Saint Louis is at the origin of the French crystal industry, contributing to its history with brilliant creations which have spanned four centuries. From crystal opalines to millefiori paperweights and sulphides, from cut or engraved stemware services to large ornamental pieces, the amazingly rich history of Saint Louis is no other than that of European glassworks from its infancy to today. The founding of the Saint Louis Company in 1767, on the same site of an old glassworks dating back to 1586 is tied to the history of Lorraine on the border between France and Germany, as it was the one local where all the conditions needed for making glass were united: wood from the forests, sand from the sandstone earth, salt from the High Sarre and potash extracted from the ashes of abundant ferns.

The true adventure of Saint Louis, as it is known today, began in 1781 when it came to perfect the crystal-making process, one hundred years after the discovery of flint-glass in England by George Ravenscroft. Crystal soon differentiated itself from glass due to the specific characteristics of lead crystal: lightness, sonority and refractory capacity, which also found many other applications besides gobletry and window glass. Baccarat lit its first oven in 1819 under the direction of a former director of Saint Louis. So did many of the other brands known to date. What defines Saint Louis today is what set it apart from its contemporaries throughout the 19th and 20th century: a masterful use of jeweled color, an ingenious use of special effects.