Extract DNA from a classic model of glassware

Although Baccarat is best known for his glass and chandeliers, jewelry was part of its history since 1992, when the first collection was introduced. Since then, he has taken an important place in the company: last year, sales of jewelry accounted for 12% of total revenue from Baccarat of 158 million €, or 207 million $.

"The jewel is an important means of making the mark in Baccarat," Markus Lampe, the Chief Executive Officer, said in an interview.

"Because it is more than a chandelier, an impulse purchase, it allows easy access to the brand, but it must meet the same quality standards as our other products," he said.

Introduced in 1841, the line of glassware Harcourt was reinterpreted and extended over the years. Yet its underlying character has remained consistently identifiable in its hexagonal foot, distinctive ring of three-stepped, known as a triple knop, decorate the stem and the wide, flat-cut panels forming the sides of the bowl.

Harcourt is one of the oldest lines of Baccarat glassware and continues to be one of the most popular, with more than 10,000 pieces sold every year.

The decision to transform the central theme of this year jewelry line design Harcourt is part of a brand to refocus the efforts of Mr Lampe, who joined Baccarat in 2011 after 24 years at Swarovski, the Austrian glassmaker known for its crystal jewelry.

For Baccarat, whose long and archives history is valuable resources to preserve the traditions of the House, the challenge is to modernize the production while maintaining the image evoked by the name luxury.

"Over the years, the identity of jewelry Baccarat was slightly diluted," Dominique Delale, vice President of jewelry Baccarat, said in an interview. "The reason was partly carte blanche outside designers to create collections that were not always identifiable with the DNA of Baccarat".

Ms. Delale, who joined Baccarat in 2011, was a former Director of watches and jewelry at Chanel and watch Louis Vuitton and jewelry business marketing director.

Over the years, Baccarat has collaborated with a number of independent designers in the creation of jewelry collections. Among the most memorable are those created by Catherine Noll, designer of the shell collection in 1994; Stefano Poletti with the collection of pendants in 2009; and Elie Top, who created the line of plugs for Carafe in 2010.

Loaded to impose coherence on the collection of this year, Ms. Delale ordered its designers chosen to take the Harcourt model as a starting point in the manufacture of jewelry pieces that evoke the timeless essence of the style of Baccarat.

The result is four lines. Two are called B Mania - one for women and one for men. A third is beautiful B and the fourth, B flower.

B Mania elegant feminine line, designed by Philippe Airaud and Stéphanie Bascou, has a ring with a cabochon in hexagonal crystal mounted on a silver six-sided base, silver chain necklaces and bracelets with charms in the shape of a glass Harcourt and cuffs that recall the flat Cup of Harcourt.

Men's B Mania, designed by Camille Toupet, deploys the flat Harcourt cut silver cufflinks, rings and the enhanced leather bracelets.

"In row B Mania, some pieces use only metal with no crystal but are nevertheless rooted in the heritage of the House, given the Harcourt geometric patterns which are repeated in the links in the chain," said Ms. Delale.

Line B flower, also designed by Ms. Bascou, is a very graphic line, inspired by 1960, which captures the visible flower pattern when looking inside the bowl of the Harcourt glass.

The beautiful B line, designed by Sylvie Turgis, a frequent collaborator with jewellery such as Harry Winston and Cartier houses, opts for the delicate forms with a Byzantine derived feeling of the openwork vermeil with cabochons of Crystal on the gold chains reproducing hexagonal shapes of the Harcourt database.

'For beau B, we worked for the first time with gemstones like Citrine and amethysts,' said Ms. Delale.

Four designers started from the same point, and if their respective creations are radically different, each can be identified such as Baccarat, she said.

"We will continue to work with external designers, but the identity of Baccarat must pass by what the designer," said Ms. Delale.

Prices in the range of the collection of about 250 to 1 €400.

For those interested to see more work by the masters of the House Crystal, the Baccarat Museum in Paris showcases the eclectic nature of the production of Baccarat, both in the Articles of Crystal jewelry and luxury.

"Crystal is our material of choice, but it isn't the only material we use," said Ms. Delale.

"The brand has a force inherent that must be communicated", she added. "Today, all new lines of Baccarat must express this DNA."