Baccarat, A fine chandelier Paris, circa 1900

Baccarat is universally acknowledged as one of the pre-eminent firms of glass manufacturers. The firm, which was best known as the Compagnie des Cristalleries de Baccarat  was founded in 1764 by Royal consent, partly to provide employment and partly to compete with the Bohemian glass industry. From the early years of the nineteenth century it has been and still is one of the great French companies producing the very best quality in glassware.

One of the great problems which faced glass manufacturers in the early nineteenth century was the difficulty of achieving a perfectly transparent product free of discolouration. The problem was finally  overcome when Francois-Eugene de Fortenay joined the business in 1840. His solution was to add nickel oxide to the manuacturing process and Baccarat were subsequently awarded a gold medal at the Exhibition of French Industrial Products in 1844. The great significance of thsi developement was that a "crystal" glass was produced, which sought to imitate the naturally occuring rock crystal, which was an still is so sought after.

The quality of work by Baccarat improved throughout  the century as is represented by this fine chandelier.