Lalique's Empire


There must be few perfume bottle collectors who would not put a Lalique bottle on the top of their wish list. Lalique only began designing perfume bottles at the age of 50 but by the time of his death he had produced stunning and innovative designs, not only for his good friend, Francois Coty but also for Houbigant, d'Orsay, Guerlain, Worth and many other major perfume houses. His influence can still be seen today in the Lalique empire he left behind him. Taken on by his son and subsequently by his granddaughter it is still producing some of the best bottles on the shelves.

Lalique began his career as an apprentice to a Paris jeweler before spending two years studying in London, eventually opening his own shop in 1886. His radical jewelry designs used enamel, glass and horn to replace traditional precious stones and introduced new motifs inspired by Symbolist painting such as swans, peacocks and women with long, flowing hair. His jewelry affected an otherworldly aura and mysterious beauty but his interest in this was gradually surpassed by his love of glass. It was as a glass designer that Coty approached him about some new perfume bottles. Lalique's designs were a huge success and achieved what we now take for granted - the style and image of the bottle reflecting the personality of each fragrance.

Lalique's bottles are now the most collectable of 19th century perfume bottles and the prices paid for mint examples are subsequently high. Prices start at around $1000 for Beautiful Baccarat, Le Baiser, Tzigane and Phoenix. A set of D'Orsay Lalique perfume testers in good condition will sell for around $2000. At the top end of the Lalique market is the Fougeres range. A bottle in good condition can be found from $12000 - $15000. If you find a bottle with the corresponding poster or advertisement, the price will rise accordingly. For the millennium, Lalique produced a limited edition Sylphide bottle. Sculpted in clear, satin-finished and opalescent crystal this bottle embodies the glamour and opulence of the Lalique look. It is hard to get hold of, retailing in selected stores and Lalique Boutiques at around $1000.

Lalique and the Golden Age of Modern Perfume Bottles


The golden age of the modern perfume bottle is generally reckoned to have commenced in 1907. This was when the great French jeweller Rene Lalique went into partnership with his close friend the parfumeur Francois Coty to produce stylish and chic perfume bottles. Lalique's brilliant success in effectively relaunching perfume as a cool, indispensable female accessory for the modern age did not go unnoticed by Coty's rivals. Over the following thirty years Lalique designed and produced over 250 different perfumed bottles for numerous houses including Guerlain, d'Orsay, Molinard, Caron, Houbigrant, Roger et Gallet, Jean Philippe Worth, Lucien Lelong and others besides. Lalique's wonderful perfume bottles are keenly sought by collectors today - as are those of the rival Baccarat glass company - another celebrated manufacturer from the golden age of the commercial perfume bottle.

Prices for Lalique perfume bottles today can go above $1000 or even over $10,000 in special circumstances. Two especially rare and beautiful bottles - Marcilhac 493 and Marcilhac 495 - made $10,062 and $9,200 respectively at auction in Boston in 1996. The world record for a Lalique bottle currently stands at $80,000. In a sense Lalique and the great perfume houses actively conspired to create today's collectables. The perfume makers deliberately packaged their wonderful scents in a manner to make them sought after and scarce. Molinard's 'Madrigal' for example was available in a very limited edition complete with a numbered certificate of authenticity. A complete package with the perfume still sealed should make at least $1200 - $1500 on the collector's market today. Despite Lalique' s clever marketing and undeniable craft many of his exquisite bottles were still thrown away once the temptation to use the fine perfumes they housed was succumbed to. For this reason many of his bottles are very scarce today and should continue to hold their values in the future. Lalique France continue to produce limited edition fragrance sets today. 'Phoenix pour Homme' is modelled on Lalique's celebrated series of automobile hood ornaments and 'Sylphide' incorporates two quintessential Laliquean symbols - the butterfly and the sensuous female form.