Lucky charm and symbol of good fortune flower

Christian Dior Diorissimo in Baccarat flacon

At French Maison Christian Dior, their heritage is a timeless source of inspiration.​
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The Lily of the valley held a special place in Christian Dior’s heart, and he always kept it close to him. As a confidant, he placed it in an elaborate reliquary that he kept secretly in his jacket pocket. As a fetish, he hid it in the hem of haute couture models on collection days. For him, the lily of the valley was more than just a beautiful bloom – it was a symbol of good luck and prosperity.​
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From his lucky charm and symbol of good fortune flower, Christian Dior dreamt of capturing its scent in a perfume that would blend superstition and intuition. This dream became a reality with Diorissimo: an ode to spring and youth played solo by a reinvented lily of the valley. The perfume was dear to Christian Dior’s heart, and the first flacon was the only one he personally designed. ​

Close to nature and its floral architecture, Christian Dior created the ‘Tulip’ line in 1953 before dedicating his lucky charm flower, lily of the valley, as the theme of his Spring/Summer 1954 Haute Couture collection. This collection featured elegant designs that incorporated the lily of the valley in intricate ways, showcasing Dior’s love for the flower.​
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Christian Dior’s love for the lily of the valley demonstrates how their heritage continues to inspire them today. It is a reminder that the things they love and are passionate about can become a part of their personal brand and inspire them to create something truly special.​

For more information, come into the beautiful world of Christian Dior.

Dream big

Dream big. Discover French Maison Chanel No.5 Parfum in a monumental 2021 ml flacon made of Baccarat crystal. Since this year marks the 100th anniversary of the world’s most famous fragrance, and since 2+0+2+1 equals 5, this limited edition of 55 pieces imbues the number 2021 with special meaning.

Come into the beautiful world of Chanel.

Comme des Garçons joins Baccarat for Exquisite Collaborative Glassware

 

Japanese fashion house Comme des Garçons taps French glass artisans Baccarat for a special collaborative event. To welcome summer, the duo are launching a pop-up with a special edition piece of stemware.

Reimagining the Harcourt with polka dots.

Having recently dipped into the world of Japanese fashion courtesy of fragment design, Maison Baccarat is no stranger to inventive creations. This collaboration, however, isn’t a new shape – instead, Comme des Garçons tweaks one of the iconic classic Baccarat creations.

The Harcourt wine glass has remained a staple of Baccarat’s line-up since the Maison was founded in 1841, simultaneously highlighting the house’s knack for elegant design and its equisite attention to detail. Sleek lines inform the glass, arcing down onto a brilliantly simple hexagonal base.

Comme des Garçons’ collaborative edition places branding on the base and CdG’s preferred polka dots across the bowl, yielding a glass that is equal parts progressive and classic.

Joining the $415 Harcourt glass, a commemorative T-shirts will drop at the special event hosted inside Comme des Garçons Aoyama, which begins May 31.

Come into the beautiful worlds of Maison Baccarat and Comme des Garçons.

 

 

 

 

 

Johnnie Walker launches its first 50 year old whisky

The John Walker Matsers’ Edition Scotch whiskey is one of the most memorable Johnnie Walker whiskeys ever. The triple matured Scotch whiskeys are made from six exceptionally rare whiskies. Each whiskey is at least 50 years old and with that the first 50 year old whiskey from Johnnie Walker was born.

The whiskeys of the John Walker Masters’ Edition come from distilleries that existed during the lifetime of founder John Walker. Some distilleries, such as the Glen Albyn and Glenury Royal distillery, no longer exist today. However, the Blair Athol distillery, one of the most famous distilleries in Scotland, is still in operation. The other three grain whiskeys used come from the haunted distilleries of Caledonian, Cambus and Port Dundas.

A total of 100 bottles of this special Scotch whiskey have been produced. Each presented in a custom made, individually numbered, rare double encased black crystal Baccarat decanter. Of course, the packaging of a whiskey of this level should not just be in a ‘box’. The box in which the spectacular Johnnie Walker comes was developed by NEJ Stevenson, Cabinet Makers. A craftsman who is characterized by work for the British Royals – not just any name.

Every drop of the whiskey has been hand selected from some of the most valuable and precious casks of malt and grain whiskeys that have been in storage for over 20 years. So reports Jim Beveridge, Johnnie Walker’s Master Blender. Blenders from Johnnie Walker discovered the barrels two decades ago. They decided to keep the barrels, to use for a special moment; John Walker Masters’ Edition. With this very exclusive edition, Johnnie Walker pays tribute to the whiskey masters who worked on whiskey a long time ago.

