Perfume bottles from jeweler Rene Lalique

Just like a gorgeous diamond requires a luxurious setting, a miracle scent requires a luxurious package. The history of the bottle is the history of the birth of yet another work of art, which is inextricably linked with the history of the fragrances and jewelry themselves. There are perfume artists, and bottle artists are also needed.

In the 19th century, fragrance bottles were preferred from factory-made crystal Baccarat (founded in 1764) and "Saint-Louis" (founded in 1767). Various forms of crystal bottles of emerald, sky-blue, rose-opal, golden topaz, chrysolite adorned dressing tables of fashionistas of the 19th century. Delicate and sensual fragrances had to take on an individual form.

How much work, patience, creativity is inherent in each of them. The bottle makers celebrated eternal beauty, competing with music and poetry.

The successful collaboration of the two great creators - the Coty fragrances and the exclusive bottles from Rene Lalique - captivated the audience.

François Coty, as the creator of fragrances, saw them dressed in a worthy frame. While walking on the Place Vendome, he noticed the original glass products in the shop window, located not far from his store. The impression of what he saw was so strong that he decided to get to know the owner of these extraordinary items. It was the artist-jeweler Rene Lalique. Koti made him an offer of cooperation, where Lalique was required to sketch the bottles, and the implementation of the idea would be carried out at the Bakkara plant. But Lalique was not only a refined creative nature, but also a master of translating his ideas into reality. Therefore, having created his project, he implemented it under his supervision at the Legras factory near Paris (founded in 1864). Rene Lalique's bottle of François Coty "Coty" was the epitome of high art. There was a revolution in the history of the creation of bottles and perfumes. The collaboration of two outstanding artists - a jeweler and a perfumer - has led to the creation of an exclusive perfumery and an exclusive crystal bottle.

Rene Lalique biography

Rene Lalique (1860 - 1945) - French jeweler, whose name is known not only in France, but also far beyond its borders. His original jewelery, vibrant with bizarre shapes, caused unprecedented popularity, especially in the artistic circles of Paris. Many celebrities appreciated and ordered products from Rene.

Rene was left without a father at the age of 16, but he did not waste time "killing time" and wasting his life. He knew what abilities he possessed and how to use them in the future. Therefore, being very young, he went to study in London to become a jeweler. Rene knew how to draw and loved from early childhood. And now, when he was only 16 years old, he decided that his abilities must be put in the right direction. Already at the age of 20, he returned to Paris competently. Orders came to him one after another, he soon began to work in the House of Cartier, then at Destap. He becomes the artistic director of the workshop. Intricate lines, bizarre shapes, floral decor are visible in his jewelry - everything that so beautifully and extraordinarily coexists in the natural world. Feminine beauty and the world of feelings evoke inspiration in him - all this gives rise to exquisite products, amazing jewelry. At the beginning of the twentieth century, he was more and more involved in the manufacture of bottles for fragrances. He develops cooperation with well-known perfume companies: D'Orsay, Guerlain, Roger-et-Halle, Hubigan, Molinard, Worth, Nina Ricci... The first bottles of it were quite simple, and the aesthetic emphasis was created due to the originality of the cork - in the form of a flower, a butterfly, a nude female figurine. To preserve the aromas, the corks were ground with carbon powder.Gradually, he became so carried away by the bottles that he noticed that he was losing interest in jewelry. The creative ideas that he put into creating unique bottles have kept his look - the look of a jeweler. He deeply and thoroughly studied the art of making bottles from the origins of antiquity. And he applied his innovative ideas in the technique of "melting wax", which existed in Egyptian glassmaking. Already in 1900 he had his own factory Combs-la-Ville (Combe-la-Ville), near Paris. During the First World War, Lalique's factory stopped its work, but he acquired land in Alsace (from 1871 to 1919 Alsace belonged to Germany). Here he built a new factory - the Rene Lalique Alsatian Glass Workshop. Rene has always kept up with the times, so modern trends are manifested in his works - geometric strict lines are combined with floral relief, the Art Deco style.

After the death of Rene Lalique, his son Mark Lalique continues his father's work. Together with Christian Berard, he created an advertisement for the Ricci House. One of the best frames for Ricci's fragrances was a crystal bottle (1948) - perfume L`Air du Temps - a crystal bottle with a cork in the form of a pair of doves.

Currently, the Lalica firm continues to work wonders in the frame of the fragrant world. René Lalique's granddaughter Marie Claude Lalique inherited the family business and developed the Lalique de Lalique perfume line. Every year, the Lalique de Lalique perfume appears in a new exclusive bottle - either it is framed by a drop of dew lying on a matte crystal petal, then in a temple with the image of muses decorating this temple together with a magical scent, then in a crystal female figurine ... Each of the previously released the vials are numbered and unique, and will not be repeated again.

The process of learning a new scent begins with a bottle, if, of course, we are talking about Haute perfumery. The bottle already tells us more eloquently than any words about the scent that it contains.

If the bottle in which the fragrance is located is a work of art, and its cork is suitable only for him, and no other bottle, if almost a dozen people worked on all this magic, then the fragrance - this flying captive should be worthy to be in such framed. The magical scent of Lalique de Lalique is the scent of flowers, fruits and amber, in which the breath of Chinese gardenia is gradually replaced by the scent of Sicilian mandarin and the delicate scent of peony, and the sweetness of magnolia with Bulgarian rose and ylang-ylang create magic and mystery, which is emphasized by exotic sandalwood and the sensuality of amber and vanilla. The Lalique de Lalique flower bouquet deserves such a luxurious setting.

The Lalique company continues to create masterpieces of art - lamps, sculptures, home accessories, vases, table glass, boxes, powder boxes and, of course, perfume bottles. The value of the latter is quite high - up to tens of thousands of dollars. And besides this, the number of the firm's admirers is quite large - in the International Society of Collectors Lalique today there are more than 7000 members.