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Embark on the REZA Journey: a Centuries-Long Legacy of Passion and Expertise
1746
NADIR SHAH AFSHAR, THE EMPEROR OF PERSIA, SELECTED 40 FAMILIES TO ACT AS CUSTODIANS OF THE ROYAL TREASURY. THESE FAMILIES, INCLUDING THE ANCESTORS OF REZA, WERE RELOCATED TO KHORASAN PROVINCE TO BECOME THE ROYAL JEWELERS OF PERSIA.
1885
MORE THAN A CENTURY AFTER HIS FAMILY BEGAN THE PRACTICE, AGADJAN GADALIA-REZA, THE FATHER OF ALEXANDRE REZA, IS BORN IN MASHHAD, PERSIA, IMMERSED BY BIRTHRIGHT IN A LIFE OF GEMS. AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY, HE AND HIS FAMILY ESCAPE RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION IN THEIR HOMELAND AND RELOCATE TO RUSSIA, WHERE HIS EXPERTISE IN PRECIOUS STONES INTRODUCES MOSCOW TO A PREVIOUSLY UNTAPPED SOURCE OF EXOTIC JEWELS FROM THE MIDDLE EAST AND EAST ASIA.
1922
ALEXANDRE REZA WAS BORN IN MOSCOW AMIDST THE UPHEAVAL OF THE BOLSHEVIK REVOLUTION.
1925
SHORTLY THEREAFTER, THE FAMILY RELOCATES ONCE AGAIN, FIRST SETTLING IN PARIS BEFORE MOVING TO NICE. THEY CHOOSE FRANCE AS THEIR NEW HOME DUE TO ITS LEGACY OF ELEGANCE AND TIMELESSNESS—QUALITIES THAT PERFECTLY ALIGN WITH THE SPIRIT OF THE EXQUISITE STONES AGADJAN TRADES.
1940
WITH THE KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE PASSED DOWN FROM HIS ANCESTORS, 18-YEAR-OLD ALEXANDRE TAKES OVER THE FAMILY BUSINESS, MARKING THE START OF HIS LIFELONG PASSION FOR GEMS AND QUEST FOR BEAUTY.
1941
ALEXANDRE JOINS THE FRENCH RESISTANCE, PLAYING A KEY ROLE IN THE NESTLÉ-ANDROMÈDE NETWORK. FOR HIS HEROIC ACTS, HE IS SUBSEQUENTLY AWARDED THE LÉGION D’HONNEUR BY DECREE OF CHARLES DE GAULLE.
1958
WHILE MAINTAINING HIS PRESENCE IN NICE, ALEXANDRE OPENS AN OFFICE IN PARIS'S DIAMOND DISTRICT, SUPPLYING HIS EXCEPTIONAL GEMS TO THE MASTER JEWELERS OF PLACE VENDÔME, INCLUDING CARTIER, BOUCHERON, BULGARI, VAN CLEEF & ARPELS, CHAUMET, AND HARRY WINSTON.
1960
WITH HIS VAST TREASURE CHEST OF GEMSTONES, ALEXANDRE GRADUALLY SHIFTS FOCUS TO DESIGNING HIS OWN FINISHED JEWELRY, ALL WHILE TIRELESSLY CONTINUING HIS TRAVELS TO THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE WORLD IN SEARCH OF EXTRAORDINARY STONES.
1970
ALEXANDRE RELOCATES HIS PARISIAN OFFICES TO 21 PLACE VENDÔME, ESTABLISHING HIS PLACE AT THE EPICENTER OF THE FINE JEWELRY WORLD. WHILE THE REZA NAME REMAINS RELATIVELY UNKNOWN TO THE PUBLIC, IT BECOMES HIGHLY COVETED AMONG MASTER JEWELERS WORLDWIDE, WHO REGARD HIS COLLECTION AS ONE OF THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY PORTFOLIOS OF GEMS IN EXISTENCE.
1974
OLIVIER REZA, SON OF ALEXANDRE, IS BORN IN PARIS, FRANCE. THROUGHOUT HIS YOUNG LIFE, HE FREQUENTLY ACCOMPANIES HIS FATHER ON TRAVELS TO EXAMINE AND ACQUIRE RARE STONES.
1984
ALEXANDRE MAKES HIS PUBLIC DEBUT, OPENING HIS SYNONYMOUS HIGH JEWELRY BOUTIQUE TO THE PUBLIC AT 23 PLACE VENDÔME. HOWEVER, A CLAUSE IN HIS LEASE, ENFORCED BY NEIGHBORING COMPETITOR CARTIER, PROHIBITS HIM FROM SELLING MODERN DESIGNS AT THIS LOCATION. UNDETERRED, ALEXANDRE CRAFTS A COLLECTION INSPIRED BY THE GREATEST JEWELS THROUGHOUT HISTORY. THIS COLLECTION, CONSISTING OF OVER 200 ONE-OF-A-KIND CREATIONS, TELLS THE STORY OF JEWELS FROM ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS THROUGH TO THE BELLE ÉPOQUE.
1985 & 1986
THIS COLLECTION OF HISTORIC JEWELS BRINGS THE REZA NAME TO THE FOREFRONT WHEN IT IS SHOWCASED IN THE LANDMARK EXHIBITION 'RÊVES D'HIER... RÉALITÉS D'AUJOURD'HUI.' AT THE MUSÉE JACQUEMART-ANDRÉ. A SECOND BOUTIQUE LOCATION OPENS AT 47 RUE DU RHÔNE IN GENEVA.
IN 1986, A THIRD BOUTIQUE IS INAUGURATED WITH GREAT FANFARE AT HÔTEL DE PARIS MONTE-CARLO, GRACED BY THE PRESENCE OF PRINCE RAINIER III OF MONACO AND HIS SON, ALBERT.
1987
THE BAN ON SELLING MODERN JEWELRY IS LIFTED AND ALEXANDRE IS AT LAST ABLE TO UNVEIL HIS CONTEMPORARY CREATIONS. FOR DECADES TO COME, THE REZA NAME MAINTAINS ITS PLACE IN THE ELITE ECHELONS OF THE JEWELRY WORLD, FOCUSING ON PRIVATE SALES AND PRESERVING THE FIDELITY OF THE COLLECTION OVER MASS-MARKET EXPANSION.
2008
AFTER A SUCCESSFUL CAREER IN INTERNATIONAL BANKING, OLIVIER RETURNS FROM NEW YORK TO PARIS TO TAKE THE HELM OF HIS FATHER’S BUSINESS.
2012
THE 23 PLACE VENDÔME BOUTIQUE CLOSES AND REOPENS IN A NEW LOCATION WITHIN THE RITZ-CARLTON PARIS.
2016
AT THE AGE OF 93, ALEXANDRE PASSES AWAY, LEAVING BEHIND A LEGACY OF UNMATCHED EXCELLENCE IN THE PURSUIT OF BEAUTY.
2020
OLIVIER USHERS HIS FATHER’S HOUSE INTO A NEW, MODERN ERA, RESTORING THE ORIGINAL NAME 'REZA' AND RELOCATING THE BUSINESS FROM EUROPE TO NEW YORK.