描述
Today, mention of the name Christofle evokes both the elegance of a bygone era and the concept of innovative modern design. The story of this renowned firm dates from 1830 when the young Charles Christofle (1805-1863) took the reins of his family’s small jewelry workshop in the Marais district of Paris. Over the next ten years, with the financial backing of his wealthy sister, Mme. Rosine Bouilhet-Christofle, Charles used his keen managerial skills to enlarge the enterprise and win commissions at home in France and from as far afield as Madagascar and South America. A business visionary, Charles made a brilliant strategic move came in 1842 when he negotiated a license giving him the French rights to the electroplating patents of George and Richard Elkington of Birmingham, England. This, along with the patents of the French chemist Count Henri de Ruolz, enabled Christofle, in 1844, to build a technologically advanced manufacturing plant for plated goods. This step firmly embarked Christofle on its legendary course as manufacturing silversmiths. During the early years of the plant’s operation, the unplated metalwork was often made by other firms. To Christofle, quality was key and he soon began his own manufactory to create his own forms. The firm employed only skilled workman and talented designers and sculptors, including; Mathurin Moreau (1821-1912), Emile Reiber (1826-1893) and Auguste Madroux (d.1870). By the early 1850s, Charles added a line of solid silverware to complement the plated goods. He promoted the firm by exhibiting in international ecpositions where Christofle consistently won critical praise and medals of honor. This acclaim led to important commissions at home and abroad, such as service for Emperor Napoleon III of France, the Sultan Abdulaziz of the Ottoman Empire and later for Emperor Maximilian of Mexico. Once ensconced as silversmiths to royalty, the aristocracy and bourgeoisie soon fell into line as avid consumers of Christofle tableware.
在二十一世紀的今天，Christofle這個品牌的銀器依然代表著法國最精緻的銀匠工藝與最創新的當代設計。Christofle銀器的傳奇，將時間回朔到1830年，由一位年輕的巴黎珠寶工匠Charles Christofle (1805-1863)承接下了家族裡的珠寶工坊，並花費了近十年的時間用心經營。多虧了他的姊姊Mme. Rosine Bouilhet-Christofle在資金上給予援助，Christofle將生意擴大，除了法國本土之外，他還嘗試將生意做大到海外南美洲以及馬達加斯加等地。對於這間珠寶工房的前景，Christofle有一套自己的看法。 他在1842年時下了一個重大決策，他前往英國伯明罕與電鍍專家George and Richard Elkington交涉，表明希望能夠將這門電鍍專利簽下來並且能在法國使用，同時Christofle也簽下了一位法國化學家Henri de Ruolz的專利。這兩項專利讓Christofle的珠寶工坊如虎添翼，於1844年時，已經變為設備和電鍍技術都相當先進和成熟的超級工廠了。而這一步也讓Christofle的珠寶工坊搖身一變，成了銀匠工廠，到了這一步，Christofle的銀器傳奇才正式開始。在起步幾年中，Christofle的電鍍工廠只進行電鍍作業，本來是不親自鑄造銅器的，但是對於Christofle來說，品質大於一切，他斷然決定開一間鑄造廠來生產屬於自己風格的銅器。他的鑄造廠有著相當嚴格的標準，只聘請專業的鑄造師傅、設計師和藝術家，其中不乏一些知名藝術家，包括Mathurin Moreau (1821-1912)、Emile Reiber (1826-1893)和Auguste Madroux (d.1870)等等。在1850年代初， Christofle決定生產純銀銀器來和他的電鍍銀器做搭配。爾後他為了推銷他的生意，便將作品帶來了世界博覽會上參展，結果好評不斷。他的作品經常贏得獎項和榮譽獎牌，在銀匠領域裡是數一數二的常勝軍。這些獎項也讓Christofle贏得了更多的國內外客群的青睞，其中不乏許多重要的皇室貴族人物，包括法國帝王拿破崙三世、蘇丹帝王阿杜勒斯以及墨西哥帝王瑪西米連諾一世。當Christofle的產品與皇室搭上橋梁之後便開始聲名大噪，成了貴族與中產階級圈子裡的夢幻逸品。
