Valerié Messika, founder of Messika, picked Kendall Jenner as the face of its new 2022 campaign. Photographer Chris Colls [IG] joins Messika and Jenner in St. Tropez the south of France.

“I wanted to illustrate a subtle alliance between grace and strength and capture an image of an alpha woman with a mysterious and hypnotic aura ; Kendall perfectly embodied that for me,” Valérie Messika explains.

Luxury ‘Anywhere’ Diamonds

Promoting the fundamental concept that modern women need fine jewelry to wear everywhere, whenever they wish, Jenner poses in a pool and running by the ocean. Mixing diamonds and outfits including a long-sleeved, neoprene black bodysuit, athleticwear and two-piece swimsuits are decidedly modern.

Messika’s father, a prominent Parisian diamond dealer, cautioned her in 2005 when the brand was created: “Make sure that what you create does not resemble anything that already exists” and “stick to diamonds as your hallmark.”

Valerie Messika told the Financial Times [2019] that it was precisely the fact that she could not find diamond jewelery that a twenty-something would wear casually every day that inspired the brand’s launch.

Jenner’s comments about the campaign reflect on her love of Paris, home to Messika’s workshop. “During the shoot, I was able to see so many beautiful pieces, which gave me a deeper appreciation for the craftsmanship of the house that goes into even the smallest earring.”

AOC shares a look inside the world of Messika’s craftsmanship. In January 2021, Forbes did a deep-dive into the luxury brand loved by celebrity women and men. Some say Beyoncé changed the course of Valerie Messika’s life story, a fact that was probably noted by Alexandre Arnault.

Messika and Sustainability, Transparency

Messika told FT that customers both “young and old are eager to better understand the history of the stone they acquire” — something she feels she can deliver. AOC couldn’t agree more on this assertion.

However, that story and information are not shared in any way on the website and do not come up in a Google search on page 1. AOC apologizes in advance if we missed it, but our rule is always to look three times and thoroughly on the words: sustainability practices and transparency of stone sourcing.

The mom of two girls references the importance of sustainability for her daughters’ future, telling Haute Living in July 2020 about participating in the “second-hand market”:

We definitely need to raise our consciousness [about] this. So for me, it’s also an awareness of that. [Also,] it’s gold and diamonds, so you can replenish your jewelry and it comes back almost like new. So in our business, it’s even more interesting that a customer can come and give their jewelry and have a new one in exchange and probably with the second hand market, people can afford jewelry with a lower price that they [normally] cannot afford.

Messika Diamonds Is Certified

However, Messika Diamonds, Valerie Messika’s father’s company has multiple certifications, including in 2015 by Certification against the 2013 Code of Practices (COP) at its trading office in Paris, France. The 2013 COP was released in November 2013.

In March 2021, Andre Messika, father in this diamond business family, spoke to the issue in an article titled: “The natural diamond industry today is one of the most transparent, regulated, and ethical industries in the world”.

AOC Archives: Chris Colls and Kendall Jenner