The Andre Messika Group received the outstanding exporter award at a special ceremony at the official residence of the President of Israel on Monday at an awards event for exceptional exporters from many industries by Israel’s President Shimon Peres and Economy Minister Naftali Bennett.
The Andre Messika Group has been operating in the diamond trade for more than 40 years and has representative offices around the world.
The company’s offices in Israel are at the Israel Diamond Exchange in Ramat Gan. It markets its polished diamonds to Europe, the United States, and the Far East.
In 2012, a year of declines for the diamond sector, the firm exported $100 million of diamonds.
Company founder Andre Messika worked from the age of 14 for his uncle, a watchmaker, and it was there that he would discover what would become the love of his life – diamonds.
“A diamantaire came to give a gemstone to my uncle. When he opened the parcel, slowly and with great care, I saw the stone with its brilliant shine and full of light. That vision triggered something in me, and at that moment I knew I wanted to devote my life to diamonds."
You can see the award ceremony by clicking
here.