Queen Grants Asscher’s Royal Title

Joseph Asscher cleaving the 3,106 carats Cullinan diamond for King Edward VII of Britain in 1908

(IDEX Online News) - Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands has extended the Royal title to the Asscher family for another 25 years. The honor is “in acknowledgement for their leading role in the diamond industry,” the family of diamantaires announced Wednesday.

The title was granted by the Deputy Mayor of Amsterdam Lodewijk Asscher at the Royal Asscher Headquarters in Amsterdam today (Wednesday).

The Royal title follows a diligent process initially starting with the Mayor, and ultimately conferred by her Majesty the Queen, according to the family.

“It is an honor for the Asscher family to have the privilege to be the only Royal diamond company in the world,” said Edward Asscher, president for the Royal Asscher Diamond Company. 

Among the company’s royal clients, it counts Japan’s Emperor Hirohito, Queen Elizabeth II as well as Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard of The Netherlands.

In honor of this occasion, Royal Asscher will release a special edition Stars of Africa ring with orange diamonds on April 31, on the former Queen’s birthday. Orange is the national color of the Netherlands.

The Asscher’s diamond history began in 1854 when Joseph Isaac Asscher establishes the I.J Asscher diamond company. Members of the family cut and polished some of the most important diamonds ever found, including the Excelsior and Cullinan diamonds. It developed the Asscher cut and the Royal Asscher cut.

Queen Juliana of Holland granted the Asscher Diamond Company the royal title in 1980.