HERITAGE AND KNOW-HOW

HISTORY: MILESTONES

Lalique, internationally recognised as the undisputed Master of crystal, thrives as a global lifestyle luxury brand, standing for craftsmanship, excellence and creativity.

The Lalique story begins in the 1880’s with René Lalique (1860-1945), a genius destined to revolutionise the world of jewellery with his famous "Art Nouveau" jewellery. These works of art are today highly sought-after by museums and collectors.

A brilliant master glassmaker of the Art Nouveau and Art Déco movements, René Lalique’s creations were highly eclectic. Indeed, René Lalique was solely responsible for the great technological and commercial revolution which even today continues to influence the way perfume flacons are created and how perfume is bottled and presented in both crystal and glass.

Colette praised him as the creator of the “Fontaine Merveilleuse” at the 1925 Paris "Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs". Lalique was one of the artistic designers of the Pullman cars of the Orient Express and of the first-class dining-room on the luxury ocean liner, “Normandie”. He also designed and created glass doors, sculpted with winged goddesses, for the palace of the Japanese Imperial Prince, Asaka Yasuhiko, which are now in the Metropolitan Teien Art Museum, Tokyo. He was daring enough to decorate the luxurious cars of the Roaring Twenties with glass mascots, which are highly coveted by today’s collectors and command remarkably high prices at auction.

René Lalique’s highly creative and unique imagination resulted in vast and varied output including bowls, vases, statuettes and perfume bottles. They were produced at his Combs-La-Ville workshop near Paris, and later at the Wingen-sur-Moder manufacture in Alsace, which begins production in 1922.

In the creative process, the essence of Lalique’s style was revealed in the distinctive and now famous contrast between clear and satin-finished glass. Sometimes he would add a patina, enamel or some colour to the molten glass. Although the lines of his work were often geometric, there were always works gently sculpted into plants, animals or the female form.

The second generation of the Lalique family is represented by Marc (1900-1977), who succeeded his father in 1945 and founded a new era, that of crystal. Marc Lalique was a remarkable technician, inspired by the love of his art. He was destined to make his mark in the history of Lalique. Following his renovation of the war-damaged manufacture at Wingen-sur-Moder, he replaced glass with crystal, leading to the world-wide fame of Lalique.

During the Fifties he was also the creator of many works which preserve the Lalique style and which also reflect the spirit of their age; an age which is currently being re-discovered with great enthusiasm. Many of his creations have already found a place in museum collections and are in demand by numerous private collectors.

After Marc’s death in 1977, Marie-Claude Lalique, Marc’s daughter and the third generation of Lalique artists, became the artist of the company until 1996.

René Lalique’s creations belong to the international artistic heritage. His works are displayed in more than 40 museums worldwide including the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris, the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Lalique Museum in Hakone, Japan. In 2011, a national Lalique Museum opened in Wingen-sur-Moder in the Alsace region of France.

In February 2008, the Swiss company Art & Fragrance (now Lalique Group S.A.) acquired the company Lalique S.A. from the Pochet Group and Silvio Denz became chairman & CEO of Lalique.

The year 2008 was key for Lalique as the century-old ‘maison’ planned for the future with a first investment of 15 million euros. In addition to helping consolidate the infrastructure of production and distribution, this investment was used to help refine and further define the company’s position as an international lifestyle operator.

Innovations included the establishment of a new logistics centre in Wingen-sur-Moder, a new latest-generation tank furnace, and the creation of a larger ‘lost-wax’ technique workshop. Some larger or artistic pieces need to be manufactured with this technique, which was used by René Lalique until 1930. Its particularity is the use of single use moulds in plaster instead of cast-iron molds. A new chapter therefore begins for Lalique, and distribution was also reconsidered. With precise and regular movements, the human hand, that of both artist and craftsman, creates pieces of exceptional quality while preserving the ancestral know-how.

Indeed, the artisans’ techniques have remained unchanged: material is worked by hand, it is moulded, the molten crystal is "gathered" like honey, and pressed or blown. Once cooled, it is cut, sanded and polished. This is the Lalique artisans’ trademark: the famous satin-polished finish of the crystal, which generates an effect that combines light and shadow. In the Wingen-sur-Moder manufacture, some 250 men and women – including five Meilleurs Ouvriers de France – combine their talents and passion to produce exceptional pieces every year, among them, works of art created with renowned artists, architects and designers.

Throughout his life, René Lalique, an eclectic creator, asserted his genius through his creative output and his creative involvement across varied disciplines such as jewellery, fragrance, and works of art. It was in this spirit of manifold excellence that Silvio Denz wanted to revitalise Lalique; with an eye on its illustrious past it would move forward into the future. The company is performing well across each of its lines of business which includes fragrances, decorative objects, jewellery, art, interior design and hospitality. Unique collaborations with the likes of James Turrell, The Magritte Succession, Nic Fiddian-Green, Han Meilin, Damien Hirst, Zaha Hadid, Elton John, Yves Klein Archives, Mario Botta, Arik Levy, James Suckling, The Macallan and The Glenturret Whiskies, Beluga Vodka among others, have resulted in global attention amongst collectors, galleries, and interior designers and specifiers.

