Valérie Messika’s jewelry designs lay bare the gemstones’ beauty.

The diamonds in Valérie ­Messika’s imaginative jewelry designs appear to float, with no obvious metal settings to detract from their pure sparkle. “Diamonds are already a creation; I’m only here to put [them] on the skin of a woman,” says Messika. The 39-year-old Parisian jeweler herself dons layers of diamond bracelets, rings, and necklaces comfortably, with a casual elegance, and it makes sense that she would wear them with ease: …