The French firm Baccarat began producing jewelry exactly two decades ago, but its history as a manufacturer of crystal glassware began almost three centuries ago. At the behest of the King in 1734, Prince Bishop Cardinal Louis-Joseph de Laval-Montmoerency established a glassworking factory in the eastern town of Baccarat – hence the name of the firm. During the eighteenth century it produced windows and mirrors, but in the early nineteenth century its roster of 3000 employees began to produce crystal, as well.
Within a decade it began to receive royal commissions from France and royals farther afield. One of its most amazing pieces from this era include the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul, Turkey, which features the largest chandelier in the world, made by Baccarat.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Baccarat was manufacturing 4000 perfume bottles every day, and by the very end of the century, in 1997, it began to produce the perfume itself. Early in the twenty-first century the firm was purchased by an American company, the Starwood Capital Group.
