Dress down with diamonds

A girl’s best send: Valérie Messika equates diamonds to make-up – something you can put on to flattering and frequent effect

Valerie Messika of Messika Paris Jewellery. Antonie Robertson / The National

Seven months pregnant and midway through a gruelling whistle-stop tour of Dubai, Valérie Messika could be excused for being slightly out of sorts. Seated in a corner of the Armani Hotel, in a maxi dress that perfectly complements the hotel’s shimmering gold, bronze and beige colour scheme, the founder and creator of Messika Paris is, however, as gracious as can be – all compliments, smiles, ‘merci beaucoups’ and ‘vous êtes très gentils’.

With her pieces now on offer at select Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons stores around the country, Messika is in Dubai to mark the official launch of her diamond jewellery brand in the UAE.

Growing up, Messika imagined that she’d be able to escape the allure of the diamond business. Her father, Andre, a diamond trader who entered the industry in the 1970s, had “struggled to establish himself because it’s a very closed system”. Nonetheless, he carved a niche for himself on Rue La Fayette, the stronghold of Paris’s diamond industry.

“I thought I would have the liberty to say to my father that I wanted to do something else, but he was very clever. Since I was very young, he would come home with these beautiful stones and in some way, I think he brainwashed me!”

Messika started her career in luxury marketing, working for high-end brands such as Chanel, but in 2000, she gave into the entreaties of her father and joined the family business. After a few years spent learning the ropes, visiting important diamond trading hubs such as South Africa and India, she went to her father with a proposition. Why not go beyond trading and design and create diamond jewellery – but with a twist?

“I thought it would be interesting to create diamond jewellery that was suitable for everyday wear. I did a marketing study and saw that there was a niche so I said let’s try to make a cool and casual collection starting from around €500 [Dh2,500].”

Messika relished the idea of building up this new facet of the business, and she still involves herself in every part of the process – from designing the pieces to marketing them, putting together advertising campaigns and designing boxes. “When I joined the diamond business, it was such an ‘old’ business; there was not much in the way of marketing and communications. I realised that there was so much more that could be done.”

In a world where diamonds are still perceived as the very height of luxury, was she surprised by how well people responded to the idea of ‘casual’ diamond jewellery? “I had no idea it would be so easy. Thirteen years ago, people would say, ‘Diamonds are for my wedding ring and that’s it’.

“But when I launched a few simple pieces with diamonds, women realised that they loved the idea of wearing diamonds with jeans. They would say that it was comfortable; it was like putting on make-up – it would brighten up their outfits and their skin.

“In the Middle East it is quite different; jewellery is in the culture. Whereas it’s absolutely not in Europe. For them, jewellery is an expression of wealth and that is sometimes perceived as a bad thing, particularly in France.”

The brand is committed to creating original, well-made staples – the jewellery equivalent of the little black dress. One of Messika’s first collections, Move, consists of three moving diamonds artfully suspended within rings, bracelets and necklaces. The three diamonds represent a touching sentiment: I loved you yesterday, I love you today and I will love you tomorrow.

“We became a little bit famous in France because people remembered the moving diamonds. We were lucky to create something that is still not old-fashioned after seven years. ”

Messika also specialises in lines of diamonds on a metal setting fitted with nano springs – so they can be stretched, twisted and bent, but always spring back into place. “My purpose was to develop almost a diamond tattoo that sits very close to the skin, with a very small gold prong that allows the diamond to shine as much as possible. I wanted something completely stretchable so that when you wear it, you cannot feel it and it fits like a second skin. I also like this because you stretch something that is supposed to be very hard and very precious.”

There are now 60 people working for Messika jewellery, which is offered at 180 points of sale around the world. “There has been huge development over the last 10 years. It’s not that I’m a genius – absolutely not – but I arrived at the right time and identified a need. And now I am not alone in this area; but we had a little bit of advance and also the reputation of my father helped.”

December will be a busy month for Messika. In addition to the arrival of her second child, she is looking forward to the opening of the brand’s first stand-alone store in Paris. And all the while, she will remain true to the two simple pieces of advice her father gave her when she was first starting out: “He told me, ‘If you launch a jewellery brand, never copy anybody. And stay true to our roots – which is diamonds’.”