the precious book
The Precious Book - a wonderful diamond jewellery story
FUTURE HEIRLOOMS
the
legacy Jan Maarten Asscher is a descendant
from one of the most famous diamond dynasties in history. The Asscher legacy is one of innovation, excellence and craftsmanship. Innovation of cutting-edge diamond manufacturing technology with advanced techniques culminating in unique diamond shapes and cuts. Excellence honed over decades of knowledge and uncompromising quality learnt through creating some of the most famous diamonds in the world. Craftsmanship with inexorable attention to detail expressed through crowning cut, symmetry and finish.
Jan Maarten Asscher, 8 years old, inspecting a diamond circa 1970.
This remarkable heritage and legacy will be continued through the new Jan Maarten Asscher diamond jewellery collections.
Jan Maarten’s grandfather, Jacob Asscher marking a rough diamond circa 1950.
juBilee 1854
excelsior 1893
cullinan 1905
the
influences
1854 IJ Asscher founded company
1854
1870
arts & crafts bespoke excellence craftsmanship
art nouveau expressionism decorative innovative
1893 Excelsior diamond discovered at the Jagersfontein mine in South Africa
1880
1890
1900
art deco modernism simplicity geometric
1905 Cullinan diamond discovered at the Premier mine in South Africa
1910
1920
1930
1940
2008 Jubilee cut diamond rediscovered by J M Asscher
2008
the
history The Asscher family have been passionate artisans and experts of the diamond industry since 1854. A diamond family of incredible history. in 1903 the Asscher’s cleaved, cut and polished the 995 carats excelsior diamond, which at the time was the largest rough diamond ever discovered. it was found on June 30th in 1893 at the Jagersfontein mine in the orange Free state, one of the south African republics. it was finally manufactured by the i. J. Asscher Diamond company into 11 exceptional polished diamonds weighing from 9 to 69 carats. the Excelsior still remains the second largest rough diamond of gem quality ever found. the excelsior diamond was then surpassed in 1908 when Joseph Asscher (Jan Maarten’s Great uncle)
Far left, The King’s Sceptre with the Cross of the British Royal Crown Jewels. Redesigned in 1910 to incorporate the Cullinan I diamond of 530 carats. Left, Royal Imperial State Crown of Great Britain, manufactured in 1937 features the Cullinan II of 317 carats.
and his brothers cleaved, cut and polished the cullinan diamond, which was discovered on the 26th January in 1905, at the Premier No. 2 mine, near pretoria, south Africa. it was the largest rough diamond ever found in the world and weighed an amazing 3,106 carats. it was expertly cut and polished into 9 important diamonds, ranging in size from 4 to 530 carats. the largest of these diamonds became known as the Great Star of Africa or cullinan i and adorns the king’s sceptre with the cross of the British Crown Jewels. the second largest of these diamonds, at 317 carats, was fashioned into a rectangular cushion cut and became known as the second star of Africa and adorns the royal imperial state crown of Great britain.
Far left, Brooch worn by Queen Mary for the Delhi Durbar of 1911, created by Garrards & Co Ltd in 1911, featuring the Cullinan V weighing 18.8 carats. Left, Joseph Asscher in 1908 cleaving the Cullinan diamond.
The Asscher brothers discussing a polishing strategy for the Cullinan diamond circa 1907.
A visit to the Asscher diamond factory in 1911 by President FalliĂŠres of France and Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands.
Esteemed visitors to the Asscher diamond factory after 1920
h e r i ta g e
Craftsmanship heirlooms
our
Diamond
excellence
CuT
COlOur
it is the precision and artistry of the cut that decides the
Most diamonds look colourless. there are many
maximum amount of light the diamond will reflect. the
subtle shade differences. the whiter the diamond,
better it has been cut, the greater will be its brilliance,
the more valuable it becomes. in the chaos of extreme
sparkle and fire. When a diamond is cut to an excellent
temperature and pressure that created diamonds,
grade, light is internally reflected from one facet to another
traces of elements such as nitrogen and boron could
and dispersed through the diamond crown to create an
have been incorporated into the diamond’s atomic
amazing theatre of light. Our diamonds are the ultimate in
structure. it is these traces that give a diamond its
cut perfection. Excellent for polish, excellent for symmetry
colour, or lack of it. Our diamonds are bright and near
and excellent for overall cut grade.
colourless projecting a magical rainbow of light.
too shallow
Excellent
ClArITy
too deep
CArAT
thanks to nature, every diamond is unique. each one
A diamond’s weight is the simplest of its characteristics
possesses its own individuality. this could be due to
to measure, and from the earliest times has been used
minute traces of other minerals trapped during the
to calculate one aspect of the value of a diamond. the
crystallization process. these natural characteristics,
carat is a unit of weight which is divided into 100 points.
called ‘inclusions’ are better described as nature’s
A quarter of a carat is 25 points. A half carat is 50 points
fingerprints. the number, colour, nature, size and position
and a one carat is 100 points which weighs 0.20 of a
of any inclusions determines the clarity of a diamond.
gram. Our diamonds will range in size from a quarter of
the fewer the inclusions, the rarer the diamond. Our
a carat and up to one carat plus.
diamonds are only slightly included and therefore the blemishes are very difficult to locate with the human eye. 0.25 ct
0.50 ct
0.75 ct
1.00 ct
4.1mm
5.2mm
5.9mm
6.5mm
J M Asscher diamonds will all be independently certificated by the International Gemological Institute (IGI). This diamond report will show excellent cut, excellent polish, excellent symmetry, a minimum of G colour, a minimum of SI2 clarity and the relevant carat weight.