The Art of Design Issue 48 2021 | Page 30

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LALIQUE

It is more than 130 years since Rene Lalique founded the company in 1888 .
Rene Lalique began his career as a designer working for Cartier and Boucheron and was regarded as the master of jewellery design in the Art Nouveau style . By the 1890s he was making jewellery for celebrities and public figures of the day including Sarah Bernhardt for whom he made jewellery for the stage which is where the word ‘ costume jewellery ’ derives .
His encounter with Francois Coty in 1907 heralded his entry into the world of perfume bottles which led to Rene Lalique working entirely in glass by 1912 .
In 1935 he opened his boutique in Rue Royale , Paris . Rene Lalique died in 1945 and his son Marc Lalique replaced glass with crystal and raised Lalique ’ s profile to become the greatest crystal producer in France if not the world . His granddaughter , Marie-Claude Lalique took the helm of the family enterprise in 1977 , marrying modernity with tradition .