The Alexandre Reza house owes its fame and its customs to its founder, Alexandre Reza, who is often called the father of modern high jewelry. He was born in Moscow, to a family of Uzbek immigrants; his father was an ethnic Iranian. The family soon emigrated to France.
Alexander learned the basics of jewelry from his father, who was also a jeweler. At first he worked as a broker, then became a reseller of precious stones and the main supplier of such giants of the jewelry market as Cartier, Harry Winston, Chaumet. At that time, they could not even imagine that in a couple of decades, Reza would become not just their neighbor, but a powerful competitor.
In 1981, he opened his own company on Place Vendome in Paris. It has branches in Geneva, Cannes and Monaco.
In 1985, Alexandre organized an exhibition of 200 pieces of jewelry from his company, reproducing jewelry depicted in famous paintings from different periods from the Middle Ages to the Belle Époque*. The sophisticated Parisian public had never seen anything like it.
In 1994, his jewelry salon in Paris was robbed – precious stones worth $ 21 million were stolen.
In 1997, the Mirror called him “the best jeweler in the world for the rich, famous and royals.” Jewelry from the Alexandre Reza brand is highly valued, for example, in May 2010, Sotheby’s sold the ring “Me and You” (5.02 carats blue diamond and 5.42 carats colorless diamond) for US $ 6.3 million. Books are written about Alexandre Reza and his works are kept in museums.
Several years ago, his son Olivier Reza continued the family business – today he is the art director of the House. Maintaining the same approach – using first-class precious stones to create elegant jewelry with an intriguing, original touch – Olivier added his signature style to the brand style.
The design of any A. Reza product (that is what the company is now called) has a classic base that is organically combined with modern elements.
The new jewelry is distinguished by geometry and clean, elegant lines, while maintaining complex volumes, unexpected combinations of precious stones and gold.
The A. Reza brand collection includes works by both father and son. The former, with a vintage flair, can be considered auction-level rarities, while the latter are a brilliant example of modern classics.
