Visit Baccarat Paris for a Spectacular Collection Lawrence Dunn, November 11, 2023November 11, 2023 Located just east of Paris in Lorraine, the village of Baccarat has been a center for crystal glassmaking for more than 250 years. Louis XV gave the company its royal nod in 1764, but even he had no idea that his brand would survive and thrive for more than two centuries. Today, the firm combines heritage with modernity at its headquarters in a mansion in the 16th arrondissement. There, you’ll find a boutique, a museum, and a recently renovated restaurant. The swanky restaurant features the work of Philippe Starck, who added to the company’s rich history with his own interpretation of its iconic forms. The restaurant is a glittering space where the 157-light Baccarat chandelier is the focal point. Diners enjoy a menu that revisits classic dishes like roasted duck with figs and roast chicken with chanterelles and potatoes mousseline. Then there are desserts like a dreamy peach macaron with sorbet. You can also sip a signature cocktail, or one of the brand’s many wine selections. While the company has stores around the world, visiting its headquarters is the best way to understand its remarkable legacy. The Paris building, built in 1895 as the private mansion of Marie-Laure de Noailles and later the home of a financier, now houses trading halls, a museum, a restaurant, and offices. It was at the Great Exhibitions of the 19th Century that Baccarat really began to impress contemporary observers with its monumental glass fountains, lighting fixtures, and sculptures. The factory’s displays at the 1855 Exposition Universelle, which won the company its first gold medal for a pair of 90-light candelabras, and the 1867 and 1878 fairs drew crowds in their millions and captured the attention of important artistic patrons from Ottoman Turkey to Portugal to Japan to India. One of the more famous Baccarat exhibits came in 1878, when the company displayed a glass ‘Temple of Mercury’ that held a sculpture of the Roman god. It was so impressive that it remained on display for several years at the company’s Paris showrooms before being sold to a collector. In 2003, the company relocated to a former 19th-century Parisian mansion that once served as the home of socialite Marie-Laure de Noailles. In the space, designed by architect Ernest Sanson to resemble a Rococo palace, the company opened its gallery-museum and an elegant restaurant-bar. Since then, it has tinkered with the concept, hosting dinners and other events featuring designers like Philippe Starck, who created his own line of Baccarat items for the brand. Hoisting his slender Champagne flute, Starck praised the “unmatched excellence of the crystal” and toasted the craftsmanship that went into Baccarat’s creations. As the guests applauded, a waiter handed them each a book of quotes and aphorisms by the 18th-century French statesman Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand, whose surname has become a byword for crafty, cynical diplomacy. The event was a celebration of the brand’s new Talleyrand collection, which features glasses, stemmed wine glasses, and platters shaped like the politician’s hat. Main