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Wednesday, December 18, 2013

The Extraordinary Jewelry of Alexandre Reza...A SAPPHIRE AS BIG AS THE RITZ..Rivaling the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London and the Hope Diamond in D.C.'s Smithsonian Natural History Museum, the collection of Paris-based maitre joaillier Alexandre Reza features some of the world's rarest gemstones. To the French designer, a brooch was no standard lapel décor. Among the retired designer's elaborate pieces is his version of a brooch: a stunning, 134-carat Ceylon unheated sapphire surrounded by 14 diamonds (weighing 17 carats each), a pear-shaped one-carat diamond, and 14 additional eight-carat sapphires. That's over 148 carats. Established in the 1950s, Alexandre first designed for major jewel houses, such as Cartier. By the mid-'80s he established his own brand. Imagine vibrant and glamorous jewels paired with '80s hair and blue eyeshadow. "My father did not follow rules," Olivier Reza, Alexandre's son, says. "His character traits...allowed him to approach every aspect (buying, cutting, designing, and making) with a virgin eye driven by his sensitivity and motivated by only one goal: achieve maximum beauty to realize something timeless and perfect."