Laure-Isabelle Mellerio

I have been the Artistic Director of Mellerio since 2016 and also President since 2019

Mrs. LAURE ISABELLE-MELLERIO you are one of the member of the Henokiens Association, could you please present yourself to our readers?

> Laure-Isabelle MELLERIO: I have been the Artistic Director of Mellerio since 2016 and also President since 2019. I am trained as an interior designer and art history. After having worked in interior design for 20 years, then acquired a diploma in gemology, having a real passion for jewelry and precious stones, I devoted myself to the creation of all jewelry collections, high jewelry and tailor-made for Mellerio, when my husband Laurent and I took over from his cousins at the head of the company in 2015.

Can you present your company and its activities?

> LI.M.: Mellerio is the oldest jewelry house in the world still in business and still 100% family-owned. For 400 years, the House has been creating jewelry and precious objects, and since the 1990s, also jewelry watches. Today Mellerio is today one of the rare jewelers in Place Vendôme to offer bespoke creations to all of its customers. Renowned for the choice of its stones and the aesthetics of its frames, this address, once known only to initiates, is now that of all women who wish to acquire a unique piece of jewelry.

Color Queen Rings

Which have been the outstanding events for your company in the recent years?

> LI.M.: The transfer of the company to two cousins and an uncle to a majority shareholder, which had hardly ever happened; the presence of our creations in major exhibitions such as the Musée d'Orsay in 2016-2017; celebrating our 400th anniversary in 2013, and the new shift this past years, as there is now only one artistic direction.

Could you give us some indications about your major projects in a medium or long term?

> LI.M.: This year, I would above all like to give back to Mellerio the luster and notoriety that this unique House in the world deserves. I am launching a major reflection to implement a new strategy by the end of 2021 in order to introduce the House to a wider audience, because it has remained extremely discreet over the past 30 years, at the very time when our colleagues and neighbors, on the contrary, communicated enormously. My ambition is to keep its exceptional authenticity and identity, but to share them more! A great challenge to take up in our very competitive sector ....

How can you explain the longevity of your company?

> LI.M.: I don't think there is just one reason, but it is certain that the Mellerio's moral strength, their pioneering and creative instinct, the resilience they have had to show in the face of every crisis, and above all their lifelong resolve putting the interests of the company before their personal interests were decisive in each generation.

Could you say that this extraordinary longevity is an asset in your customer relations?

> LI.M.: Trust is extremely important in our profession as a jeweler, and in the relationship we forge with our customers. Our 400 years of uninterrupted filiation constitute a very important pledge of confidence and very reassuring for our customers; whether it is because they entrust us with their stones for bespoke creations, or quite simply because they know that we will make them a unique piece of jewelry, with a timeless design and made by the best craftsmen.

Is the new generation already working in the firm?

> LI.M.: Yes, my 26-year-old son Côme joined us 2 years ago, and since then he has been training to be ready to take over in a few years ...

Do you have a message to communicate to all those who would like to start their own family business?

> LI.M.: Believe in it, always, and see far!