Baccarat, the crystal presents « Plus vrai que nature »

When I look back at that time I feel the shivers go through my skin. I remember when these men with this powerful breath and know-how turned the crystal in place forever. And then I close my eyes and I hear the voice of a woman who often guides me in my stories, each one of them called by the sublime name of Baccarat.

It begins in 1764 when Bishop Louis de Montmorency-Laval aims to save the threatened population of misery following the cessation of logging in Lorraine. And in this dark night, my wandering mind takes me to Louis XV. One enters the room where the agreement for the installation of a fire factory in the village of Baccarat is signed. The activity of the glass turns quickly giving way to a crystal driven by Aimé-Gabriel d'Artigues. There are those men, their courage, their strength and ovens. My eyes open and I marvel when hiding in one of its dark corners, I admire these geniuses of the crystal mixing potash, two minimum, three shares of silica, and three other cullet some other substances. The temperature is hell. 1832 ° are melting the mix and it will get up to 2642 ° to refine and release impurities. Time catches up with me and awards are saluting the crystal factory that becomes a symbol both in its know-how through its exemplary social policy.

I am now in this court. In front of me, I have this tower surmounting the hot hall. The bell is swinging and it is time for the men to turn on exceptional sublime works. Noises announce that the crystal is ready in the pots. I walk along these houses constructed between the residence that was once the residence of the directors and the hot hall. And this is the moment that the magic takes place. One of the artisans gathers in the pot, crystal and it will mallet and blow. The object takes shape and is guided into the annealing lehr. It will come out "cold" and will then pass the dreaded test selection. The chooser that as a matter of integrity will never be married to a hot glass artist will detect imperfections and let slip the perfect pieces in the following workshops. Cut, polished, carved, gilded and stamped, the works settled in the famous red jewel cases where Baccarat has affixed his letters.

My journey through this know-how is still accelerating. Through the night, I flew over the years and events. I remember the arrival of this young Parisian designer called George Knight of the House Baccarat. 1916 and his presence will be the starting point for the diversification of the House. Lighting, religious objects, furniture, bestiaries bring to Baccarat a new life and start a long series of collaborations with various famous designers. Starck, Elie Top, Marcial Berro, Andree Putman, Thomas Bastide, Kenzo Takada, Marcel Wanders and Arik Levy still use, process and magnify the crystal through extraordinary creations.

Here I am in 2011. The night is more beautiful than ever. The silence seems to reign on this site of origin. Time seems to have stopped me but my mind plays tricks. The grid next to the castle opens and it is then a deer and its family that I enjoy following. Baccarat magic works and the stars seem to settle on the animals when I see that their bodies are transformed into magnificent sculptures designed by Marcel Wanders's imagination. I then take these spectacular torches that the magician of light Yann Kersalé has planted here and there. The deer opens the chapel doors in the Baccarat Manufacture and it is a sublime presentation on the expertise of the House that I discover. I am dazzled by the beauty of this past, this legacy. Baccarat will forever be the most beautiful house in which the expertise of the past included the lines of the future. A peacock is perched up there, a cloud of butterfly wings and Baccarat just shown that it was the finest crystal manufacturer in the world for its originality, talent and dramatic shades of color. It's time for me to close the doors of the chapel and let you enjoy this exhibition, "Plus vrai que nature" until September 21, 2011.