For $25,000 you can get an exclusive bottle of the John Walker Masters’ Edition, which will be available in limited markets. One bottle will be auctioned at Bonhams, Hong Kong in 2019. Come into the beautiful world of Johnnie Walker.

Guerlain L’Abeille Eternelle 190th Anniversary

 

Baccarat and Guerlain, two iconic names. Since they were founded, the two French Maison’s have shared a passion for beautiful objects and the desire to keep unique know- how alive. To embody the perfumer’s inspiration, Baccarat has taken an incredibly ingenious approach and created extraordinary flacons for Guerlain, some of which are real technological feats. From the voluptuous Quadrilobé bottle dedicated to Jicky to the revolutionary Shalimar, these symbolic flacons have beautifully enhanced Guerlain’s fragrance creations, helping to give these fragrances iconic status.

To celebrate its 190th anniversary, Guerlain has joined forces with Baccarat to create a spectacular exceptional piece.

The celebration of Maison Guerlain’s 190th Anniversary, the pencil of the Place Vendôme jeweller Lorenz Bäumer has created a masterful design that beautifully enhances the Maison’s icon: faceted like a diamond, a majestic bee levitates in a crystal cell in pure, clear lines whose flanks a ridged with wild grass.

 

Nathalie Blaise, Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, is a modeller: with her expert hands, she creates a plaster model of the bottle – Lorenz Bäumer’s sketch comes to life in three dimensions. This model makes it possible to produce the mould into which the hot crystal will be poured. Each Baccarat crystal bottle has been designed, shaped, cut and polished to perfection by expert artisans, using a mixture of traditional and innovative glassmaking techniques.

For this exceptional anniversary, Guerlain’s in-house Master Perfumer Thierry Wasser has created a fragrance by way of celebration. Like its bottle pairing heritage -based know-how with innovative craftsmanship, it combines – in an unprecedented Double Absolute concentration – contemporary top notes of orange, orange blossom and almond with a more traditional Guerlinade in the base notes, featuring benzoin tincture, sandalwood and ylang-ylang, creating a fragrance with hidden depths to its score.

Since they were founded, the two Houses have shared a passion for beautiful objects and the desire to keep unique know- how alive. To embody the perfumer’s inspiration, Baccarat has taken an incredibly ingenious approach and created extraordinary bottles for Guerlain, some of which are real technological feats.

From the voluptuous Quadrilobé bottle dedicated to Jicky to the revolutionary Shalimar, these symbolic bottles have beautifully enhanced Guerlain’s fragrance creations, helping to give these fragrances iconic status.

Jicky ,1908. Designed by Gabriel Guerlain, the Quadrilobé flacon evokes an alchemist’ flacon and owes its name to its stopper carved from a solid block to obtain a four – lobed shape.

 

L’Heure Bleue, 1912. Its sensual flacon echoes the Art Nouveau movement and its pierced stopper is an Avant Garde feat in crystal making.

 

Parfum des Champ Élysees, 1913. Created for the opening of the Guerlain boutique on the Champs Élysées, the flacon adopts the outline of the slow tortoise, in reference to the delay with the work (above is shown the 100th Anniversary Edition, 2013).

 

Liu, 1929. Guerlain was inspired by an opera that takes place in the court of China and the Baccarat crystal became black, reminiscent of Chinese laquered tea caddies.

 

Vol De Nuit,1933. In 1933, crystal combined with metal for the first time to form a propeller, the perfect allegory for Saint Exupéry’s novel.

 

The Silver Winged Bee, 2012. This piece featuring a levitating Guerlain bee is yet another technical feat successfully achieved by the two Maisons.

 

And their latest creation: Guerlain L’Abeille Eternelle

For the true collectors, the Guerlain L’Abeille Eternelle 190th Anniversary by Baccarat is available exclusively in Guerlain boutiques and Harrods.

 

 

 

 

Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire by Maison Legeron

 

 

Following the style of the customary limited edition release for Muguet (2017) and the gorgeous pristine white bells designed by Maison Legeron adorning the bottle famous French Maison Guerlain reveals a limited edition bottle of La Petite Robe Noire by Maison Legeron. A beautiful collectors edition.

