The 1992 Winter Olympics, at Albertville in France, presented a spectacle of stunning landscapes and dynamic expression, rendering an artistic forum for the enterprising talent of 'Lalique'.

This captivating, winter wonderland, featured outstanding athletes who had stretched their creative aspirations to the limit, exhibiting a profound dedication to their craft, persistence in the face of adversity and precision in the pursuit of excellence. It is in this spirit of commitment to perfection that we acknowledge the inspiring achievements of 'Lalique', the prestigious French glass company chosen by the Olympic Committee to design the 1992 Winter Olympic Medals, for the first time in crystal. It is fitting that this unique variation in design specification should be executed by a company whose entire philosophy is based on the free interpretation of nature in art.

The result is an exquisite marriage of finely chiselled crystal set in gold, silver and bronze. Glacial, snow covered mountains, engraved in intaglio on the back of each medal, soar majestically to the sky. Five interlocking Olympic rings overlap the valley floor to complete a picture of winter harmony. The precious metal, encircling the design, hosts the stylised laurel branch above the scene, and displays the words 'XVI Olympic Winter Games' below, creating a flawless, unified image.

'Lalique' is synonymous with French culture and occupies an illustrious position in the developmerit of 'contemporary style'. Their outstanding achievement in the creation of crystal artefacts is well recognised in a country acclaimed for its overwhelming contribution to art heritage.

Lalique is an extraordinary company, not only due to the nature of its quite remarkable product but by virtue of its continuity as a family enterprise. The immense talents of Rene Lalique, born in 1860 at Marne in the Champagne region of France, were inherited first by his son, Marc, and in turn, by Marc's daughter Marie Claude, maintaining three generations of Lalique originality in glassware.

Born into a period of great change in the visual arts, Rene Lalique was influenced by the'Nature' artists of the 19th century. The'Barbizon'group who broke with the restrictions of classical conventions to open up newvistas in'pleine air'painting, and the later Impressionists, heralded the dawn of the modern movement, contributing to one of the most exciting periods in French art.

Rene possessed a rare, natural gift for design and colour. His talents transcend the creative arts, demonstrating an amazing proficiency as painter, goldsmith, jeweller, interior decorator and above all, glassmaker. He was to change the direction of early 20th century design with his bold and vibrant compositions.

Rene joined the jeweller Louis Aucoe, In Paris, at the age of 16 as an apprentice and embarked on a career that would elevate the dull and lifeless jewellery of the time, to the vibrant and exhilarating, 'Bijou moderne'. Early in his career he developed an original and much sought after style, winning the prestigious'Croix de Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur' in 1897.
His natural flair for transposing the real in nature, to the imagined in jewellery, created a turning point in conceptual impressions as he introduced figurative and organic forms and fluid sculptural goldwork, using the contours of the naked female body to suggest the curvaceous 'Art Nouveau' line. The sensuous, graceful female who languishes seductively in bold relief, is a recurring theme throughout his career, arousing an enigmatic spirit with her exquisite face, devoid of expression. Following the stultifying Victorian industrial and military era, the beguiling femininity of the 'Belle Epoque' presented a mysterious, enhancing, feminine platform, for line, colour and composition.

He turned to motifs from nature, flowers and plants in the throes of life and death. The evolution of creation is captured in his evocative, energetic and growth enhancing ensembles. The creatures that live in the earthy, damp patches of the garden, and the gossamer winged insects that flutter at night under the glow of lights, provided a fascinating realm for his imagination. Sea creatures and insects poiseprecariously on the edgeof the elements and dragonflies, wasps and beetles hover over jewelled flowers and ferque was influenced by both European and Asian decorative arts, most notably the Oriental and Persian styles. Much of his preoccupation with natural beings stemmed from a curiosity for flora and fauna which he portrayed in the miniscule detail practised in the art of Eastern cultures.

He perfected the complicated enamelling technique, 'plique a jour' which is seen to perfection on the'dragonfly corsage ornament' an astonishing combination of a female figure with delicate blue-green wings, emerging chrysalis-like from the jaws of the insect. The extraordinary 'wasp pin' in the Museum of Decorative Arts in Copenhagen and the grasshopper tiara and choker from the Gulbenkian Collection are among his most successful insect-inspired works. He had a genius for composition and could transform an original concept and theme into a new dimension. He mixed intrinsically valueless materials like enamels, glass, horn and ivory with precious and semi precious gems, creating contrasts and tactile transformations of the most interesting kind. His work had a life and energy of its own that forever changed the perceptions of artists in their search for the unusual and fantastic.

