Messika is one of my favorite jewelers. Truly feminine and contemporary, the brand proposes jewels that can be worn anytime, either on a daily basis or on important occasions and that’s something that is really important to me. So when I was proposed to discover privately some of their most iconic pieces, I could only say ‘yes’.
Since the launch of her brand in 2005, Messika’s Founder, Valérie Messika, works closely with her father André Messika, who is an expert in diamond dealing, as well as with her brother Ilan, who is in charge of researching the best possible diamonds. It’s a family affair! Together, they share the love of stones, knowledge and respect for the jeweler’s craft. Thanks to their hard work, they have marked their path not only with the Move collection but also with a lot of unique pieces. Among them, lots of them have been showcased by international celebrities on some of the most famous red carpets in the world.
However the ‘Move’ collection is one of my favorites (I was lucky enough to try one of the pieces that have often be seen on stars’ wrists at the Cannes Film Festival), I was left breathless when entering the VIP room that was hiding the High Jewelry collection. Inspired by the festive Paris from the 20’s, its social and cultural mania and its illustrious women, who reinvented their gender through various artistic disciplines, it shows the unparalleled expertise of the artisans working in the atelier of the Maison to create dazzling pieces with a perfect asymmetry.
Continue reading if you’re a diamond fan…
Paying tribute to strong women of the world, each piece of the High Jewelry collection mixes perfectly classic and contemporary.
As a tribute to these strong and liberal women to whom we owe so much today, Valérie Messika has designed a “shocking” choker that is worn tight against the neck for an alluring and captivating look. The necklace “Flappers” is one of the many examples that prove it. With its graphic style and pure lines, this strand of diamonds echoes the Art Deco style of the period. The sequencing of the diamonds is particularly effective. Brilliant-cut and emerald-cut diamonds alternate in a skillful play on light to enhance the central diamond, a magnificent 2.06 ct (EVS1) emerald-cut diamond with cut corners. Based on the Skinny concept that Valérie Messika launched to allow women to wear elastic and flexible jewels, Flappers ensures a real comfort.
Regarding the Marquise, it redraws Madeleine Vionnet’s famous fashion cut. “The Madeleine necklace required patience and expertise, cutting and re-cutting, precision and skill from the master setters. Hundreds of hours of work were required to align and bring out the same sparkle in each of these stones, renowned for their unique character”, says Valérie.
To me, the most amazing one is the “Roaring Diamonds”, reflecting the 1920s in France at its best. Known as «les années folles» in French, which literally means «the crazy years», they are commonly referred to as the “Roaring Twenties” in English. In the same mind-blowing spirit, Valérie Messika has designed a plastron necklace that is as sumptuous and striking as a roaring lion’s mane. A frenzy of marquise-cut diamonds; a vertiginous succession of pear-cut diamonds pointing downwards, which capture a libertarian spirit. The necklace transfixes you with its majestic design. With the contrasting proportions of the diamonds, the play on micro settings and the skillful manipulation of volumes, this characterful plastron required hours of thought to find the perfect arrangement of stones.
There is no doubt that as diamonds are girls’ best friends, Messika could easily become one our confidents and live on to last a lifetime.
