.25oz of Baccarat’s perfume Les Larmes Sacrées de Thebes costs over $1000.00 at Harrods in London. The expensive price is due to the Egyptian-style Baccarat crystal bottle and the frankincense and myrrh contained in the perfume. Baccarat perfume bottles are just as popular with many collectors as the more famous Lalique. The French crystal company made many bottles for classic brands, such as Guerlain, Jean Patou, Elizabeth Arden and Lentheric. Like Lalique, the perfume bottles by Baccarat have their own mark. Founded as long ago as 1764 when the French King Louis XV gave Bishop-Montmorency-Laval permission to build a glassworks in the village of Baccarat in eastern France, the crystal company has since gone from strength to strength. In 1816 it received its first crystal oven and started producing its glittering crystal.
In 1896 the Russian Tsar, Nicholas II, gave the company his favor after being introduced to it in Paris. Baccarat contributed greatly to the splendor and elegance of the Russian court. According to an article at Dinnerware Matchers (dinnerwarematchers.com): “Candelabras, fountains, centerpieces, and luxurious stemware including a vodka glass, were specially designed for this market.” The company started making its lovely perfume bottles in the late nineteenth century. This soon became a large part of the business. By 1907 Baccarat was producing 4000 bottles a day! Jacques Guerlain was one of the first to realize that the bottle and presentation of the fragrance could be just as important to women as the scent itself. Many perfumes were designed around the perfume bottle and the name.
The first bottle Baccarat made for the company was for the fragrance Champs-Elysees in 1904. The bottle was in an unusual turtle shape. Other famous perfume bottles that Baccarat made for Guerlain included Mitsouko and Shalimar. Matsouko was inspired by Claude Farrere’s novel, La Batoille, which was about a British officer fighting in the Russo-Japanese war of 1905 who fell in love with a Japanese woman called Matsouko. The bottle, with its inverted heart shaped stopper has a scroll design.
The Shalimar bottles are also Art Deco designs. Designed in the 1920’s and inspired by the fountains in oriental gardens, these bottles are even more beautiful than those for Matsouko. The stunning blue stopper was in the shape of an oriental fan. Another famous perfume bottle made by Baccarat was for the fragrance, Miracle, by Lentheric. This was made of black crystal with gold dust in the glass, called ‘floating gold’. Other perfume bottles made by Baccarat include those for Jean Patou’s Joy, nicknamed ‘the most expensive perfume in the world’, and the Evening in Paris bottle.
Vintage perfume bottles made by Baccarat can be extremely expensive. Some cost thousands of dollars. Although Baccarat, called ‘the glassmaker of kings’, has even diverged into owning hotels, it still makes its extremely elegant perfume bottles. It is even possible to obtain a ‘bespoke’ perfume from Guerlain’s Paris boutique in its own Baccarat bottle. If you’re looking for that special gift that will be treasured and remembered for someone who cherishes and values collectibles, consider collectible perfume bottles. This is just one example of many to pique your interest in collectibles available in the perfume/fragrance industry, provide you with background and educational information as well as a unique idea for a gift fit for any occasion for that special woman in your life.
