Organized by ISG Luxury Management in partnership with Luxus+, the Rendez-vous du Luxe gave Emilie Metge Viargues, the CEO and President of Christofle, the opportunity to host a conference at the InterContinental Paris Le Grand on November 17, 2022. A look back at the history, the values and the new signature of this exceptional house.
Christofle was founded in 1830 by Charles Christofle. Born into a family of industrialists specialising in precious metal work, he was fifteen years old when he became an apprentice to his brother-in-law Hugues Calmette, a manufacturer of “provincial jewellery”. Wishing to develop his business, Charles Christofle changed the destiny of his company by turning to goldsmithing.
Charles Christofle revolutionised the production of goldsmiths’ and silversmiths’ wares by registering patents for gilding and silvering using the electrolysis process. The House of Christofle thus became the official supplier to the French state.
Christofle then went on to sublimate the tables of the Orient Express, the transatlantic liner Le Normandie and the Concorde. Today, Christofle still brings its touch of elegance to the greatest restaurants such as the Spoon, the Louis XV in France, all of Alain Ducasse’s establishments in the world, the Circus and the Mercer Kitchen in New York, the Bellagio in Las Vegas, the Taillevent in Tokyo and many others.
Christofle, between tradition and innovation
For decades, Christofle has been perpetuating traditional know-how and celebrating French savoir-vivre throughout the world.
“Chistofle is an art, a fork passes through 100 hands to achieve such quality,” says Emilie Metge Viargues, CEO and President of Christofle.
But the House’s talent also lies in its ability to innovate and adapt to the times. Christofle is constantly reinventing itself and offering a new perspective on the art of the table. Its Mood collection challenges codes, conventions and the traditional French table setting.
Voir cette publication sur Instagram
A new visual identity
Emilie Metge Viargues unveils Christofle’s new visual identity exclusively to ISG Luxury Management students. The Art Recherche Industrie agency and its artistic director Ramdane Touhami have gone back to the roots, reinterpreting the first historical logos of the House. This new modern and timeless signature marks a renewal and a new era of consumption specific to generation Z.
Voir cette publication sur Instagram
Emilie Metge Viargues, explained to the students “Goldsmithing is the quintessence of French luxury, well before anything else that we think of as luxury. In 2022, a few years before its bicentenary, Christofle is reinventing its identity, its signature and its collections by anchoring it in its history to better imagine its future. The boutique at 9 rue Royale has been entirely redesigned as a veritable temple of silverware. A retro-futuristic vision, in the image of the new Christofle signature and confirmation of the House’s anchorage between heritage and modernity.”
Voir cette publication sur Instagram
Read also > Maison Lenôtre : the heritage of French gastronomy
