Saint-Louis

From Glass to Crystal

In 1781, M. de Beaufort made really good glass. It was better than the glass from England. This broke England's monopoly on glass. Saint-Louis became the first crystal factory in Europe. Saint-Louis made only crystal glass by 1825. They had new techniques and designs. They got patents for their glassware and made unique glassware. In 1834, Saint-Louis changed the way people set the table. They used different glasses for different drinks. This is still done today.

Expanding Horizons: Innovation And Creativity

In 1995, Saint-Louis Crystal joined the prestigious Hermès Group in France, starting a new era of creativity and innovation. This partnership allowed Saint-Louis to bring back classic designs like Thistle and Tommy while also exploring new horizons. They started working with famous artists and designers like Hervé van der Straeten, Noé Duchaufour-Lawrence, and Paola Navone, creating some amazing new glassware and decorative pieces. Since 2007, you can learn about Saint-Louis' rich history at their on-site museum "La Grande Place". It's a postmodern space that's integrated into the old factory building, showing over four centuries of glassmaking across multiple floors.

The Intricacies Of Crystal Making

The ins and outs of crystal making Most modern glass factories have three main parts: the batch room, the hot area, and the cold area. But at Cristallerie Saint-Louis, it's all streamlined into two areas: the hot workshop and the cold workshop. These are right next to each other, so there's lots of collaboration. They employ a lot of skilled artisans in both workshops, many of them are considered the best in France. In the hot workshop, precision and speed are key. The glassmakers melt the ingredients for crystal at a blistering 1450 degrees Celsius (2640 degrees Fahrenheit). Using glass tubes and wooden molds, the glassblowers mold the molten glass into hollow shapes. This soft glass is quickly shaped and cut, and the artisans move like a well-oiled machine among the blazing furnaces. The hot atelier is all about speed, but the cold atelier needs patience. There, grinders, polishers, and engravers carefully perfect each piece in the finishing process. One mistake can ruin delicate glassware, especially in the final polishing step. The most time-consuming part is applying gold and platinum decorations by hand. Artists brush on wafer-thin layers of precious metals on finely etched designs with incredible precision. Only when they pass strict quality control do they get their signature, making them true works of art.

The Unique designs of Saint-Louis

Only the most exceptional designs deserve the careful craftsmanship that Saint-Louis artists put into their work. Their unique designs exude confidence and style with a heritage that spans from Art Nouveau and Art Deco to Post-Modernism making them instantly identifiable over time. The Saint-Louis catalog is full of timeless style icons. Classic pieces like Thistle (1913) and Apollo (1979) sit alongside clean, geometric designs like Bubbles (1992) and Oxymore (2012). In 2018, Noe Duchaufour-Lawrance created the Folia collection, a new concept that combines glassware with lamps and furniture. This collection blends cold glass with warm wood, creating a captivating look that marks a new chapter in Saint-Louis' history.