PARIS — A pioneer of 19th-century French jewelry is making a 21st-century comeback.

In recent years, Oscar Massin’s name may have been recognized only by collectors and jewelry historians, but now it is back in an ethically minded incarnation with a distinctly American accent.

It represents the second French heritage brand to be revived by Luximpact, a Paris-based holding company specializing in jewelry brands that use recycled gold and platinum and lab-grown diamonds. The company’s first project, introduced last year, was through a minority stake in the family-run jewelry brand Vever.

Founded two years ago, Luximpact was the brainchild of two veterans of the traditional jewelry industry: Frédéric de Narp, formerly president and chief executive of Cartier North America, and Coralie de Fontenay, a former managing director of Cartier France. Their partner and the company’s creative director, Sandrine de Laage, worked for Cartier in Paris and Hong Kong. Mr. de Narp and Ms. de Laage also worked together at Harry Winston, now owned by the Swatch group.

In an interview at the company’s headquarters on the Rue de la Paix, Mr. de Narp said that the trio decided to introduce a “luxury jewelry start-up studio” focused solely on recycled gold and eco-certified, traceable lab-grown diamonds because “it’s time to change the codes of an industry that’s not reinventing itself, or at least not fast enough for us.”

The partners said that using a name from the past — which appeared, as it happens, in a book on 19th-century jewelry written by Henri Vever of the jewelry family and published in 1906 — dovetailed with an eco-minded approach.

“We want to reconstruct a new world, but with the same values and a sense of history,” Ms. de Laage said. “What’s more sustainable than preserving French patrimony and the continuity of savoir-faire?”

Born in Belgium in 1829, Massin moved to Paris in his early 20s and worked at several houses on Place Vendôme, already the world’s heart of haute joaillerie. In 1855, he made a tiara commissioned by Napoleon III for Empress Eugénie featuring the Regent diamond, a 140-carat gem that belongs to the French crown jewels and is now on display at the Louvre.

Massin produced pieces that were bought by other royal clients, including Queen Isabella II of Spain, said the jewelry historian Erik Schoonhoven. And after Massin opened his own atelier, in 1863, a noble clientele followed. The Earl of Fife bought a tiara that Massin presented at the 1878 Exposition Universelle in Paris as a gift for his bride, Princess Louise of Wales, daughter of the future King Edward VII.

At the fair, Massin showcased jewels made using techniques he had patented, such as a floral filigree metalwork that appeared to be stitched with diamonds, or lacelike ribbons set with diamonds that were designed to be sold by the meter. There are stories that the shah of Persia wanted to buy the entire display on the spot, but Massin refused. Instead, he presented it to the exposition’s jury and won the Premier Grand Prix for jewelry and became a Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur, a French order of merit that Mr. Schoonhoven said was customarily given to French recipients of important awards at the time.

Although Massin’s atelier closed in 1891 and he died in 1913, his influence lingered, particularly in settings with movement, such as tremblant and pampille, or cascade. And occasionally a Massin piece would resurface at auction, for example an important necklace sold at Sothebys in 2018. It consists of 21 large, old-cut diamonds that are open set, which makes them appear to float within closed-set borders of tiny, rose-cut diamonds. Anna Wintour, the worldwide chief content officer for Condé Nast and global editorial director of Vogue, wore the piece to host the Met Gala in 2019 and 2021.

Mr. de Narp said that Oscar Massin, which was introduced in February, was following a digital-first business model, like its sibling brand. Unlike Vever, however, the jewelry designed in Paris is being produced in New York City and marketed primarily to an American clientele.

The reason, he said, is that lab-grown diamond jewelry is the fastest-growing category in the U.S. market, which a 2021 DeBeers report called the world’s largest consumer of diamonds. For that reason, earlier this month the brand also introduced two retail spaces — one in New York and one in Los Angeles — within Saks Fifth Avenue.

Luca Solca, a luxury goods analyst at the research firm Bernstein, wrote in an email that the future for synthetic diamonds looks bright, especially if producers can demonstrate they use clean renewable energy.

“Digging the earth for natural diamonds is a highly disruptive and polluting activity — which should be better avoided, if possible,” he wrote. “Jewelry and watch brands are resorting to recycled gold for the very same reason. I expect consumers will care more and more about the environmental and social implications of their shopping decisions.”

Oscar Massin jewelry is made with Latitude Diamonds, which presents itself as the world’s first producer of sustainability-rated, completely carbon-neutral diamonds. As a result, Mr. de Narp said, prices for finished pieces are about 40 percent less than those of comparable total weight and carat sizes sourced from mines.

The brand debuted online with three collections featuring classic-cut diamonds in settings with beaded details or floral motifs informed by Massin’s original sketches. Prices start at $1,400 and average around $4,500, although Ms. de Laage also has designed a high jewelry necklace with 83 carats of diamonds, including a 10-carat pear-cut stone. It is priced at $900,000.

Last month the brand announced minority investments from the actress Kate Hudson and the fashion entrepreneur Rachel Zoe, through the Access Fund, a part of Rachel Zoe Ventures. Other investment, it said, has come from a variety of sources.

In the fall, Ms. de Fontenay said, Luximpact intends to introduce a third house — with its own personality and take on sustainable jewelry.

And while the company is still getting to know its target clientele, the three principals agree that women tend to be purchasing for themselves.

“She has a glam side, she knows about fashion, and she already has pieces from the traditional houses,” Mr. de Narp said. “But she’s into well-being. She definitely practices yoga. She believes that meaningful values can change the world.”