In 1885, on purchasing the ateliers of jeweller Jules Destape in Paris, he established the company of 'R. Lalique'. Between 1895 and the end of the century he entered upon his period of artistic maturity in jewellery, reaching a peak of perfection by the 1900 'Exposition Universelle in Paris'. The company changed addresses many times, until in 1936 its permanent home was established on Rue Royale.

Lalique became fascinated with glass by the 1890's and from that time on began to incorporate moulded glass motifs into his jewellery. Drawing on the contemporary art movement in France, Lalique sometimes worked with 'pate de verre' and later developed his own special glass, a 'demicristal', sparkling, yet malleable. Economy of line and the Japanese reverence for nature were a great influence. He was a master of atmosphere and could create the seasons, sunsets, icy stillness of winter and the buds of spring. His butterflies, moths, birds of prey were all persistent images in Japanese decorative arts and many of Lalique's moody, supernatural portraits and awesome effigies of nature are a reflection of this influence.

In 1909 Lalique turned his talents and curiosity to the artistic techiques of glass production. His fascination for this material led him into a second life of exploration, at first studying the procedures of glass-making, researching the methods used in melting, molding, blowing and sculpting and then perfecting his craft. During the 1920's and '30s he created works on a monumental scale, in particular, the huge, fifteen metre high fountain, constructed in 1925 for the 'Exposition des Arts Decoratifs' called 'Sources of France'. In 1932 he completed the decoration of the beautiful Church of St Matthew in the town of St. Helier, Jersey, in the Channel Isles, among Y Other unusual and imense projects.

Today, this legacy of Rene Lalique is continued on in the creative hands of his granddaughter, Marie Claude, who perpetuates the traditions of her lineage but infuses her own special sensitivity to nature and innovation in her designs. She has been Chairman and Designer of the company since 1977 and has witnessed a period of great development and expansion.
Michel Iltis, Marketing and Sales Manager and Commercial Director of Lalique, who joined the firm in 1987 at the invitation of the Vice Chairman, points out the current success of the company in economic terms, "We have improved our turnover of 25 million dollars in 1987 to 70 million dollars in 1991. This is a success story that has been given public recognition by the French 'Business Awards'. We are ranked at number thirteen in the development of our turnover and results, out of a select number of'one hundred' in France, and are placed at number one in the luxury business industry."

Michel Iltis displays an obvious pride in the company's achievement and an unguarded enthusiasm and love for its strikingly beautiful product. He attributes success to two important factors, "you have to be creative to get an interest from the market and you must develop communication. It is essential that the public and the press know what we are doing, we must establish both the interest and the demand. Without communication - you have nothing."
The company employs a public relations network of people around the world with Danielle Escher in charge of the Paris office. "I do all of the business from Paris, if we are having an exhibition or launching a new range, I organise a press conference and the information is passed on to the public."

Lalique keeps in touch with a wide audience of people through the medium of television and the mode of sport. In 1987 they established the internationally acclaimed 'Trophee Lalique' designed to promote excellence in the art of figure skating.
Sponsorship of this major competition has allowed Lalique to develop an image that communicates appropriately to a youthful market and encourages a new generation of Lalique collectors. The fifth annual Trophee Lalique took place on November 8-10,1991 in Albertville, as the official pre-Olympic trials for the 1992 Winter Games.

Michel points out the importance of such an event because it focuses international attention on the competition which attracts skaters from all around the world. He draws strong parallels between the glossy coolness of the ice and the purityof crystal, "the grace of the skater and the delicacy of a Lalique figurine have much in common."
The'fellowships'that Lalique provide, give many new skaters the opportunity to participate at tournament level.
"We are basically a cultural company because of our past and we want to prove that we can mix culture with sport. We also sponsor other sporting institutions such as football and rugby."
Three years prior to Albertville, the Winter Olympic Committee approached Lalique to inquire if they would be in a position to create the Olympic medals. "it was an honour to be invited to undertake such a task and a great challenge to combine crystal and metal. The result was a very special design by Mme Lalique."

Marie Claude Lalique has enormous sensitivity for the material with which she works and an instinctive appreciation of nature. She sculpts her designs in soft mallebale 'plasticine', enabling her to understand and control the three dimensional quality of the object. Her highly cultivated sense of movement is transferred to inanimate objects giving them zest and vibrancy.

