Saint-Louis Patrimoine Facete Vase

The Saint-Louis Patrimoine Facete Vase is a clear crystal vase drawn from the Saint-Louis archives, its surface covered in a dense, precise pattern of bevel facets that give the entire form a gem-like, multifaceted quality. The facets are applied by hand in the cold atelier, and the density of the covering cut — each facet meeting its neighbor across the curved surface of the vase — makes this one of the most technically demanding pieces in the Patrimoine revival program. When held to the light, the vase scatters and refracts with a brilliance that fully justifies the technique’s revival.

The Facete vase is produced at the Cristallerie Saint-Louis in Lorraine using hand-cutting techniques drawn from the archive. The covering bevel facet cut across a curved form requires both the initial skill of the glassblower — whose form must be precise enough to accept the cut evenly — and the exceptional dexterity of the hand-cutter, who applies each facet individually to the whole surface of the piece.

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 Each Patrimoine piece belongs to the Saint-Louis archive both as a historical document and as a living object.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.