light.
Clarity and colour for an Asscher
Identical to the emerald, because the optics are the same: large flat facets and no scintillation to hide behind. VS1 is the floor, VVS2 is comfortable, and SI grades should never be bought sight unseen. An inclusion on the table of an Asscher is on display.
Colour shows on the open facets, so G-H is the working floor for white metal and I-J is workable in yellow gold. One nuance worth knowing: Asschers cut before 1940 often carry warmer colour, and on an old stone that warmth is period-correct rather than a defect. Do not judge an inherited stone by a modern colour chart — judge it as the object it is.
Settings, mistakes, and who it suits
Settings that suit it
Art Deco first: milgrain bands, filigree, geometric halos of small rounds, and bezels that follow the octagon. A plain solitaire works too and leaves the pattern unobstructed. Skip tall, busy halo designs — they put glitter around a stone whose whole point is a calm interior.
Mistakes buyers make
Buying an SI clarity because the same grade was fine in a round. Buying shallow for extra spread and getting a window. Confusing a square radiant with an Asscher — a radiant is brilliant-faceted and sparkles, an Asscher is step-cut and mirrors. And expecting a modern Asscher to carry the rarity of an original pre-1940 stone.
Who it suits
People drawn to Art Deco and vintage design, buyers who want something distinctive that still reads unmistakably as a diamond, and anyone who prefers structure to glitter.
Price, resale, and what to expect
The comparison table puts Asscher -22% against round, the pricing guidance says 20-25% under, and the calculator model applies 0.78×. As with the emerald, expect to spend part of that saving on the higher clarity grade the cut demands.
Resale is rated Mid: a known shape with a steady but not deep market. Antique stones are a different category entirely. This site's inherited-jewelry guidance notes that original Asscher cuts made between 1902 and 1930 are sought by collectors and estate dealers, and are valued as antique objects rather than against the modern price sheet. If you think you have an old one, have it identified before you sell it as a modern stone.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an Asscher and an emerald cut?
Outline first. An emerald is a rectangle with cropped corners; an Asscher is a square with cropped corners, which makes the mirror pattern read as concentric squares instead of a long corridor. Clarity advice is identical — both are step cuts that show what a brilliant would hide.
What clarity grade does an Asscher need?
VS1 as the floor, VVS2 if the budget stretches. The facets are large and flat, so an inclusion that would disappear under a round's sparkle can sit in plain view. Buy the plot as well as the grade: on-table inclusions are the ones to avoid.
Is an antique Asscher different from a modern one?
Yes. Stones cut from 1902 through the 1940s are antiques with their own collector market, often in warmer colour and with a chunkier outline; modern Asschers reproduce the look with machine precision. If you have an inherited square step cut, get it identified by an antique-jewelry specialist before pricing it as a modern stone.
Do Asschers sparkle like rounds?
No — they mirror. You get broad concentric flashes instead of pinfire, and the appeal is the geometry rather than the glitter. If you want the square outline with brilliant sparkle instead, look at a radiant, which keeps the cropped-corner shape and re-facets it.