Danielle Escher believes that Mme Lalique has "an innate sense of crystal, a natural feel for a material that is in her blood. It is a spirit of design that you do not learn, it is just present in some people and absent in others. She is an artist and expresses herself in whichever man-
ner she wants."

Marie Claude's broad abilities with design include an intrinsic flair forjewellery, a natural outcome of the grand legacy of her grandfather. She delights in the smooth and coarse contrast of crystal and metal, creating configurations of mass and space, highlighted by the clarity and intensity of colour. She has a unique talent for combining stunning pigments with clear crystal to produce lively and exhilarating pieces.

Michel Iltis explains their forthcoming venture, which will see the introduction of exciting new materials. "Our jewellery will be a combination of rhodium and crystal. Rhodium is the most precious and rarest metal in the world, and is far more expensive than gold. There are very few mines being worked and the most important is probably the most inaccessible, as it is situated in Iraq. We selected rhodium because of its rare qualities and the belief that it will combine with crystal to produce quite remarkable compositions. We will design and construct display units to ensure maximum visual access to our customers in our boutiques and in other selected shops."

Danielle reminds us that Rene Lalique was both admired and emulated by his peers. "All the famous names in jewellery, Tiffany, Boucheron, Cartier, Van Cleef, were all inspired by this man and admit that he was the father of the modern jewellery movement. He invented all the intricate techniques of workmanship and created such imaginative designs that the whole world copied him. His technical skills were so unique that nobody, even today, can reproduce one of his pieces. He had his own secret processes of production."

Michel litis believes that Lalique has maintained its stable position on the world market despite tough economic times because it is constantly on the move. "We employ a strategy of 'winners', which means that we are doing what we always do but we do more of it. "
Lalique present an annual showing of their new creations to buyers from around the world. This gives the designers the opportunity to test the market with their new ideas, gaining valuable information from the purchasers reaction to the range.

The special links that Rene Lalique adopted in his association with perfume companies, designing aesthetic bottles to display distinctive fragrances, are retained today, by Marie Claude. This tradition was inaugurated by Francois Coty in 1905 who invited Rene to put his splendid creative talents and technical skills at the disposal of the perfume industry. Early this century, Rene Lalique designed exquisite perfume bottles for Coty, d'Orsay, Houbigant and Worth, among many others. The technological and commercial revolution which Rene Lalique initiated was in line with the precepts of Art Nouveau, which sought to reconcile Art with industry.

Marc Lalique's celebrate dailiance with the perfume of Nina Ricci from the early 1940's, saw the superb fragrances of Robert Ricci, displayed in splendid, romantic, perfume bottles that bore all the characteristics of miniature works of art. Marc Lalique's fabulous feel for crystal and its inherent possibilities was displayed many times in his marvellous capacity to demonstrate smooth and angular contrasts and chiaroscuro in clear and frosted glass.

In 1945, Marc took charge of the family business and remodelled the Wingen-sur-Moder factory in Alsace, which had sustained heavy damage during the war. At that time, Marc made full use of his skills as a glassmaker, trained new craftsmen and replaced glass with crystal. An enormous, geometrically shaped crystal chandelier designed by Marc for the 1951 Paris 'Art of Glass' exhibition held at the 'Musee des Arts Decoratifs', hangs today with a watchful eye across the expanse of over 250 pieces of his father's Lyorks, on display in his retrospective exhibition.

Michel Iltis confirms that the tradition of designing perfume bottles continues. "Often we are approached by a big name company to design their bottles. We always ask them what they want, what theme and generally the ideas that they have in mind. We explain that it is our policy to have complete control over the design once an agreement has been reached, to avoid problems that can arise with clients who keep changing their minds. We then ask Mme Lalique if she will design something special for this label. Sometimes she accepts the commission and sometimes she refuses. To produce a piece that is economical a cornpany must be prepared for a minimum of 1500 articles."

Monsieur Michel Iltis views the future of the firm with a great deal of anticipation and looks forward to new and exciting ventures in the nineties. He mentions the probability that Lalique will produce its own perfume label , operating under a separate division. The creative talents of Lalique continue with the launch of a line of 'scarves' in the tradition of Rene Lalique who produced dynamic and fabulous motifs and a new line of china from the recently purchased Limoges factory.

This vital family company has retained its individuality and imaginative spirit for over a hundred years, relinquishing none of its traditions in the pursuit of enduring quality, innovative design and classical style. Lalique has successfully continued to produce legendary French crystal for three generations, adapting and expanding its interests across new international boundaries around the globe.