February 10, 1908, was never going to be an easy day at the office for Joseph Asscher. Joseph and his brother Abraham had spent their careers as gem cutters in the family’s company that was started by their grandfather in 1854. By the time it was their turn at the helm, they still ran the company out of the original premises in Amsterdam, as did the generations before them, but Abraham and Joseph focused on cultivating more of an international reputation for the atelier. As a result Joseph, extremely talented in gem cutting, had become known as the best gem cutter in Europe.
In 1902, he had applied for and received, a patent for the cut design he had pioneered. That signature cut, known as the Asscher Cut, was a square-ish outline with steeply cut corners, a small flat table, a high crown, and boasted 58 step-cut facets that gave a stone that ‘hall of mirrors’ effect by reflecting itself. At the time, this was a completely new cut, and everyone went mad for it. Eventually, the Asscher Cut served as the foundation for what is referred to in the gem industry as an Emerald Cut.
It was because Joseph and Abraham had become so well known and respected in the precious gem business that they were asked for some advice by Edward VII, King of England, on what they thought he should do with a rough diamond that someone had given him for his birthday.
Just as this was no ordinary client request, this was no ordinary diamond either. The diamond Edward wanted cut was a 3,106 carat (1.4 lb) rough diamond that had been found in a Transvaal Colony (currently called South Africa) mine 3 years prior. They liked to report that it was the size of a human heart but let’s go with the size of a clenched fist. It remains the largest gem-quality diamond that has ever been found.
When finding a buyer with deep enough pockets proved difficult, the mine owner sold the diamond to the Transvaal Colony Government who then gave it to the British king as political payback and because they couldn’t think of anything else to get him for his birthday.
Once the Asschers were settled on as the gem cutters of choice, Abraham headed over to London and on January 10, 1908, was given a strict talking to by the king (I made that up but that’s what I would have done!), slipped the stone into the pocket of his oversized coat, and headed back home to Amsterdam via train and passenger ferry. Meanwhile, a huge deal was made about a Royal Navy ship that was commissioned to transport a sealed box containing the precious and priceless diamond to Amsterdam, throwing would-be thieves off the scent of the real transfer.
Joseph had studied what was named the Cullinan Diamond (after the guy whose mine it was found in) and knew that because of its natural flaws, it would make a couple of Ridiculously Big pieces, plus several Quite Large pieces, and a plethora of Bits.
He set to work.
First off, he needed to make a 2 cm incision into the diamond to leverage a splitting knife in order to cleave the stone in half with a single blow. Cutting that incision took 4 days. Joseph, realizing that he would need some seriously tough tools for this job, had some custom/purpose made.
The day was a journalist’s dream. The press, notaries, and spectators had been invited into the Asscher atelier on February 10th, 1908, to watch the biggest diamond in the world cut in two. The initial cuts had been thoroughly planned out, but any small miscalculation could result in shattering the stone completely.
As the room collectively held its breath, Joseph inserted the steel of the splitting knife into the incision on the diamond and raised his hammer. Knowing that splitting the diamond would require a ferocious hit, he gave the top of the splitting knife all he had.
The knife broke under the pressure of the hammer, leaving the diamond to go about its business as if nothing had happened, and throwing Joseph back from the force he had exerted.
He kicked everyone out of the atelier, had new tools made that were even tougher than the first bunch, and by the end of the week had returned to his workbench with steely determination. This time only one notary was present in the room with him when he slipped the new knife into the slot, struck it with a solid blow, and cleaved the Cullinan Diamond cleanly in two!
Joseph Asscher was able to cut 9 large stones that were destined for the Crown Jewels from this initial split. The largest stone was cut into shape and then given to the Asscher’s top polisher who worked on the diamond for 6 months. It is now part of “The Sovereign’s Sceptre With Cross” that is used whenever the occasion calls for a sceptre. Like for a Coronation.
The second largest stone also took 6 months to polish but when finished, that diamond was added to the very front of “The Imperial Crown”. It looks fake—it’s that big.
There were 7 other quite large diamonds that were cut and shaped for the Monarch, and they would eventually each be set into tiaras or necklaces or brooches. Some of the brooches were able to be removed from their settings so that they could be hung on long strand necklaces as pendants (although the late Queen Elizabeth was noted as saying that she never wore the pieces like that because they dragged in the soup), or they could be clipped to the bottom of another brooch for a different look.
The remaining 96 ‘chips’ of diamond that were left over from the cutting of the Cullinan Diamond went to the Asschers as their payment for sculpting the world’s largest gem-quality diamond into jewels that were fit for a King. These stones have been worked into engagement and wedding rings for the extended Asscher family throughout the generations.
So not only was that a pretty good save for a project that started with broken tools and disappointing press reviews but, as often happens, initial failure made for a much more inspiring story for the rest of us than boring old success ever would.
