Beyond The Light: When The Mysticism of Ancient Egypt Plays Muse…
The discovery of a rare diamond is the centrepiece of Valérie Messika’s latest High Jewellery offering…
It’s been said that Amun Ra, the ancient Egyptian god of the sun and light, set the sky aglow in the radiant splendour of his mythical sun boat.
And like the elaborate artefacts and lore that recall the magical world of the ancients, this season, Parisienne jeweller Valérie Messika also chose to light up the world with the stuff of legends.
This time with her new unique, high jewellery Beyond the Light collection, which features an exquisite 33-carat diamond at its core – a gem that serves as the omphalos of an array that includes the Akh-Ba-Ka, the Divine Enigma and Golden Shield sets complete with rigid statement pieces, transformable designs and the sort of stackables Messika is known for. Showcased during Paris Fashion Week, designs like elaborate lip rings and bold, chain link collars in mesmerising yellow gold convey Valérie’s contemporary vision and connection with women today.
Elsewhere, statement pieces like the Divine Enigma collar, embedded with two emeraldcut diamonds serve as a modern tribute to Egyptian craftsmanship, traditional design and the prowess of a bygone empire.
This collection also commemorates a great quest. That of the company acquiring one of the world’s most precious diamonds, sourced in the mines of Botswana. This exceptional 110-carat stone was secured just before the 2020 lockdown by the designer’s father, diamond dealer André Messika and Valérie’s brother Ilan, the company’s CEO.
From this rough diamond, 15 cut stones were carved, including the jaw-dropping Akh-Ba-Ka 33-carat diamond, which can also be detached and turned into a brooch.
The centrepiece of Akh-Ba-Ka, a name derived from the Ancient Egyptian concept of the soul and its three parts, is a scarabshaped necklace crafted with white gold and set with another 71-carat arrangement of 2,550 diamond studs – a stunning setting fit for a modern-day Cleopatra.
The 33-carat diamond is one of rare purity and dangles from a neck piece which symbolises renewal, and the sort of eternal life only diamonds are privy to.
“I wanted to challenge myself by using the family of 15 diamonds in the same set. Not all the stones had the same cut; some were very original with surprising, more intricate shapes. Sometimes the most beautiful creations are born from the unexpected,” Valérie reflects, adding the set required more than 1,000 hours of labour, involving the hand craftsmanship of five full-time jewellers over the span of six months.
Going forward, marquis pieces from the Akh-Ba-Ka set will be visible only by private appointment, in Messika flagship boutiques and through private events, as they wait to be claimed by the woman who is destined to wear it for all eternity.
Photography by Fernando Gomez. Styling by Anna Castan. Model: Barbara Dronnier at New Madisson. Hair: Jean Luc Amarin. Make-Up: Alisonn Fetouaki. Producer: Jean-Marc Mondelet. Stylist’s Assistant: Karolina Volbin The JEWELS
Written by Sofia Celeste for Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s September 2022 issue.