500 master polishers. Most of the Asscher family and over 96 percent of the polishers were murdered by the Nazis. During the war the patent on the original Asscher cut expired. With no one to renew the patent, other companies started to utilize the Asscher cut, leading to market confusion about the origin of many Asscher cut diamonds. Some companies chose to call their Asscher cut diamonds square-emerald cuts instead. Many of these diamonds were cut for yield and did not necessarily follow Joseph Asscher's original proportion calculations for the Asscher cut, which specified parameters for the diamond's crown height, table size, and facet alignment. After the war Only ten Asscher family members and fifteen of the five hundred polishers survived the Holocaust. Although once the world's diamond polishing capital, the diamond industry in Amsterdam was virtually wiped out during the war, including the Asscher Diamond Company. Antwerp subsequently emerged as a major diamond polishing center. In 1946 Joop and Louis Asscher were invited to utilize their expertise to start a new company in New York, but they chose to remain in their home of Amsterdam and rebuild the Asscher Diamond Company. At this point during the 1950s and 1960s the company began exploring new markets and became a prominent diamantaire in Japan. Royal title In 1980 Her Majesty Queen Juliana of the Netherlands granted the Asscher Diamond Company a royal title in tribute to the leading, century-old role the company and Asscher family held in the diamond industry. With this honor, the Asscher Diamond Company became the Royal Asscher Diamond Company. Authenticity The Asscher family secured international design patents on all of their cuts, so that they can not be legally imitated; Royal Asscher is also trademarked and the company owns exclusive rights to the name. To further guarantee authenticity each diamond is laser inscribed with the Royal Asscher logo and an identification number belonging to a single diamond only. The number is logged with the Royal Asscher Diamond Company in Amsterdam and a Royal Asscher certificate accompanies the diamond. Fancy Cut Specialists Today the Royal Asscher Diamond Company are Fancy Cut specialists. Consumer understanding of diamonds has increased with the advent of the internet, online sellers and social media. Today's consumer is willing to buy online and people looking for something individual and rare - this created a growing interest in generic fancy shape diamonds. Non-round shapes used