Haute Couture Collection

Through its precision and intertwining motifs, the Éclats de Lumière Flat Bowl evokes the rose windows of Gothic cathedrals.

As for the latter, its delicate beauty requires craftsmanship of the ultimate finesse; a meticulous symmetry that only the synergy between a sharp eye and expert hand can achieve. This piece in clear crystal lined with pink crystal expresses the excellence of Baccarat’s magicians in the mastery of an expertly cut decorative style, where the maker’s hand must be agile. The Manufacture’s savoir-faire was already renowned in 1909: at the World Fair in Eastern France, the original model was presented to visitors for the first time. Even then, its crystal was a wondrous canvas for a range of advanced techniques employed to complete the various patterns such as the flame, beveled diamond, and gemstone cut. Now, everyone can look into the Éclats de Lumière Flat Bowl to see their own reveries, whether they bloom like a lotus petal, or a rose of the wind streaked with a thousand volutes. Or maybe a compass that subtly reminds us the extent to which the wonder of Baccarat has steered the House towards new heights.

The sophistication of the Reflets Graphiques Bowl can be seen in the sobriety of its lines and intensity of its tones.

Its pink color is nothing short of extraordinary: exclusive to a process invented by Baccarat, it is the result of mixing molten crystal and 24-carat gold powder. Completed only with the craftsmen’s serenity, guaranteeing the heat of the kiln to the very last degree. These colossal furnaces demand more than plain competence – they can only be tamed by years of experience. Thanks to this alliance between the temperament of the material and the rigor of the craft, Baccarat was already enchanting the world at an era when Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris and Georges Braque were revolutionizing aesthetic standards. In 1925, the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts affirmed that the first version of the Reflets Graphiques Bowl had everything needed to arouse passion. In designing this innovative piece, Georges Chevalier, Baccarat’s artistic director at the time, honored a House that knew how to reconcile imagination with modern trends. Like a hymn to Cubism, revived for the 21st century, with its high leg, geometric decoration, grooves, and angles, the Reflets Graphiques Bowl remains faithful to this avant-garde movement that disrupted all codes and symbols. Connoisseurs will appreciate the whimsical nature of this seemingly sensible design, which still emanates the sparkle of the Roaring Twenties.

A kaleidoscope of glyphs, a fresco of details, the Éclats de Lumière Vase is a testament to the masterful skill of Baccarat’s magicians in the art of cutting crystal.

Minute or opulent, if each ornament seems almost hypnotic, it is because dexterity permeates even the slightest gesture of its creation. Because the crystal must be hollowed out to the nearest tenth to fulfill its promise, this gesture is barely a graze – it is a caress. At Baccarat, the accuracy of depth and the mastery of relief are subject to extremely precise criteria, because in order to create a vase that meets the House’s high standards, no surface can endure even the slightest scratch or deviation. This is how the carved stem, crisscrossed bevels, and bodice emblazoned with pontilles and olives reveal their lightness. The challenge of this reinterpretation is brought on by this black-lined clear crystal’s presence, the crafting of which requires unfaltering vigilance. Until a piece is definitively validated, the craftsman relies on all his or her senses and skills to embellish it. It is up to Baccarat and its finest magicians, whose savoir-faire over the years has proven to reconcile the paradox of an element that is as much day as it is night. In this way, the House finds its place at the equinox; writing poetry in the unison of contrast.

From the initial artistic sparkle to the first watercolors and pencil drawings, multiple attempts at modeling to the final touch on the diamond mill, the Reflets Graphiques Vase embodies Baccarat’s craftsmanship.

To achieve a clear crystal lined with black crystal that gives the piece its distinction and allure, the Baccarat artisans must become masters of the material. The purity of its oval shape comes from the complexity of a mold with finely calibrated seams. After the glassblowers’ work, the creation is subjected to a lengthy process of carving with finesse. There, for hours on end, in a bubble of concentration, the craftsman will use their judgment to adjust the fluting and the rectitude of the rectangular prisms. And when its proportions are at last balanced, a surprising interplay of mirrors is revealed. A contemporary counterpoint to a 1930 piece, the Reflets Graphiques Vase is like the quincunxes that give it pride of place: it is the line connecting generations of mentors and apprentices, and the culmination of a bold design. Because the signature of the House of Baccarat has been applied with discretion, harmony, and sound intent, each of its finished masterpieces is the result of true commitment.

Inlaid with azure, as if a river of sapphires were flowing along its curves, the Éclats de Lumière Carafe evokes the art of jewelry making; in this creation, special meaning is instilled in diamond-cut decorations.

Crafted with masterful cold working techniques, its scalloped foot with flame tips recalls the iconic Tsar’s glassware, ordered by Nicholas II. Its flared neck is surmounted by a stopper, the creation of which requires all the force of steady breath performed exclusively by the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France. The Éclats de Lumière Carafe is a reinterpretation of the centerpiece of a service created in 1908; a set whose nobility, fit for a king, seduced the maharajah Jagatjit Singh. A great collector of jewels and an eccentric sovereign to say the least, this French art lover admired the Château de Versailles to the point of commissioning the construction of his own replica. Dazzling like the sun, the Éclats de Lumière Carafe borrows from a unique savoir-faire and from all the elements of nature, making its crystal exquisitely pure; because its creation spans ateliers and generations, it has acquired an eternal character. The Éclats de Lumière Carafe exalts what is most universal about crystal.

Praised for its incomparable light, Baccarat crystal also shines when shared. During the reign of Emperor Napoleon III, the refinement of French gastronomy was such that epicureans readily favored these bottles specially designed for serving white wine.

The Reflets Graphiques Carafe revisits the slender contours of a piece from 1887; with its vibrant blue, it is a whole set of carved curves and edges that draw an enticing silhouette. Thanks to the sobriety of its appearance, a ballet of beams vibrates and dances between its lines; it gives this creation the power of radiance. Designed with a twenty-four-branch star on the bottom, its body is adorned with a faceted cord, giving it a touch of rounded elegance. Moreover, even empty, the Reflets Graphiques Carafe contains at least one drop; a blown drop of crystal, frozen under its stopper, further enhancing the creation with a final touch of color. If the original design was already a special request, the reinterpretation of this piece reminds us that for Baccarat, crystal is much more than an exceptional material: it embodies the joy of living, the art of celebration.