For the launch of her new High Jewelry collection, Beyond the Light, Valerie Messika reveals her inspirations, looks back on her unique collaboration with her brother and reveals even more of her exceptional talent.
This is M
With Beyond the Light, you unveil a new powerful and masterful High Jewelry collection, what were your sources of inspiration?
VALERIE MESSIKA (VM): Beyond the light is a special collection, which is close to my heart. It combines a beautiful family story and strong inspiration from ancient Egypt. The more I advanced in my research for this new collection, the more the subject became a part of me and resonated in me; a bit like a piece of music that stays with you forever. As I worked on this theme, I also followed the project led by my brother, Ilan. He was working on an extraordinary rough diamond of 110 carats, from which he extracted 15 masterful stones. It is these stones that illuminate the centrepiece of this collection. Our projects came together naturally, as a matter of course. A family story intertwining around a common passion.
In what way does this collection mark a turning point for Messika?
VM: This collection is about going beyond light, beyond reality, surpassing oneself and that is exactly what Beyond the Light evokes for me. Following the previous collections, I build my creations around exceptional stones. It was in this momentum that I became interested in the 33-carat diamond. I was looking for a gem that traces the heritage of our House, but I wanted to go even further and challenge myself by buying all 15 stones from the same rough 110-carat diamond. It was a daring gamble, because although the exceptional 33-carat diamond was a classic cushion shape, some had totally singular sizes. Building the same set around these 15 exceptional gems was a bold, yet very nice, challenge for me.
You launch a collection with an exceptional 33-carat diamond, what makes this diamond so unique?
VM: Beyond the story of its acquisition, which is a real odyssey, this stone has an incredible light, an exceptional purity. This diamond is graded D for colour and FI for clarity, so it is of the highest quality. The whole challenge was to magnify its light, which is why I wanted to make a set all in white gold to focus attention on the brilliance of this exceptional diamond. Therefore, Akh-bâ-Ka is truly an incredible set that revisits the mythical theme of the winged scarab. A pharaonic flight so to speak.
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What was the success of the first Opus and why create a second Opus?
VM: The first Opus was an undeniable success. We presented the sets during the Couture Week in Paris in July. Beyond the Light is a masterful, beautiful collection which has about 150 pieces, although this meant it was complicated for us to release all the sets at once. Last year, we started to launch a new appointment for High Jewelry with the Messika show during Fashion Week in September. I found that this event - which is particularly close to my heart - was ideal to present the sequel. This is how we imagined this exceptional fashion show for Opus II.
What message do you want to convey through the fashion show?
VM: Dare, on a daily basis. It takes a certain courage to launch a High Jewelry show during Fashion Week and even more to make it last. It was also extremely daring to bring High Jewelry into the world of fashion. A way to open a new door, making them more accessible and “cool”, so to speak, for these exceptional pieces, which aspire to be worn more freely.