How Rene Lalique Became Famous

Just like any passionate collector of antique glass you will have surely come across the name Rene Lalique. Antique Lalique glass is a much sought after collectible in today's culture. Rene Lalique initially began as a jeweller, but it was his designs in glass that were to make a lasting impression on the world and his pieces are tremendously valuable throughout the world.

Upon opening his first glassworks in 1902 in Clairfontaine he manufactured designs of decorative panels and glass plaques. Lalique soon applied some of his jewellery making skills to the glass making process and used a technique called "cire purdue" or "lost wax" to create some of his first pieces.

Lalique created perfume bottles for Francois Coty who was one of his first patrons and in total created 16 different perfume bottles in the famous Lalique glass designs. Lalique also created many glass panel windows and other glass objects for Coty in his offices in New York. On the strength of the commissions from Coty, Lalique had to open up a larger glass works in Combs-la-Ville.

After opening the new glassworks in Combs-la-Ville Lalique created perfume bottles for other top perfumers and also started a Lalique line of perfume bottles. Production came to standstill during the First World War, when the war ended Lalique reviewed his glassmaking business and decided to continue with some new and different designs and started to create pairs of love birds and parakeets. This design theme continued throughout the height of his career.

Lalique wanted more, he wanted to be able to create pieces that were affordable for the masses and not just designer pieces, and with this in mind he opened another glassworks with a much bigger production facility in Wingen-sur-Moder. Press moulding techniques were mastered and a line of vases were created including the Naiades, Palestre, Ronces and Archer vases. During the 1920's and 1930's Lalique created some of the most collectible items of today such as car mascots. He created a total of 20 and they were created in the shape of peacocks, horses and roosters.

Also during the 1930's Lalique created tableware, glassware, ashtrays, boxes and clocks. During the great depression of the 1930's the production plant in Combs-la-Ville was forced to close down and with the onset of the Second World War Lalique also had to close another of his production plants. Two days after the end of the Second World War Lalique passed away and production was never continued.

Some of the most expensive and collectible Lalique glass today are the car mascots that are shaped like animals and much of his first creations using the lost wax technique are also highly collectible. Many of the mass produced items that were created during the great depression are not as valuable or collectible as some of the earlier commissioned pieces of glass. Although many of these pieces are less expensive to collect they were all produced to the highest quality and still make a wonderful addition to many Lalique collectors' collection.