By THÉRÈSE MARGOLIS

It all began with a tiny bag of diamonds that Polish diamond cutter Eliasz Alex Berger used to help smuggle his family out of Nazi-occupied Europe.

Those diamonds not only helped save the lives of Berger’s two sons, Silvain and Maurice, but were also the inspiration and start of the Berger jewelry and watch industry, which is now Mexico’s premier jeweler.

Eliasz Berger began his career as a diamond cutter in 1919 at age 14 in the Netherlands, where he learned the meticulous art of jewelry crafting.

That tradition is still continued to this day by his descendants in the fourth-generation Berger company.

In honor of the anniversary, Berger, headquartered in Mexico City’s upscale Avenida Presidente Mazaryk in Colonia Polanco, offered a three-day Berger Private Experience presentation and sale over the weekend of Oct. 12.

The company also produced a commemorative 100th anniversary book on the Berger family history and designed a new company logo.

“It is important for Berger to position and consolidate ourselves as a brand with an important history,” said Berger director Sergio Berger ruing the opening of the Berger Prive Experience, with included a video presentation and an exhibit of historic Berger pieces.

“This new artistic and graphic (log) reflects the commitment we have with we our legacy and sophisticated tradition, but is also a strong declaration of contemporary originality.”