Almost ten years after the death of Alexandre Reza, the great Parisian jewelry house, which in 2020 was moved to New York City, continues on the path traced by its founder. The company’s activities, in fact, had already been transferred to his son Olivier in 2008. But it is worth remembering this great jeweler, who had an adventurous and exciting life. And he became a legend in the history of jewelry. Suffice it to remember that in 1997, when Princess Diana was killed in a car accident in Paris, she was wearing a solitaire ring by Reza, which she had received a few hours earlier from her boyfriend Dodi al-Fayed.
Alexandre Reza, who died in 2016 at the age of 93, was born in 1922 in Moscow, into a family of Persian origins. The father was a jeweler too. The family, who fled the Russian Revolution, arrived in Paris after the Second World War. Alexandre Reza soon became famous in France for his ability to discover exceptional ancient gems from Colombia, India, Burma (Myanmar), Thailand and Sri Lanka. He founded his Maison in the 1950s and started trading gems: he supplied stones to brands such as Boucheron, Bulgari, Cartier, Chaumet, Harry Winston, Louis Gérard and Van Cleef & Arpels and later on making jewels for the great brands of Place Vendôme. Then, in 1981 he too founded his own Maison and opened his boutique in 1984. His specialty was high jewelery.
Alexandre Reza’s creations have become famous for their richness and originality of design, with large, but light, original, but not extravagant jewels. Unique, coveted and very expensive pieces, always on average above 100,000 dollars. In summer 2020, Christie’s sold a two-diamond blue and white Reza ring for $ 9.2 million.
Olivier Reza, who after accompanying his father on his trips in search of gems had chosen a career as a banker, has returned to lead the company. After a period of renovation, in June 2012 he reopened a salon on Place Vendôme to continue his father’s work with the aim of adding new exceptional pieces to the Alexandre Reza collection. A work that continues today on Madison Avenue, New York.
