Page 12 - magazine

A Legacy

of Pearls

Not only did Orna and Isaac create a world renown fine jewelry
brand, they did so in Jerusalem. This would no doubt make Shlomo
Moussaieff doubly proud.

During their 35 years of marriage, Orna and Isaac Levy was there, steeped in the world of jewelry, that the young buttons. Factories soon shot up along the banks of The small town of Vincennes had one post office From top:
have raised a beautiful family and created a world- Orna learned how to string pearls even before she learned the river. The muscles were harvested and made with only one employee. Even so, with its low Rehavia and Lea
renowned fine jewelry brand from scratch. Together they to walk. into attractive mother-of-pearl buttons for the amount of mail traffic, it still seemed over-staffed. Moussaieff and
are the perfect couple, complementing each other in Chana was one of twelve siblings. Her father (Orna’s burgeoning clothing industry. Since the buttons But that all changed when Rechavia and his Orna's mother (as a
baby) on the way
so many ways. But interestingly, their backgrounds could grandfather), Rehavia Moussaieff, was a Jerusalem born were cut out from the shells of the muscles, no one brother quickly found a fertile market for these to Alexandria, 1924.
hardly have been more diverse. was particularly interested in the pearls that these splendid pearls and began mailing them out to
jewelry dealer. In 1914, aged twenty, he left Israel and The Moussaieff
Born in Jerusalem, Orna grew up in a comfortable traveled to America in order to escape conscription into muscles often contained. eager buyers around the world. The small town‘s family
sleepy post office quickly became a bustling
household. Her father Yaakov was responsible for bringing the Turkish army. Together with his brother Yehuda, he Having fled from Ottoman-ruled Jerusalem and hub of activity. As the daily orders arrived, the The Wabbash River
the well known cash security company Brinks to Israel. traveled to Paris where they heard a rumor about a certain finding himself in the heart of an industry that was packages of pearls were dispatched. The postal Vincennes, Indiana.
Orna’s mother Chana was a descendant of the illustrious river in America whose banks were covered in pearls. discarding pearls in favor of their shells, Rechavia worker found himself overwhelmed with mail for
Moussaieff family. Following in the family’s footsteps, she Securing passage on a ship, they set sail for New York. thought the world had turned upside down. Rechavia and Yehuda’s thriving pearl business.
became a third generation jeweler. Chana opened a After being processed at Ellis Island they traveled 800 miles Wasting no time he and his brother began to
jewelry store in Jerusalem’s prestigious King David hotel inland to a town called Vincennes on the Wabash River, in purchase the pearls at a very low price and sort But Orna’s grandfather Rechavia didn’t stay in
that saw forty years of success. “She was an amazing the state of Indiana. them into groups according to size and quality. America, and his success led him to trade in other
jeweler”, recalls her sister Nechama. “She knew how to find At this time, the Wabash River was brimming with To their delight, the pearls of the Wabash River gems as he built up a very successful jewelry
the most talented goldsmiths and gem-setters. She would freshwater muscles that when opened revealed were freshwater baroque pearls, and their size business in Europe. Eventually, he returned to
then instruct them to do this and that, and she would end spectacular mother-of-pearl inside. This abundance of was larger than those found in the rivers of other settle in British-ruled Jerusalem. But Rechavia was
up with the most magnificent piece of jewelry. As a girl, muscles gave rise to a flourishing industry, the production of continents. not the first Moussaieff to introduce the family to
Orna spent a lot of her time with her mother in the store. It the world of jewelry, gemstones, or even pearls.
The story goes back even further.

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One of the first necklaces designed by
Orna and Isaac