The fire lit in 1764 — part of King Louis XV’s order establishing the Baccarat glass works factory in France — has burned continuously for centuries.
And last year the French house, which has been making pieces such as the Zénith Chandelier Black by Philippe Starck and the Baccarat x Virgil Abloh Crystal Clear collection, marked its 260th anniversary by installing a state-of-the-art furnace at the factory, enabling it to improve energy efficiency and produce its first lead-free crystal.
But that was just one of the changes at the French heritage brand. In 2020, its management was taken over by several debt management funds led by Tor Investment Management, after its owner, Fortune Fountain Capital, lost control of its business to creditors. (Baccarat Hotels & Resorts is operated by SH Hotels & Resorts, an affiliate of Starwood Capital, through a license.)
Since then, Baccarat, which does not disclose its annual revenue, has shifted its operating focus from products to a broader embrace of the art of hospitality, spending 60 million euros ($65 million) on the effort over the past three years. “Experiences are at the heart of Baccarat’s DNA,” said Laurence Nicolas, who became the house’s chief executive in February. “What we have achieved is an incredible transformation into a lifestyle brand.”
That transformation — which began under Ms. Nicolas’s predecessor, Maggie Henriquez — started with the September opening of a gourmet restaurant, Ducasse Baccarat, overseen by the Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse, and a cocktail bar called Midi-Minuit. A museum space upstairs in the Baccarat flagship on Place des États-Unis in the 16th Arrondissement was renovated for the new venues. (There also are plans for Jardin, a garden restaurant and bar, to open this summer.)
“We have a magnificent space in this house of great tradition,” Mr. Ducasse, who also collects antique Baccarat crystal, said during an interview in Paris. “We are here to create something new, designed for today’s clients, that is chic but informal.”
He said the restaurant was styled to entice customers. “Clients come here for the pleasure of tasting, not because they are hungry,” he said. “They are curious, fickle, over-informed, rushed and stressed. We want to surprise them and make them want to come back.”
Its three set menus reflect Mr. Ducasse’s modern take on traditional French cuisine: “Less animal protein, more vegetables, smaller portions and higher quality.”
The dining experience is shaped as much by the surroundings as by the food. In the restaurant, Baccarat’s creations are represented in the stemware on the tables and the suspended droplet lighting fixtures, a deconstructed take on the house’s classic chandelier. And the room is lined with floor-to-ceiling wood shelves displaying small human figures carved from natural oak, the work of Jean-Guillaume Mathiaut, a French sculptor and architect.
“We have preserved Baccarat’s heritage, but added our own touch of modernity,” said Mr. Ducasse, who chose Mr. Mathiaut for the décor.
With the museum’s closure, Harry Nuriev, a Russian-born architect and furniture designer, was invited to reimagine how some of its creations would continue to be displayed in the store. His solution: industrial refrigerators.
“The refrigerators in the lobby are a nod to the restaurant upstairs,” Mr. Nuriev said during an interview in Paris. “But they are also a fun twist on the idea of preserving archival pieces. Their oversized glass doors are a screen through which visitors can admire the precious crystal pieces.”
He also has transformed the flagship’s entrance gallery, which leads to the lobby, by adding words such as Passion and Temptation and drawings, including a sketch of some glass blowers, on the limestone-lined walls. “The stone is carved like modern graffiti that tells the story of Baccarat,” he said, adding, “Graffiti has been a form of self-expression since cave paintings.”
In collaboration with Baccarat’s crystal artisans, Mr. Nuriev designed a chandelier reflecting what he calls Transformism, challenging viewers to see things in new ways. The piece, to be unveiled in the fall, combines traditional Baccarat crystal with found objects and everyday items such as small key chains and ordinary beads.
“In the future, as I see it, crystal will become rare, and factory-made pieces will be less common,” Mr. Nuriev said. “This means that all luxury items will have to be sourced from new channels, objects will be repurposed and found materials will replace factory-made components.”
He said that working with Baccarat’s artisans was a special experience: “The way they move in silence, in a perfect choreography, was almost cosmic.”
In the flagship’s boutique, new creations for sale include the New Antiques collection by the Dutch designer Marcel Wanders, inspired by Baccarat’s exhibits at past World’s Fairs. It features pieces such as a human-size standing vase; a portable clochette-style lamp with a built-in wireless lighting system; and a round table with a marble top and an illuminated crystal central leg equipped with a battery and a USB port.
Some design changes also are being rolled out to the 70 Baccarat boutiques worldwide in a renovation plan led by the French architects and interior designers Bruno Moinard and Claire Bétaille. Reflecting the theme of fire, the new boutique concept incorporates black and red tones, charred cedar with textured surfaces, steel ribbons and molten crystal. Ten renovations are planned for this year.
“We have used bold, contrasting materials and precise lighting to evoke the essence of fire and embers,” Mr. Moinard said in an interview in Paris. “These materials, shapes and textures reflect the spirit of the Baccarat manufacture, and create a modern visual language in the boutiques.”
As for its manufacturing site, which employs 600 workers, it is in the town of Baccarat, along the Meurthe River in the Lorraine region of eastern France. The installation of Furnace F, as the new equipment is called, required a yearlong reconstruction of a building. Baccarat said it was equipped to convert 18 tons of molten material a day.
“We have upgraded not just our production tools but also the security of our facility, and this year, we are enhancing our water purification systems and reviewing our water usage,” Ms. Nicolas said. “We are also focusing on our work force, which includes some of the most talented craftspeople in France, including 12 Meilleurs Ouvriers de France.” She was referring to a national award given to artisans, who are chosen through a competition every four years.
Ms. Nicolas said Baccarat’s new lifestyle orientation would be sealed with a new slogan. “For a long time, our tagline was ‘Everything is better in Baccarat,’ which focused on our products,” Ms. Nicolas said. “We have made a subtle change.”
“Life is better with Baccarat,” she said. “And we want to share our know-how with those who want to indulge, take time together and enjoy life.”
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