Backes & Strauss have created the Royal Ashoka® Collection, a new line of one-of-a-kind timepieces which bring William Goldberg's Ashoka® diamonds to the world of fine watchmaking for the very first time.
The inaugural piece from the collection which will be unveiled during the World Presentation of Haute Horlogerie (taking place in Japan from October 28-31) is set with 92 Ashoka® cut diamonds, 131 Ideal Cut diamonds and two baguette cut diamonds- making a total of 225 diamonds, one for every year that Backes & Strauss, the world's oldest diamond company, has been in existence. The total weight of diamonds used in the watch amounts to 26.21 carats.
This unique timepiece draws its inspiration from the legendary Ashoka the Great, benevolent ruler of India's Maurya dynasty during the third century BC. Many hundreds of years after his death, Ashoka's name was adopted for a 41.37 carat, D colour, internally flawless diamond which was pulled from an Indian mine and cut by an unknown craftsman. Inspired by the mystical "Ashoka Diamond", William Goldberg, the Manhattan diamond company, created an entirely new, unique and original cut called the "Ashoka®" that was granted its very own patent.
An elongated, antique cushion cut that captures light and disperses it with a fiery brilliance, the Ashoka® can only be executed using diamonds that meet the Goldberg family's exacting specifications - and only Goldberg master craftsmen have the skill, experience and expertise to bring to life the Ashoka® cut which has 62 displayed facets and rounded corners.