An exclusive release of the fragrance La Petite Robe Noire outfitted in a handmade black Baccarat crystal with hand crafted feather adornments performed by ateliers Maison Legeron. Maison Legeron created a truly unique, exclusive and admirable design for the famous La Petite Robe Noire perfume. The stunning bottle is covered with natural features of turkey, goose, and cocks. This careful and delicate work takes a lot of time to manually assemble each piece that’s why the limited edition bottles come slightly different from each other.

Top notes: Bergamot, Cherry, Red berries, Almond
Heart notes: Roses, Taif rose, Licorice, Tea note
Base notes: Iris, Patchouli, Star anise, Tonka bean, Vanilla

Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire by Maison Legeron is composed by famous perfumer Thierry Wasser with a floral-infused aroma, mainly blending with the main ingredient Taif rose along with ‘black’ accents of black tea, dark cherry, precious iris and patchouli note. For me, this perfume is a must-try due to its unbelievable gorgeous design as well as a promising aroma.

 

 

 

Miss Dior: December 1947 – December 2017

Seventy years ago the perfume Miss Dior was officially launched, after having received its debut at the Maison’s first haute couture show, on 12 February 1947. We take a look at the history of  an iconic fragrance, conceived by Christian Dior as ‘a perfume that smells of love’, and reinvented today by François Demachy as an Eau de Parfum that’s more sensual than ever.

For Christian Dior, perfume was ‘the indispensable complement of the female personality’. When creating his couture house, he dreamed to being able to give his flower-women a fragrance that ‘smells of love’. With the perfumer Paul Vacher, he developed a floral chypre, which he sprayed liberally throughout the salons in where his first collection was to be shown. This new scent went against the powdery perfumes of the time. Dedicated to Catherine, his beloved sister, Miss Dior erupted into life as the perfect accompaniment for the happy and liberated young woman of the New Look.

 

 

 

1947, Christian Dior Miss Dior in handmade Baccarat perfume bottle and stopper, cased crystal white cut to clear, gilt details (7 1/2 in).

Officially launched in December 1947, this olfactory revolution took form in a bottle conceived as an object of rare luxury and designed according to the same exigencies as haute couture, because Christian Dior regarded himself as equally couturier and perfumer. He came up with a crystal amphora that alluded to the harmonious silhouette of the En 8 line in his first collection. The couturier was involved in each stage of its creation and turned to the expertise of the best glass masters in France. In 1950, echoing the modernist impulse of the time, and at the same time as his Verticale collection, he designed a more geometric and sober bottle, ‘cut like a suit’. Engraved with the houndstooth motif dear to the couturier, this bottle, which is still the one that holds Miss Dior today, it set off with a satin bow. This ultimate couture touch, whether in metal or embroidered by hand in the workshops of 30 Avenue Montaigne for the more exceptional editions, represents the immutable link between couture and perfume.

70 years on, Miss Dior succeeds in conserving its couture spirit and continues to capture the Maison’s revolutionary vision, especially in the new Eau de Parfum developed by Perfumer-Creator François Demachy and focused around the sensuality of the rose de Grasse and the sexy aura of the damask rose.

This declaration of fragrant love is embodied by Natalie Portman, in a fringed raffia-embroidered haute couture dress whose feminine curves and unexpected use of materials passionately encapsulate the spirit of the iconic Miss Dior.

 

 

Baccarat, Flos and Philippe Starck collaboration steals the spotlight at Milan Design Week

The thousands of projects – complete or forthcoming – his global fame and tireless protean inventiveness should never distract from Philippe Starck’s fundamental vision: Creation, whatever form it takes, must improve the lives of as many people as possible. Starck vehemently believes this poetic and political duty, rebellious and benevolent, pragmatic and subversive, should be shared by everyone and he sums it up with the humour that has set him apart from the very beginning:

No one has to be a genius, but everyone has to participate.

Philippe Starck

His precocious awareness of ecological implications, his enthusiasm for imagining new lifestyles, his determination to change the world, his love of ideas, his concern with defending the intelligence of usefulness – and the usefulness of intelligence – has taken him from iconic creation to iconic creation… From the everyday products, furniture and lemon squeezers, to revolutionary mega yachts, hotels that stimulate the senses, phantasmagorical venues and individual wind turbines, he never stops pushing the limits and criteria of contemporary design.

His dreams are solutions, solutions so vital that he was the first French man to be invited to the TED conferences (Technology, Entertainment & Design) alongside renowned participants including Bill Clinton and Richard Branson.

