Latest edition : 14 November 2018
Nestled in a somewhat secret valley in the heart of the Northern Vosges Regional Nature Park, the royal crystal factory of Saint-Louis sparkles with expertise that has endured for centuries.
The epic began in 1586 with the installation of itinerant glassmakers who found there all the natural resources necessary for the manufacture of glass: wood to heat the ovens, sand from the pink sandstone of the Northern Vosges, ferns from the wood to produce potash, water to cool. In 1767, Louis XV gave the site the name of Verrerie royale de Saint-Louis (in honor of Louis IX, Saint Louis). 14 years later, after discovering the secret of crystal, it was renamed “Crystallerie royale de Saint-Louis”, bringing luxury and refinement all over the world. The Trianon collection, enhanced by the diamond cut, figures still in the catalog!
In its heyday, some 2,000 artisans worked in the various workshops.
But the crisis did not spare the sector and the ovens ended up going out in the Vosges valleys.
In 1989, the Saint-Louis site was saved by Hermès and Pochet before becoming the property of the Hermès group. Jean-Louis Dumas, then CEO of the group, was a fierce defender of craftsmanship, of French handmade, of excellence. Values perpetuated with great passion by the glassmakers of Saint-Louis. Some 300 people now keep the site alive. Among them, several are Meilleur Ouvrier de France.
It is not rare to meet, on the site, members of the same family, a father who transmits his knowledge to his son.
It is this transmission that allows young people to achieve excellence many years later.
The (guided) visit of the factory allows you to discover this know-how and some of the 85 trades practiced on site: picker, engraver, tailor, blower, potters, etc.
By pushing the door of the factory, the visitor passes above the Grande Place. It is here that the ovens turn continuously to produce 6 tons of clear crystal per day. The guide explains the difference between the pot oven and the basin oven, the work of the weaver, the founder, the picker, the blower, the head of the place, the porter...
After leaving this furnace, the visit continues with the "cold" work workshops: compassage (the laying of markers), size, acid engraving, polishing, gilding... We admire the precise and sure gesture of the tailors who work freehand, keeping the same force or softness of the gesture until the end. A feat that requires at least 10 years of practice.
In the secrecy of a separate workshop, a team around Xavier Zimmermann creates collector's paperweights.
It takes three years to imagine a new collection in collaboration with designers. The guide's explanations provide a better understanding of the technical prowess involved in the manufacture of these coveted objects.
Another workshop is dedicated to the assembly of chandeliers, one of the jewels of the royal crystal works.
The impressive candelabrum, a copy of the model made in 1895 for the throne room of the King of Nepal in Kathmandu, gives an idea of the prowess required of the various craftsmen involved: 2,000 pieces make up this candelabra, 4 meters high and weighing a tonne. Even more impressive pieces are made in Saint-Louis then assembled on site like a gigantic puzzle so that the know-how of the royal crystal factory of Saint-Louis shines throughout the world.
After having followed the entire process of creation within the factory, the visit to the museum becomes even more interesting.
It's a real initiatory journey that unfolds in a spiral around an immense chandelier that sparkles with a thousand lights.
The scenography, enriched with twenty videos, encompasses four centuries of history and know-how, from the discovery of crystal to the mastery of various techniques such as the coloring of crystal.
In the various showcases, two thousand emblematic pieces from the Saint-Louis crystal factory illustrate the different techniques used by master glassmakers and master tailors over nearly five centuries.
We discover clear crystal, crystal tinted in the mass but translucent, lithyaline (marbled glass imitating stones such as agate, jasper), clear crystal lined with tinted crystal, opaline, the different ways of cutting, the influences of art movements. A whole showcase is dedicated to paperweights, so coveted by collectors.
Want a little luxury on your party tables? You will find your happiness in the counter of the factory. With an additional 5% discount for museum visitors.
The Grande Place, Saint-Louis Crystal Museum
Rue Coëtlosquet
57620 Saint-Louis-lès-Bitche
Tel. : 03 87 06 40 04
Open every day except Tuesday
from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Prices:
€6 for the museum or €17 with the guided tour of the factory, ideally in the morning, excluding Tuesdays, weekends, public holidays and craftsmen's holidays. Visit of the factory for groups and only by reservation. Possibility for individuals to join.
The Terrestrial Stars
The “constellation” of the Terrestrial Stars are three glassmaking sites nestled in the valleys of the Northern Vosges: the Manufacture Saint-Louis and its crystal museum La Grande Place, the Lalique museum and the glassmaking site Meisenthal.
Three names that evoke crystal and precious glass, an age-old know-how.
Located only a few tens of kilometers from each other, the three glassmaking sites have decided to promote their respective heritages. Between Alsace and Moselle, about an hour's drive from Strasbourg and in the heart of the Northern Vosges Regional Nature Park, the three sites can be visited on the same day.
It is the discovery of a unique, age-old know-how that still persists today.
www.etoiles-terrestres.fr
