The table is among the most ancient stages for luxury: the way a household sets its table has communicated wealth, taste and power for centuries. The houses in this directory are the definitive providers of the finest crystal, silver and porcelain in the world — objects that are purchased not merely for use but for permanence, to be passed through generations as markers of a family's aesthetic history.
Baccarat crystal has been made in the small Lorraine town of Baccarat since 1764, when King Louis XV of France granted permission to establish a glassworks. The company began making lead crystal in 1816 and received its first royal commission from Louis XVIII in 1823. The Harcourt glass — designed in 1841 during the reign of Louis-Philippe — is today as recognisable as any luxury object in the world: it appears on the tables of the Élysée Palace, the Vatican and five-star hotels across Europe. Every piece is made by craftsmen in the original Lorraine workshops, using a lead crystal formula that gives Baccarat its unmatched brilliance and weight.
Christofle transformed the luxury table in 1842 when it patented the electroplating process in France — a technique that allowed silver-quality pieces to be produced at a fraction of the cost of solid sterling. Napoleon III commissioned Christofle for the Tuileries Palace; the brand has supplied French state occasions, the great hotels and ocean liners ever since. Its Albi pattern, introduced in 1935 and still in production, is one of the most enduring designs in silverware history. Herend porcelain, made entirely by hand in the Hungarian town of Herend since 1826, carries the warrant of Queen Victoria — who purchased the 'Victoria' pattern after seeing it at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851 — and has been commissioned by royalty and aristocracy across Europe for nearly two centuries. Each piece is painted by a single artisan, a process that can require several hours for a single plate.