Since the days of Philippe Le Bel, around 1300, a long tradition of gentleman glassmakers has been established in Southern Champagne, which formed part of the Kingdom of Burgundy.

The history of one of the oldest glass companies in France dates back to 1666, when Louis XIV issued letters patent allowing the Venetian glassblower, Jean – Baptiste Mazzolay, to set up a crystal works in Southern Champagne, with the royal privilege of calling his establishment “Manufacture Royale en Cristaux et en Verre”.
The Royal Privilege was an acknowledgement and a reward for the quality of Mazzolay’s work, which the King had admired in his Faubourg Saint Antoine, Paris, workshop, not to mention his contribution to the creation of the “Galerie des Glaces”, Hall of Mirrors, in the Château Versailles.

The gentleman glassmaker chose Bayel, a small village close to Bar –sur – Aube and Colombey les Deux Eglises, for very specific reasons and to ensure the perfection of his art. The abundant presence of the raw materials needed : wood from the immense, nearby forest; pure, white sand and running river water of such fine quality that he was able to produce crystal of remarkable purity and brilliance. Fortunately, the same requirements continue to be available near by today, even if the forest has diminished slightly over the centuries.
The Royal Forests, which are now State Forests, are impeccably kept and only the horrific hurricanes of 26th and 27th December 1999 have managed to wreak enormous damage.

Master Mazzolay continued to excel and to distinguish himself and contributed to the prosperity and reputation of the Kingdom of France, thanks to the quality of his creations, his fine artwork and the modernity of his methods.
As official purveyor to the Court the “Manufacture Royale en Cristaux et en Verre” turned out a fantastically wide range of pieces : glasses, cups, bottles, chandeliers, torches, occasional tables, ewers, sweetmeat dishes, as well as other assorted dishes, which were not only fashionable and sought after in France, but were also exported to India and to Mexico by Portuguese traders.
At the turn of the 18th Century, only a few years after its creation, the establishment was enjoying a worldwide reputation. It was also Colbert’s active mercantile policy of protection and development of industries and the arts that confirmed the position of the “Manufacture”. Around 1780, the Bayel style changed to adapt to the new taste of its clientele.

Highly coloured and elaborate Venetian – style glass disappeared to the benefit of cut glass in which Bayel continued to distinguish itself. A few historic models, dating back to this time, still exist, like the “Grain d’orge” Champagne flute, which is still made by Bayel for Moët et Chandon. Another model is that which was used to create the famous Epernay hollow – stem glass, which became a rage for the tasting of Champagne.
In 1854, the influential Marquots family, from Champagne, took over the “Cristallerie Royale de Champagne” and an active development programme was launched, particularly by acquiring several smaller glassworks. This made Bayel one of the main concerns in the French glass and crystal sector. Shortly after World War II was turning out more than a quarter of the French production and offered a range of 23,000 articles.

In 1955, the decision was taken to focus on crystal, and in 1966,the “Cristallerie Royale de Champagne” celebrated its tri -centenary. Business was flourishing and Bayel employed 600 glassmakers.
This was a triumphal period for “free form” vases and bowls in the Venetian tradition. The oil crisis of the 1970’s had to be coped with and Bayel opted for cooperation with five other companies, setting up what became the “Compagnie Française du Cristal” – the “CFC Daum”, until 1981, when each of the company’s regained its independence.
From this time, the “Cristallerie Royale de Champagne” has belonged to a group of Luxembourg, Italian, and since 2004, to a Swiss financial groups, committed to preserving this traditional symbol of exceptional “savoir – faire”.Today, the art of making pure crystal objects is still transferred from father to son, and entire families have succeeded one another around the ovens of Bayel.
The various operations have not changed much since the time of Mazzolay; only a few technical improvements have been introduced and far stricter safety and security rules apply.

No concessions are made to mechanisation or automation,and handcrafting remains sovereign. A tough apprenticeship to become a glassblower can last up to 10 – 15 years to acquire perfect mastery.
Each piece, however modest or prestigious, however simple or complicated, is singularly inimitable, hand – blown and shaped by hand in a changeless ritual of close contact between man, fire and glass. The incomparable purity, limpidity and the strength of Bayel crystal reside in the secret of its composition, jealously guarded for centuries and passed on from father to son.
Nevertheless, its performance is also based on strict standards and the intransigent research for quality. The combination of its unique know – how and its legendary rigour form the basis of Bayel’s reputation.

The handwork at the Cristallerie Royale de Champagne can be described as using traditional techniques and flexible hand tool – the crystal in creation, which is only equalled by the suppleness and dexterity of the hand of man, to create set pieces, to conceive new and original ones, to personalise each model and to fulfil projects, reflecting the dreams and desires of the clientele.

Combining a work of art with the mastery of motion ! Today 56 people, all totally versatile in all the different aspects of the work, are employed by the Cristallerie Royale de Champagne, driven by the love of their craft, and a fierce passion and pride in their work.
All the different raw materials used, iron bearing, or cobalt, or silex, or gold, or those not known, or divulged, to the uninitiated, is used in proportions and combinations only known to those mixing them. The ovens contain 60% remodelled crystal that has already been worked and 40% of chemicals, metals and minerals.

This mixture is placed in the oven to fuse, over a period of 12 – 14 hours(overnight), in the “glass” foundry container that creates the melted liquid at about 1,100°C and is fired by natural gas. To run 7 pots, 70 cubic meters of water is needed every hour, 24 hours a day, and 365 days a year. When read, the crystal is collected, with a device called the Savoyard fork.
The liquid has to be homogenised to ensure stability. The loss is extremely high - for each 100kg of crystal, 30% is good and 70% not. However this “loss” is re-used. Only when inherent faults exist, is the crystal actually lost for re – cycling into the process. The 60kg pots, which seem to be alive and bubbling, in fact liberate the tension. The crystal is now ready for handcrafting.

