Messika Gatsby

Messika jewelry is a contemporary French luxury house, founded in 2005 in Paris by Valérie Messika, daughter of diamond merchant André Messika. It creates timeless and fashionable works of art that sit perfectly on the wearer as naturally as a tattoo moves on the skin. Valérie Messika’s modern perspective on diamonds is that they should be celebrated daily, not reserved for special occasions, and give confidence to the women and men who wear them. 

From a young age, she was influenced by her father’s work. He would bring pieces home for her to play with and explain to her what made each piece of jewelry special and unique. He taught her how to see into the heart of a diamond, and as her dream of running her own design house grew, encouraged her to remain true to her vision and the legacy of the Messika name. Messika jewelry is very much a family-run business, employing several family members as well as a largely female staff. The confidentially located atelier where the pieces evolve from concept to completion is a bright and modern space that evokes the powerful feminine energy Valérie Messika has infused into the work. 

Messika jewelry seeks to step into the unknown, breaking from traditional haute couture ideals while honoring the roots of the industry and creating a fresh and female-forward path for new industry leaders. While it is a young design house, it has still captured the attention of the celebrity spotlight. American actress Mila Kunis wore Messika designs to the 94th Academy Awards. Venus Williams, Jennifer Lopez and Beyoncé have also chosen Messika jewelry for red-carpet events. Supermodel Kate Moss partnered with Messika to create the collaborative collection High Jewelry, which is flamboyant with lines that complement the feminine body, inspired by natural elements, fine jewelry, Art Deco, and bohemian style. 

On 1stDibs, find a selection of Messika bracelets, rings, necklaces and more.

Rooted in centuries of history of adornment dating back to the ancient world, modern jewelry reimagines traditional techniques, forms and materials for expressive new pieces. As opposed to contemporary jewelry, which responds to the moment in which it was created, modern jewelry often describes designs from the 20th to 21st centuries that reflect movements and trends in visual culture.

Modern jewelry emerged from the 19th-century shift away from jewelry indicating rank or social status. The Industrial Revolution allowed machine-made jewelry using electric gold plating, metal alloys and imitation stones, making beautiful jewelry widely accessible. Although mass production deemphasized the materials of the jewelry, the vision of the designer remained important, something that would be furthered in the 1960s with what’s known as the “critique of preciousness.”

A design fair called the “Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes” brought global attention to the Art Deco style in 1925 and gathered a mix of jewelry artists alongside master jewelers like Van Cleef & Arpels, Mauboussin and Boucheron. Art Deco designs from Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels unconventionally mixed gemstones like placing rock crystals next to diamonds while borrowing motifs from eclectic sources including Asian lacquer and Persian carpets. Among Cartier’s foremost design preoccupations at the time were high-contrast color combinations and crisp, geometric forms and patterns. In the early 20th century, modernist jewelers like Margaret De Patta and artists such as Alexander Calder — who is better known for his kinetic sculptures than his provocative jewelry — explored sculptural metalwork in which geometric shapes and lines were preferred over elaborate ornamentation.

Many of the innovations in modern jewelry were propelled by women designers such as Wendy Ramshaw, who used paper to craft her accessories in the 1960s. During the 1970s, Elsa Peretti created day-to-night pieces for Tiffany & Co. while designers like Lea Stein experimented with layering plastic, a material that had been employed in jewelry since the mid-19th century and had expanded into Bakelite, acrylics and other unique materials.

Find a collection of modern watches, bracelets, engagement rings, necklaces, earrings and other jewelry on 1stDibs.