Saint-Louis Patrimoine Diamantissime Amethyst Vase

The Saint-Louis Patrimoine Diamantissime Amethyst Vase is a revival of a Saint-Louis piece from 1951, itself inspired by the prestigious Paris Exhibition tradition. The vase’s perfectly simple oval form is made glorious by a lavish pattern of deep diamond cuts through an outer layer of amethyst crystal, revealing the clear crystal beneath — a technique known as cased crystal, or crystal doublé. The combination of the deep purple amethyst color and the brilliant diamond-cut surface creates a piece of extraordinary chromatic and visual richness.

The Diamantissime vase is produced using the cased crystal technique, in which a layer of amethyst-colored crystal is applied over a clear crystal base, and the diamond cuts are then applied by hand through the colored outer layer to reveal the clear crystal beneath. This technique requires exceptional precision — the cutter must work through the color layer at exactly the right depth to achieve the contrast effect — and it is one of the most demanding in the Saint-Louis repertoire. Many of the artisans who execute this work hold the Meilleur Ouvrier de France distinction.

The Patrimoine collection is Saint-Louis’s program of archival revival pieces — objects drawn from the maison’s deep historical archive and reissued using the same techniques that produced the originals, sometimes after long periods of dormancy. The name means ‘heritage’ or ‘patrimony’ in French, and the collection’s mission is to demonstrate, as Saint-Louis describes it, the inexhaustible modern flavor of the repertory of crystals, enthusiastically reviving long-forgotten techniques and all the brilliance of craftsmanship continuously reinvented. Each Patrimoine piece belongs to the Saint-Louis archive both as a historical document and as a living object. Established in 1586, Saint-Louis stands as Europe’s oldest crystal manufacturer, holding the title of Royal Cristallerie since 1781.