The best cutlery in Paris is polished

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In the history of the French silverware company Christofle, Empress Eugénie plays an important role. “I like to call her the first influencer,” laughs Emilie Metge Viargues, CEO and president of the Parisian brand, explaining that in the mid-19th century, the wife of Napoleon III “was a crazy Christofle fan,” and commissioned a 100 -Personal table service. “She was inviting all the courts of Europe to her table—the queen of Sweden, the queen of Norway, Luxembourg, Germany, Spain, Italy—and all he wanted the same tableware as her. Et voila; it was really the beginning of the luxury industry.”

Today, Cristobalowned by Chalhoub Group, is about to launch a new collection with French jeweler’s designer Aurélie Bidermann who encompasses rings and hoop earrings, but also plates and vases. It follows a complete relaunch of the nearly 200-year-old brand, which was founded in 1830 by Charles Christofle, a jeweler who turned to tableware, taking advantage of new silver and gold electroplating technology. The brand, which soon attracted King Louis-Philippe as a client, is still known for its French-made chandeliers, cutlery and champagne vats.

Metge Viargues’ vision for Christofle is as “the Hermes of the petite cuillere [little spoon],” she says. “We’re on the same level; everything is still artistically handcrafted.” Her strategy is “retro-futurism,” she adds. “This means taking the best of the past and making it modern, bringing it to a new generation.” His first step was to speak with Ramdane Touhami, the founder of the creative agency Art Recherche Industrie who, with his wife Taillac-Touhami victory, has also breathed new life into the historic French beauty brand Officine Universelle Buly. His “revamped visual identity” for Christofle, from a handwritten logo based on the 1830 original to an update of the historic seal and packaging in the brand’s traditional olive green color, feels equally fresh.

I wanted to draw a collection that would combine modernity and the continuity of the Christofle story.

In terms of products, classic art nouveau and art deco designs have been reissued, such as the iconic curvy coffee pot by Danish silversmith Christian Fjerdingstad. In July, a virtual collection was launched exclusively on the world’s leading online gaming platform. Roblox. New designer collections, meanwhile, have so far included Paris-based American architect Elliott Barnes’ Dellipse and now Bidermann’s Babylone, named after the French capital’s Rue de Babylone, once the home of Yves Saint Laurent, and inspired by elegant neighborhood soirees.

“Visiting the Christofle manufacturing site in Normandy was also very inspiring,” says Bidermann, who launched her eponymous and much-lauded jewelery brand in 2003 but is no longer involved in the business that continues to bear her name. She “wanted to draw a collection that combined modernity and the continuity of the Christofle story; to create very simple shapes, quite art deco.”

The result is an elegant yet thick braided element that surrounds each piece, around sterling silver Babylone rings (from €390) and a bracelet (€850), chandeliers (€390) and a spectacular centerpiece (€1,800). . “It started with jewelry, but then I said, ‘OK, now I want to make plates too,’” says Bidermann, whose plates (from €115) are not made of silver, but white porcelain.

“I just said yes to everything because I thought their designs were great,” says Metge Viargues. “The vases are incredible,” she adds of the ceramic pots that sit on braided silver bases (from €800). “For me, Aurélie is one of the best jewelry designers of the last decades. She exudes Parisian flair. And her collection is beautiful, very feminine and Christofle in every way.”

For Bidermann, who continues to work as a designer and consultant for other jewelry brands, as well as doing commissioned work for select private clients, the Babylone process was notable for its lack of commitment. “There isn’t one piece I like less than the others, and that’s very rare for me,” he says, adding that if he had to pick his favorites, it would be the bowl (from €490) — “it’s a mix of pure minimalism. and rich decoration; I like the two opposite styles” — and the cuff (€2,200).

Eugénie would no doubt also approve, concludes Metge Viargues: “The braid speaks to her; she always wore one around her head.”

Christofle Collection Babylone, created by Mademoiselle Aurélie Bidermann, launches September 1; cristofle.com