Bon Jour, designed by Philippe Stark in 2015 is the timeless elegance of high-technology dematerialization. With a body that is ethereal, pure and almost immaterial. Its naked, transparent base can be customized with a variety of interchangeable finishings and materials, expressing personal taste. It’s timeless.

I have a total weakness when it comes to the French ‘crystal’ Maison’s like Lalique, Daum and Baccarat. Not only the vases and sculptures I like, but also ‘transparant’ lamps!…. Lighting is always the centre of attention in a room.

Presented during Milan Design Week, Fuorisalone, the Bon Jour Versailles collection of lamps – a collaboration between French crystal maker Baccarat, Italian lighting manufacturer Flos and renowned designer Philippe Starck – stole the spotlight.

A beautiful handmade version of the Flos ‘Bon Jour’, is the Baccarat ‘Bon Jour Versaille’ that is availble in two sizes. The lamp sits on top of a finely sculpted transparent handmade crystal stand. The lines are reminiscent of Baccarat’s most iconic pieces. Starck designed a beautiful timeless classic.

Camus receive prestigious French Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant label

French Maison Camus has been awarded the Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant (Living Heritage Company) label in recognition of itssavoir-faire, advanced technical skills and commitment to crafting quality products.

Created in 2005 by the French State to promote its industrial and craft heritage, the Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant label rewards outstanding economic and cultural talent across the country. Selected companies undergo a rigorous and lengthy examination process by an official body comprising independent and governmental entities.

Camus has been recognized as one of the select few Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant labeled brands to contribute to France’s economic standing, which include Baccarat, Boucheron, Chanel, Hermés, and Chateau Laubade.

Cyril Camus, President of Camus, representing the fifth generation of the founding family, said: “It is a privilege for Camus to receive the Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant label, which testifies to the devotion and savoir-faire passed on from each generation of my family to the next, as well as to the ongoing support from all those who have worked alongside us over the years. This success is also theirs”.

Maison Camus spans more than 150 years. With 180 hectares in the Borderies cru, the smallest and rarest district in the Cognac appellation, the Camus family has always been deeply involved in making and distilling Cognac.

Come into the beautiful world of Camus.

 

 

 

 

Marc Newsome and Jaeger-LeCoultre Atmos 568 takes you back to the future

 

Australian designer Marc Newson has designed his third Atmos clock, powered by air and cased in handmade Baccarat crystal.

Celebrated watchmaker Jaeger-LeCoultre and industrial designer Marc Newsome have worked together several times before on Atmos clock models and have wowed us each time. The latest model in the Atmos series promises the same innovation and technical complexity as those that came before it. Jaeger-LeCoultre and Newsome have recently revealed the Atmos 568 clock which is actually housed in a Baccarat crystal cabinet.

The transparent crystal gives the clock a cool futuristic look and evokes a feeling of clean minimalism. The Atmos was originally created in 1928 and runs on the strength of a mix of gases hermetically sealed inside a capsule. The gases expand and contract with temperature changes in the room, their expansion swell the bellows of the accordion and power the clock. Even minute changes of a single degree are enough to keep the clock running for two days.

For the new 568 version, Newsome has redesigned most of the visible parts including the hands, dial, case and counterbalance.

When looked at through the front of the clock, the mechanism appears to float in midair, but a look through the back reveals the points at which it has been secured in place.

Bold blue numerals mark the indices and the month marker is part of the transparent dial. Moon phases are indicated on a white moon and blue sky at 6 o clock.

I asked myself: to what extent could I express myself within that object? And that, in fact, was the real challenge. … Despite the careful consideration for designing the interior elements, the “wow factor” of this clock is the Baccarat crystal case with its rounded cube shape. However the case was extremely complex to fabricate, there was an enormous amount of work and development required to perfect the shape.

Marc Newsome

The clock is a rounded cube, with the crystal at certain places being only 13mm thick to amplify that feeling of lightness and airiness.

While the previous Newson clocks were limited editions, the Atmos 568 is part of the regular collection.

Marc Newson reinterprets the Atmos clock by reworking its classical style while preserving all its essential features, allowing an icon of watchmaking to become an icon of style. Unveiling its secrets little by little, the Atmos 568 will intrigue the gaze of connoisseurs of beautiful objects.

The Atmos 568 by Marc Newson (ref. Q5165107) is available from both Jaeger-LeCoultre boutiques and retailers starting December 2016, priced at $28,000. The clock features both brand names and promises to be a showstopper at the 2017 Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie.