The Gouttes d’Eau decanter of fantastic beauty was reissued in 2022 to mark the centenary of Lalique, which gave the world a lot of interior masterpieces.
Exactly 100 years ago, the first kiln was built at the glassworks of René Lalique in Vinzhan-sur-Moder (Alsace). Since then, the family of the French jeweller and glassmaker has been passing down the fragile art from generation to generation, creating identifiable masterpieces. It was then, in 1922, that the white glass decanter was designed, with transparent drops trickling down its surface – ephemeral and timeless at the same time.
René Lalique, one of the foremost representatives of Art Nouveau, had a gift for turning utilitarian things into art. Ornamental sculptures, chandeliers and sconces, all kinds of interior elements, window and door glasses, decanters and goblets, vases and perfume bottles, even mascots for car radiator grills and religious objects for churches – all of these were produced by factories in Vinzhan-sur-Moder and Combe la Vila, often becoming collector’s items.
In 2022, to mark the centenary of the first factory, the iconic Gouttes d’Eau decanter was recreated from archival sketches – no longer in glass, but in satin crystal. Glass in the manufacture of Lalique finally gave way to crystal in 1945, when the son of the founder Marc Lalique headed the family business and modernized the factory.
Nowadays, the Lalique factory is a modern manufactory equipped with automatics and mechanisms exactly as much as it allows creating unique crystal items. The anniversary year will present Lalique with a significant moment: a century after its foundation, skillful masters will ignite a new furnace to make the creative flame even brighter. And the gift to the brand’s admirers will be a collection vessel Gouttes d’Eau, designed with care to maximize the colour and aroma of the noble beverages it deserves.
