水晶之王

這個名為Baccarat的世界著名水晶品牌，于1764年受路易十五特許創(chuàng)建，其華麗的光芒贏得了世界各國王侯貴族們的青睞，被譽為“王侯們的水晶”。經(jīng)過歲月陶冶孕育而出的Baccarat成為法國文化具有代表性的名牌產(chǎn)品，并在法國巴黎的萬國博覽會以及很多其他博覽會上獲獎。而Baccarat的成就從未停止，其設(shè)計理念與時俱進，并且永無止境。

Baccarat(巴卡拉)于1764年法國成立，是歷史悠久的品牌。18世紀，Baccarat是法國東部Lorraine區(qū)內(nèi)風景優(yōu)美，與世無爭的村落。當時Metz主教(Bishop of Metz)申請，并由法王路易十五御準創(chuàng)立。1812年至1815年的拿破侖戰(zhàn)役(Napoleonic Wars)，令它陷入困境。1815年，法國北部另一著名玻璃工場Voneche的主人Aime-Gabriel D’Artigues購買了Baccarat，并延續(xù)了高雅品味，及開始鉆研水晶生產(chǎn)技術(shù)。多年來，它的顧客名單不乏王族政要，如法王路易十八，英國女王等，Baccarat被認為是法國的皇室御用級水晶品牌。Baccarat旗下的水晶產(chǎn)品包羅萬象，從家具，燈具，首飾，家居精品，餐具到酒杯也包括在內(nèi)。

巴卡拉水晶(Baccarat)的歷史可追溯到1764年路易十五時期。當時路易十五特許Metz Louis de Montmorency-Laval主教在法國東部小鎮(zhèn)Baccarat興建一座玻璃制造廠，自始，Sainte-Anne便成為法國的著名玻璃制造商的發(fā)源地。1816年，工業(yè)家Aine-Gabrield’Artigues買下玻璃制造廠，并命名為Baccarat，轉(zhuǎn)為生產(chǎn)水晶制品。1992年，Anne -Claire Taittinger旗下集團Socie`te`du Louvre成為Baccarat最大股東后，蓄意擴大其生產(chǎn)高級水晶的市場，同時致力于發(fā)揚傳統(tǒng)的精湛手工水晶工藝。現(xiàn)在，Baccarat瑰麗而顯赫的各類水晶珍品已經(jīng)遍及世界各地，因其名貴的用料，靈動多變、緊貼時尚潮流的設(shè)計和精致超卓的制作工藝而廣受歡迎，已經(jīng)成為顯赫、尊貴的代名詞。

During its 240 years of history， Baccarat has developed one of the most beautiful crystal in the world， if not the most beautiful one， thanks to its pureness， its exeptional mastering of reflexion， the finish of its very soft polish far different from that of industrial polish. The beauty and pureness of the material goes along with a handcraft always substained by Baccarat and its Best Workmen. The company has the largest number of this very prestigious entitlement aknowledged by the French Republic : 29 Best Workmen at the factory with about 7 new ones every 3 years. This to maintain the exeptional know-how and the renewal of its workforce : Baccarat has its own school to train youngsters. Since 240 years， Baccarat has been elected by the most prestigious and demanding clients all over the world， which contributes to keep the myth and legend of this french brand. No other brand in the crystal industry has such a reference which highly contributes to the legitimity of this brand. By preserving the excellence of a rare know-how while keeping in tune with the world’s evolution， Baccarat has， from time immemorial， been that privileged place where designers can express their talent in complete freedom， drawing inspiration from the magic of crystal to create objects from the most casual and useful to the most prestigious. This dynamic creative strategy has led big names such as Andrée Putman， Ettore Sottsass and Philippe Starck to collaborate with Baccarat. This highly-maintained creativity concurrs to consecrate Baccarat as a great international luxury brand， more than just a crystalmanufacturer.

The meeting of these two qualities， beauty and pureness， makes of Baccarat the only company in the world able to produce pieces of a very important size， with the very high level of handcraft that they claim for. Besides from clear crystal， Baccarat masters the production of coloured crystal， excelling in deep colours， red being the emblematic colour of the brand.

The disappearing of traditional know-how is no fatality， we do believe that it is possible to keep it alive and even develop it thanks to available contemporary technologies. This human know-how behind every Baccarat product， the same one from the smallest ring to the biggest chandelier， each made by the same hands at the same place in our factory， explains why our prices are quite high.

一件水晶器物的完美，在于水晶的質(zhì)量，在于根據(jù)水晶的形狀而決定做成什么器物，也在于和諧的設(shè)計圖樣。水晶雕刻和琢磨工匠無可比擬的技藝造就了帶有傳奇色彩的水晶器物的完美。工匠們巧奪天工的美譽代代相傳，他們的手藝使他們獲得了多種大獎。

1930年發(fā)生過一件事，后來傳成了佳話：古印度瓜寥爾的土邦主（Maharajah de Gwalior）從巴卡拉的工廠里定制了一具水晶吊燈，燈具吊裝之后，發(fā)生了一件意外的事。他的宮殿屋頂本來不適合吊裝這么重的東西，所以燈具剛一吊好，便整個塌落了下來。剛買的吊燈也被摔成了一堆碎片。土邦主生氣了，命令人們重修頂棚。修好之后，他想試試這回的頂棚是否結(jié)實，便讓象群中最重的一頭大象在上面走。屋頂安然無恙，于是土邦主又向巴卡拉的工廠定購了一個一模一樣的吊燈。

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博物館飛利浦斯達克

2003年，Baccarat更與反傳統(tǒng)的設(shè)計師 Philippe Starck(菲利浦-斯塔克) www.philippe-starck.com合作了法國的水晶展館 Maison Baccarat。 既保存了大宅的古典外形，又增加了時尚氣質(zhì)，把水晶與光線所產(chǎn)生的，發(fā)揮得淋漓盡致。大宅擁有巨型水晶鏡子，放于在大魚缸中的巨型水晶燈，高度十足的水晶椅子，及無數(shù)的水晶吊燈。