On the one hand, there is Pascal Béliard, a jeweller based in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, in the heart of the international jewellery manufacturing district. On the other, Valérie Reinert Dumas, a first life in finance, a second in jewellery. Together they have created DiamondHolic, a showroom on Avenue Mac-Mahon in the 17th arrondissement of Paris. It seems like only yesterday that their press officer was telling me that I would love to meet them. He was right. Pascal and Valérie are among those luminous beings who take you into a universe that they have made unique. With humour, passion, technicality, they talk about their jewels, their way of provoking the material to bring it where they decided and their vision of a modern and audacious jewellery. Meet them!
Valerie Reinert & Pascal Béliard. Photo: © Jean-Nicolas Reinertok
1- Hello Valerie and Pascal, tell us about the concept of Diamondholic?
It is the showcase of our know-how, a meeting of two passionate jewellers. We wanted to design this unique place to offer our creations, our ideas, whether they are unique or accessible, as long as they are seen in our showcase boutique, like a boudoir. That the magic we have in our eyes is reflected in the Diamondholic universe, that the customer has a good time, an experience, an encounter. Because Art, if jewellery is, must be as much visual as spiritual and have an intimate atmosphere…
2- How did you meet and why did you decide to join forces?
Both of us are active in the world of jewellery, and it was only natural that our paths crossed, driven by our respective networks, which had already promised us a great adventure… a duality of complicity..
Orkeo ring in white gold, morganite and demantoid garnets. Photo: DiamondHolic / Gwenaelle de Contades
3- What is the respective DNA of a Valérie Reinert jewel and a Pascal Beliard jewel? What is the DNA of a Diamondholic jewel?
A Valérie Reinert jewel is as capable of reflecting pure and modern lines as it is of reflecting lines inspired by nature. VR jewellery is feminine and insolent.
A Pascal Béliard jewel is complex, plural, at the crossroads of the styles of yesteryear, a clever mix of techniques. It is often masculine and irreverent… A DiamondHolic jewel would be effervescent, complex but subtle, a unique mix of a complicit duality that clashes to end up obvious..
A Pascal Béliard jewel is complex, plural, at the crossroads of the styles of yesteryear, a clever mix of techniques. It is often masculine and irreverent… A DiamondHolic jewel would be effervescent, complex but subtle, a unique mix of a complicit duality that clashes to end up obvious..
4- Why did you choose the 17th arrondissement and thus move away from the Vendôme district?
The boutique is located at the foot of the Arc de Triomphe.
We took our time and visited many places before everything became clear. While it was clear to us that we didn’t want to be in the historical areas of our business, it was equally clear that we wanted to find the location that today’s designers would have chosen. To be in a district that is on the move with the effervescence, the plurality, the dynamism of the Place de l’étoile. The proximity of our client in the west of Paris and our international client in the golden triangle of the 8th arrondissement made it an instant favourite.
We took our time and visited many places before everything became clear. While it was clear to us that we didn’t want to be in the historical areas of our business, it was equally clear that we wanted to find the location that today’s designers would have chosen. To be in a district that is on the move with the effervescence, the plurality, the dynamism of the Place de l’étoile. The proximity of our client in the west of Paris and our international client in the golden triangle of the 8th arrondissement made it an instant favourite.
Single collection, in yellow gold, white gold, diamonds, sapphires, tourmalines, garnets, with a more substantial centre (here an amethyst). Mix and match. Photo: DiamondHolic / Gwenaelle de Contades
5- What are your respective training and professional backgrounds?
Pascal: I spent all my time drawing instead of working, my father was a jeweller on the Place Vendôme, it seemed obvious to enter a renowned school in Paris which has since become a branch of the Ecole Boulle.
I started my career at Place Vendôme with Boucheron and then Cartier, and finally created my own workshop, taking on a false independence dependent on the same Place Vendôme… Never mind, it was without counting on this magical meeting with Valérie who gave me the desire to have my own brand and to be able to express myself in my own name… Diamondholic was born!
Valerie: I studied for a career after studying in business school, specialising in stock market and finance. It is naturally that I flourish in key positions in the banking sector. With a mother who was an artist and a father who travelled a lot around the world and always brought back something to make his tribe dream, I have always created, “twisted the metal” or made jewellery with improbable materials.
Radiance is what characterizes my second professional life, letting go of everything to redraw the contours of my life. Everything follows, the Ecole Boulle, my personal brand until I meet Pascal and the desire to express ourselves with 4 hands, we then initiated DiamondHolic.
Variation around the emerald with these pairs of earrings in white gold and diamonds. Photo: DiamondHolic / Gwenaelle de Contades
6- I’ve been following you for a while now and I notice that one of your signatures is these bold, resolutely modern settings. Why this niessingesque choice?
Without any inspiration whatsoever, our respective inspirations have led us to find those breaks that make all the magic of our days when we differentiate ourselves. Our balancing sets are only the answer to our two identities which meet and often give a mixture of our jewels like a crash test but which becomes ultra controlled! The stone finds itself perched there and we have no other choice than to conceive the technique that will make it hold! It is impossible for the material to resist us! We bend it to our design and our taste..
7- Are all your pieces made in Paris?
Yes, they are! And 100% in all stages of manufacture, in our workshop in the 9th arrondissement of Paris or in the boutique.
Dubai ring in yellow gold and heliodore. Photo: DiamondHolic / Gwenaelle de Contades
8- How do you position yourself in the current debate around the traceability of metals and stones? How do you ensure your supply?
Our purchases follow this same trend, the workshop is Responsible Jewelry Council certified, our suppliers are also RJC, our gold is recycled, our stones are traceable and we pay attention to their origin.
We buy ourselves and control our purchases.
We buy ourselves and control our purchases.
9- What are your favourite gemstones?
Diamonds of course… being the top of the 4C’s but the colours and complexity of other stones touch us as much.
Yellow and white gold ring, flame agate. Photo: DiamondHolic / Gwenaelle de Contades
10- How did you get through this year and a half? And what are your plans for the brand?
It was a very difficult period, especially as we had just opened this new entity. However, we have had some great encounters and a very warm welcome from the press.
We plan to participate in international trade shows as soon as the flights are reopened and very soon our brand new website with a shopping area will be launched….
We plan to participate in international trade shows as soon as the flights are reopened and very soon our brand new website with a shopping area will be launched….
Yellow gold and garnet ring. Photo: DiamondHolic / Gwenaelle de Contades
See you soon!
