ALEXANDER REZA

Alexandre Reza (November 1, 1922 – January 15, 2016) was a Paris-based jeweler who had an extensive collection of precious gemstones, making him one of the greatest gem collectors of modern times.

Alexandre Reza was born in 1922 in Moscow and was of ancient Samarkand heritage. As a child, he moved to France with his family. At eighteen, he set out on his own during the onset of World War II. After the war, he embarked on a career as a diamond expert, traveling extensively to source each stone, which served as the corner stone of his design inspiration. Reza provided precious gems to renowned jewelry brands including Boucheron, Bulgari, Cartier, Chaumet, Harry Winston, Louis Gérard, and Van Cleef & Arpels.

In 1981, after over thirty years of procuring and selling exquisite diamonds, Alexandre Reza established his namesake jewelry house on Paris's Place Vendôme. He expanded his brand's reach by opening retail locations in Geneva, Cannes, and Monaco, showcasing Haute Joaillerie, which consisted of necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rings, and objets d'art made from rare gems such as diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and sapphires. Reza's opulent and exquisite creations are highly regarded for their exceptional craftsmanship, grandeur, and sumptuousness. Sotheby's auction house notes that Reza's designs emphasize movement, lightness, composition, and harmony. In 1997, The Mirror hailed him as the world's top jeweler for the affluent, famous, and royals.

Auction house Sotheby's set a record price for a jewel by Alexandre Reza in May 2010, selling a 5.02-carat fancy vivid blue diamond and a white 5.42-carat diamond set in a toi-et-moi (me and you) ring for US$6.3 million. Similarly, in November 2010, a pair of fancy blue diamond and diamond pendant ear clips exceeded their pre-sale estimate and sold for $1.79 million, triple the low end of the estimate.

Alexandre Reza's jewelry has been extensively documented in several books, including Alexandre Reza: Dreams of Yesterday, Realities of Today (1985) and Alexandre Reza: Stones of Light (1991). The former, introduced by the director of the Jacquemart-Andre Museum, Rene Huygue, was published as a record of an exhibition held at the museum in Paris. In 2012, Assouline released a significant volume titled Alexandre Reza as part of its Ultimate Collection, which showcases over a hundred of Reza's rarest pieces and presents the history of the famous gem house through archival documents and vintage photography. Furthermore, in June 1988, the Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York exhibited Reza's private collection of exquisite jewelry and gems.

Following a prosperous stint in international banking, Olivier Reza, who had accompanied his father on many trips to acquire rare stones, returned to the family business in early 2008. He initiated a series of changes, including downsizing the Parisian salon and selling all European stores. In June 2012, the company reopened a salon on the Place Vendome, and Olivier has recently completed his first jewelry pieces, with a view to preserving and advancing the Alexandre Reza legacy by expanding the collection.