When Valérie Messika founded her Parisian jewelry maison in 2005, she set out to modernize diamonds—stripping them of their formality and infusing them with a sense of movement, lightness, and wearability. The daughter of legendary diamond dealer André Messika, she was raised among rare stones, but her approach was decidedly contemporary: jewelry that women could live in, not lock away. In the two decades since, Messika has become synonymous with a certain diamond nonchalance—worn by Beyoncé on stage, Kendall Jenner on the runway, and countless women who prize elegance with edge.
Now, to mark its 20th anniversary, the house is celebrating with not one but two collections that expand the Messika vocabulary in strikingly different directions.
The first, Terres d’Instinct, is a sweeping high jewelry ode to Africa, born of Valérie Messika’s travels through Namibia. It is the maison’s most ambitious collection yet, one that pairs the brilliance of diamonds with the untamed beauty of colored gems. Here, monumental yellow diamonds echo the blazing sun of the Kalahari, emeralds recall lush oases, and onyx stripes cut across settings like the hide of a zebra. The centerpiece Kalahara necklace, anchored by a nearly 35-carat fancy yellow stone, transforms into four different silhouettes, underscoring Messika’s reputation for versatility and innovation. Other sets, like Fauve, with its claw-marked gold, or Mirage, with its rippling dunes of pavé, blur the line between natural inspiration and sculptural design.
The Kalahara necklace from the Terres d’Instinct collection.
If Terres d’Instinct is Messika at its most expansive and audacious, the second anniversary launch, Move Ciselé, is a return to the codes that made the brand iconic. The collection reimagines Messika’s best-selling Move designs—the Noa and Classique lines—through the artisanal technique of chiseled gold. Each surface is hand-carved with notched patterns that catch light like faceted stones, lending the metal itself a gem-like quality. The effect is subtle but transformative, turning familiar silhouettes into textured, tactile jewels that feel both couture and quietly subversive.
Bracelets from the Move Ciselé collection.
Taken together, these two collections embody the duality at the heart of Messika: boldness and restraint, adventure and intimacy, the extraordinary and the everyday. Guests to the brand’s recently opened New York flagship at 727 Madison Avenue, are offered a first-hand look at pieces from both collections. As Valérie Messika looks ahead to the maison’s next chapter, one thing is clear: diamonds may be forever, but Messika is determined to keep them in motion.
For more information visit messika.com.
