Eiffel’s red roof and the iron tools used in the manufactory below have changed very little since then-not even when Hermès acquired the brand in 1989. The growing company built a new workshop crowned with a roof designed, it’s believed, by Gustave Eiffel. Soon, it began to produce multitiered chandeliers that sparkled above the heads of French nobility, and jewel-toned crystal glasses that were raised to the lips of kings. Fourteen years later, in 1781, Saint-Louis introduced lead, the crucial ingredient in crystal, and became the first company in continental Europe to perfect the crystal-making process.

Then in 1767, King Louis XV, impressed with the quality of the glass, bestowed letters of nobility on the company that allowed it to use the royal moniker: Saint-Louis.

Some Baccarat pieces have been exhibited at the Louvre.īaccarat said the purchase would help it accelerate expansion plans in Asia and the Middle East.Before that glass leaves the workshop, it will have been handled by 28 different people over the course of 25 days.įor years, the workshop made plain glass in relative anonymity. It created the crystal balustrade and chandelier at Istanbul’s Dolmabahce Palace. The former had bought the brand from the Taittinger family in 2005, with Catterton taking a stake in 2012.īaccarat is known for its expensive sets of champagne glasses and chandeliers that can cost thousands. It said the FFC has signed an 'irrevocable promise to purchase' to acquire an 88.8% stake in the French crystal firm from US funds Starwood Capital Group and L Catterton. French crystal maker Baccarat has been sold more than 250 years after it was founded at the behest of King Louis XV in Lorraine - but its new Chinese owners moved quickly to assure staff that no jobs would be lost in the town.Ĭhinese investment company Fortune Fountain Capital (FFC) is buying a controlling stake for about €164million, according to a statement.

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