THERE WERE MANY eye-popping statement necklaces at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival but none so mesmerizing as Messika’s Ak-Ba-Ka necklace, inspired by ancient Egyptian mythology and symbolism, and featuring 15 diamonds cut from a single rough stone.
Irina Shayk was the lucky celeb to wear the necklace that was originally designed as the centerpiece for the 2022 “Beyond The Light Collection,” which was shown during the Paris High Jewelry collections. Valerie Messika, founder and creative director for the brand, continues to outdo herself with each new collection, but this necklace stands out as an iconic piece of the house.
Shayk wore the on trend necklace with Mowalola’s criss-cross, bandage-style black top with red accents and a low-rise skirt with a zipper at the top. It was the perfect outfit to show off this magnificent jewel.
With modern takes on ancient Egyptian symbolism and inspiration trending, this is the most outstanding example I have seen. It is sure to spur the trend even further along. Since 2005, when Messika launched her namesake company, it has been known for disrupting diamond jewels, creating pieces from unparalleled stones with imagination and a vision for what women want to wear today. Messika is the daughter of the diamond dealer André Messika. Her brother Ilan Messika has now taken over and supplies his sister with all of the diamonds she uses in each season’s collection.
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It was Ilan Messika who found the rough diamond that was cut and resulted in this winged scarab necklace. The 33-carat cushion diamond dangles in the center of single mine origin white gold. All 15 of the stones of the pedant were also cut from the 110-carat Botswanan diamond. The size and beauty of the diamond are rare, and so is the way the many different cuts were laid out in order to form the scarab body and the wings.
This necklace is the type that will continue to be written about and shown in “best jewelry” articles for years to come, and it definitely deserves the spotlight.