The glassblower ‘inhales” his mixture in a hollow metal cane by skimming it off the upper layer of the crucible surface. The pots are refilled,as soon as a third has been skimmed off, to ensure uniformity both in the mix and the degree of heat. In order to have perfect modelability the temperature in the pots are around 600°C. Water is an essential element because it served as a buffer or a sponge, between the crystal and the metal, when the glassblower is working on it with his cane, and serves to cool the crystal in the process of plunging the cane into the water and the metal container to around 400°C.
He “marbles” his cane against the metal surface. The glass “bubble”, that will become the object blown, is formed by alternately blowing and turning.

This is where perfect mastery of the art is essential ! Total control of one’s equipment and environment is needed to concentrate entirely upon the task at hand. Not only is the work controlled by each worker himself, but also by the next person in the line of production. A fault cannot be rectified once made and causes blemishes and weaknesses. The piece must be melted again and the process started from scratch. The pieces are passed through a security tunnel, with a capacity of 600 – 1,000 per hour, to verify its quality and discover any imperfections. All this information is noted and fed into a database as a reference.

Merciless selection of perfection is the key to this operation.The pieces (especially glasses) are subsequently marked with a diamond to create a cut. They are heated to create a thermal shock, then cut completely, after which the surface is smoothed, fined and washed. In order to shape and to create a tension to acquire the desired final shape, the unfinished glasses are first heat and then worked, and finally reheated and dried. In fact, 300 perfect glasses are produced per hour.
This process terminates the “heat” treatment of the glass.Then the pieces are transferred to the finishing and decoration department, which is called the “cold” treatment. The finishing process is made up of a variety of actions depending, on the shape and the form of each piece.
It involves engraving, or gilding where necessary, then polishing, preparing and packing them. Depending upon each piece, it is polished with acid or laminated on an abrasive emery wheel, which absorbs water. Decorative pieces or pieces combining different components are melted into each other and passed through acid to give it a satin patina.

“Pâté Crystal” is used to create monumental pieces and is injected at 820°C over several hours (15 – 20), taking at least a week to cool down.Jan Tesar has been the artistic director of the Cristallerie Royale de Champagne since June 2004, and under his impulsion, the company is preparing for the future.

A sculptor with enormous experience, schooled in Central Europe and then in Rome and Umbria, he is at home working bronze, marble and wood as well as paper and metal. He has travelled extensively to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan. His decorative pieces are sought after not only by collectors, but also by the general public.
Light forms a vital part of his material and becomes a work tool for Jan Tesar and this naturally leads him to crystal fire, limpidity and light diffraction.

The 2005 Spring collection, by Jan Tesar, is characterised by masculine/feminine tandem ; concepts of glass based on contrasts–the “Douceurs” and the “Féériques”;Tchawan,Kombu and Taïko influence, which will open up a world of cultural essence; the use of innovative material, such as the Neige de Cristal™, amongst other innovations and recreation of traditional creations. The range will emphasise the magnificence of crystal, its limpidity, its brilliance, its sensuality, its softness – a gift of serenity awakening the five senses. The “Salon Maison et Objet” will exhibit some of the new models as well as the time honoured collections.
The ambition of Bayel is to innovate in order to multiply exceptional moments. The company is fortunate to possess over 4,000 moulds, containing the necessary database to reproduce articles or to help in the research for rediscovering past triumphs.

The production of the Cristallerie Royale de Champagne is timeless tradition, but very contemporary pieces have also been created highly successfully.Crystal is no longer totally exclusive. In 2005 the firm created a new material called Neige de Cristal™ (Crystal Snow). Using the brute force of the aterial, combined with the unparalleled transparency of frosted crystal, Neige de Cristal™ opens up new horizons in wall panelling, bathroom decorations, lighting units, presentation dishes, etc.

The company has in many ways remained the purveyor of kings – heads of state pay homage to the perfection and “savoir – faire” of Bayel as well as the White House, the Kennedy family, the Pentagon, American Embassies across the globe, the Moroccan and Saudi Arabian royal families, the Vatican, the Orient Express, Dassault, the Ritz, the Plaza Anthénée, L’Ambassadeur, the Hotel Château Chevre d’Or and the French Prime Minister’s Office “Matignon”.

The company contributed to the restoration of the Alexandre III Bridge in Paris by producing six different models of glass globes representing over 700 pieces of crystal, specifically re – created for the occasion. The Prince of Qatar ordered, as gifts for the guests assisting at his wedding, 500 crystal paste orchids engraved with the names of bride and the groom.
Being situated in the heart of Champagne has lead to several long term, in addition, to some newer partnerships. Many Champagne companies have called on the talents of the Cristallerie Royale de Champagne to produce special products, such as Drapier, Moët et Chandon, Veuve Cliquot, Perrier – Jouët, Nicolas Feuillate, Henriot, Cristian Senez, Ponsardin, G – H. Martel & Cie. and recently, Bayel designed and produced, the “Amour” flutes for Champagne Deutz. The company also works with Hennessy, Thomas Hine & Co., Château Latour, Château Rauzan Segla, the Maison du Whisky and Lheraud.

Under the Swiss investors group’s impulse, a clear ambition has been forged : to restore and to develop the prestige of the Cristallerie Royale de Champagne and to make it, once again, a significant and profitable player in luxury products, and crystal in particular.

The strategy of Patrice Gabus is clear and includes the repositioning of the trademark on the exclusive luxury market, streamlining and revamping the catalogue in the interest of greater cohesion and readablility of the collections by focusing on proven designs, launching some new models based on different designs and thus expanding the range of lighting units and jewellery, developing new distribution channels such as design boutiques, galleries, architectural firms and exploring Internet.

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