Remember the “This is not your father’s Oldsmobile” ads? Laure-Isabelle Mellerio is doing something similar with the very chic reinvention of her family’s venerable jewelry maison.
Within the past few months, Mellerio has introduced collections, shot a new advertising campaign, and prepared for its residency at Bergdorf Goodman in New York City, all under the direction of Laure-Isabelle Mellerio, the Paris-based brand’s creative director.
The company is more than 400 years old. Making itself relevant (and Instagram-worthy) in an age that seems to relish the ephemeral means focusing on strong messaging of resilience, Mellerio says.
“It’s a brand that has evolved with the times while staying true to its core values, creating jewelry that resonates with both history and modernity,” she says. “It’s a symbol of enduring beauty, craftsmanship, and the power of family legacy.”
And it doesn’t hurt that her ancestors’ work for Marie Antoinette is a guest star at Bergdorf Goodman, where Mellerio made its retail debut earlier this year.
The maison opened in 1613, making jewelry for royalty and luxury connoisseurs. Mellerio says her family’s business is the last independent jewelry house in France, now in its 15th generation.
Mellerio’s most famous piece dates to 1780, when 15-year-old Jean-Baptiste Mellerio went to Versailles with his marmotte, a jeweler’s presentation chest. Marie Antoinette stopped her carriage, and one of the ladies-in-waiting purchased a Mellerio cameo bracelet made with rubies and carved flowers.
The maison also is known for its Mellerio Cut diamond, its colorful designs, and its vast vault of ideas from centuries in business, Mellerio says. She wanted its Bergdorf Goodman residency to feature historical jewelry on display as well as new collections for sale; the exhibit is open to the public through Oct. 27.
This summer, Mellerio added to its line of jumbo talismans with a mixed-gemstone Color Queen cross and cosmos-inspired pendants in white gold and yellow gold. They are designed to be worn on a long chain with rectangular links hand-chiseled by Mellerio’s craftspeople.
“When we introduce new collections, the idea is to reinterpret Mellerio spirit with a contemporary twist,” says Mellerio. “I always try to link legacy to what’s contemporary. It may be an archive drawing, a technique, a story about an ancestor or a customer, but it’s treated in a modern, effortless way.”
She also hopes to make Mellerio approachable for younger consumers and others who haven’t previously shopped the brand. Its new advertising, which is on social media, in select magazines, and on special Parisian street posters, seeks to communicate that people of any age can wear Mellerio, Laure-Isabelle says.
“The idea of the campaign is to translate a chic but effortless attitude—you can wear the jewelry in a tuxedo as well as jeans and sneakers,” she says. “A Mellerio customer is a woman or a man from 25 to 85 who is able to understand and appreciate what real and historical luxury is without any kind of pretension or need of demonstration.”
Top: French heritage brand Mellerio is now in residence at New York’s Bergdorf Goodman department store. (Photos courtesy of Mellerio)
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