Lalique’s expertise and heritage in art, interiors, decorative objects, tableware, perfume and jewellery is inextricably linked to the art of fine dining and cuisine.

Encompassing hospitality venues, Villa René Lalique (5-star hotel and 2 Michelin stars restaurant, which opened in 2015), Château Hochberg (4-star hotel and restaurant, opened in 2016) and in 2018, the Hotel & Restaurant Lalique at Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey, a 5-star hotel with a two Michelin star restaurant, in Bommes, region of Bordeaux. 2021 also marks the opening of The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant, located in the heart of Scotland's oldest working distillery (of which Lalique Group acquired 50% in 2019). This is the first of its kind, as no other brand of Scotch whiskey currently houses a gourmet restaurant, which received a second Michelin star in 2024.

MAJOR DATES

1860	Birth of René Lalique at Aÿ en Champagne, France.
1885	Recognized as a brilliant designer by illustrious jewellery houses like Boucheron or Cartier, René Lalique took over the workshop of jeweller Jules Destape on place Gaillon in Paris. He would relocate on a number of occasions.
1888	René Lalique registered his mark (‘RL’) and applied it to his original creations. Moving to a workshop at 24 rue du Quatre-Septembre in Paris, René Lalique created jewellery in the revolutionary Art Nouveau style that was then defying established jewellery-making conventions.
1900	The Universal Exposition in Paris marked the pinnacle of his jewellery-making career. Acclaimed as ‘the inventor of modern jewellery,’ René Lalique was decorated with the insignia of Officer in the French Legion of Honour.
1905	Opening a shop at 24 Place Vendôme, René Lalique, already using enamel in his jewellery, gradually became interested in glass, a material that he would keep exploring and shaping – as a ‘sculpteur de lumière’ – for the rest of his life.
1907	Start of René Lalique’s collaboration with the perfumer, François Coty. From then on, Lalique would produce an increasing number of pieces for the perfumes industry and turn his attention to industrial glass. After revolutionizing jewellery-making with Art Nouveau pieces so realistic as to seem alive, the master applied the Art Deco style, which he helped define, to his glass creations.
1922	The Verrerie d’Alsace, built by René Lalique in Wingen-sur-Moder in the Alsace region of France, which has an old glassmaking tradition, opened for business.
1925	The Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts marked the zenith of René Lalique’s career as glassmaker.
1929	René Lalique collaborated on the decoration of the train, the Côte d’Azur Pullman Express.
1935	René Lalique received interior decoration commissions for the S.S. Normandie, the famous French luxury liner. He moved from his premises on place Vendôme to 11 rue Royale in Paris.
1945	Death of René Lalique. His son Marc succeeded him at the head of the company, bringing Lalique into the age of crystal. Drawing on his technical expertise, he renovated and modernized the factory, making the definitive shift from glass to crystal.
1977	Marie-Claude Lalique, Marc’s daughter, became managing director of the company. Her love of travel brought exotic influences to her works. She would revive the creation of jewellery and develop the perfume bottles business.
1992	Launch of the first Lalique fragrance, the feminine line Lalique de Lalique.
2008	Art & Fragrance, a Swiss company directed by Silvio Denz, took over the Lalique company with the ambition to strengthen the brand throughout the world and increase the production capacity of the crystal works. Since 2008: Implementation of new brand strategy to transform Lalique into a global lifestyle brand.
2010	A tank furnace was inaugurated at the Lalique factory, proof of the modernization of the equipment.
2011	Opening of the Lalique museum, in Wingen-sur-Moder, Alsace, France, after two years of building work. Launch of the Lalique Maison furniture collection, emerged from the collaboration between Lalique and the designers Lady Tina Green and Pietro Mingarelli. Launch of Lalique Art with la Victoire de Samothrace in collaboration with Yves Klein archives.
2015	Opening of the 5-star hotel and 2 Michelin stars restaurant Villa René Lalique in Alsace, France.
2016	Opening of the 4-star hotel and restaurant Château Hochberg in Alsace, France.
2018	Opening of the 5-star hotel and 1 Michelin star restaurant Lalique at Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey in Bommes, region of Bordeaux, France.
2020	100-year anniversary of René Lalique’s villa.
2021	Opening of The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant within The Glenturret distillery, in Scotland.
2022	100-year anniversary of the Lalique factory in Wingen-sur-Moder, opened in 1922.
2024	The Glenturret Lalique restaurant at The Glenturret distillery in Scotland is awarded a second Michelin star.
2025	Villa René Lalique is awarded a Michelin key and the Lalique hotel-restaurant at Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey receives two Michelin keys for the second consecutive year.
2026	Opening of Villa Florhof hotel-restaurant in Zurich.