The pomegranate and the fleur-de-lis

A Maison is sometimes born of an unlikely meeting. MELIKA's comes down to two symbols: a pomegranate from Armenia, a fleur-de-lis from France.

Two symbols, one intention

In Armenia, the pomegranate is queen. The fruit of a thousand seeds speaks of family, abundance and memory. It is everywhere: in tales, on carpets, in Saryan's paintings, carved into the stone of churches. A pomegranate is a promise of fruitfulness and of bonds.

In France, the fleur-de-lis reigns differently. A royal symbol, it speaks of elegance, purity and the uprightness of a certain idea of beauty. It adorns coats of arms, the gardens of Versailles, illuminated manuscripts. A fleur-de-lis is a promise of nobility and poise.

One is generous, abundant, sensual. The other is upright, pared back, sovereign. Everything sets them apart, and yet they seek each other.

The dialogue

MELIKA was born of this dialogue. On one side, the Armenian soul, handed down by Arsène, a land of memory and survival. On the other, French thought, the one that orders, draws and tempers. And between the two, a Thai thread: the sacred, colour, gentleness.

A MELIKA jewel does not choose. It holds the pomegranate and the fleur-de-lis together, abundance and rigour, emotion and form. Therein lies all the difficulty, and all the beauty.

Holding opposites together

The beauty of a creation does not lie in the richness of its material. It lies in the harmony between forces that, apart, would contradict each other. A pomegranate alone would be too generous. A fleur-de-lis alone, too cold. Together, they find a balance neither could reach on its own.

This is how MELIKA thinks. Not one culture against another, but all of them gathered in a single gesture.

Three roots. One jewel.