Cartier: A 5.08 carat diamond single-stone ring
circa 1925
£55,200
Auction: 29 April 2025 from 14:00 BST
Description
Set with a cut cornered, step-cut diamond, weighing 5.08 carats, in a four-claw setting, signed Cartier, numbered, ring size P
Accompanied a later Cartier case as well as a Letter of Expertise from IAJA Expertise stating that the ring is a genuine Cartier New York item from circa 1925. Letter numbered XP2197-290125, dated 29th January 2025.
The diamond has been assessed unmounted by GCS and a verbal result given that the diamond is L colour, VS1 clarity.
Footnote
It is rarely discussed in jewellery history who actually cut the diamonds and gemstones which find themselves adoring fabulous jewels. The role of the lapidary is even further removed from the limelight than that of the goldsmith.
However one name in diamond cutting has managed to carve out a well deserved reputation. The Amsterdam based firm of I J Asscher Diamond Company has cut some of the most famous diamonds in history, including the 3,106 carat Cullinan Diamond.
Founded in 1854 by Joseph Asscher, its global headquarters are still located on the original site Tolstraat 127, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. In 1904 they patented a cut of diamond unlike anything else at the time. The Asscher-cut is almost square and was composed of 50 or 58 facets. The geometric style meant that it perfectly suited the Art Deco jewels made in the coming decades.
Asscher was well known to be a preferred diamond supplier to Cartier. A diamond of similar appearance to this one, appears central in the Patiala necklace made by Cartier in 1928.
Sadly a large amount of the Asscher firm’s archives was lost in the Nazi occupation during WWII. Like the vast majority of other diamonds, it is not possible to know for sure who cut this particular diamond but the style and angular facet arrangement are indicative of the firm’s output.