Glass aficionados the world over marvel at the grace, beauty, and style of the glass creations of Reneé Lalique.

Trained at the School of Decorative Arts, Paris, and in London (1878–80), Lalique founded his own firm in Paris in 1885.  

His Art Nouveau brooches and combs attracted great attention at the Paris international exhibition in 1900, after which he became a celebrated jeweller. Among his patrons was the French actress Sarah Bernhardt, for whom he designed some of his finest creations.

Having already been a successful jeweller, Lalique began to experiment with Glass and embarked on this new career at the age of 50. It was to be in Glass making that he earned a worldwide reputation.    

Reneé Lalique soon sought to bring glass art into everyday life by mass producing stemware, tableware, inkwells, clocks, chandeliers, and of course, vases. Some criticized him for being a commercial manufacturer rather than a true artist. Indeed at the height of production, his factories employed up to 600 people to create millions of pieces of glassware.

By 1910 he had established a glass factory at Combs-la-Ville, Fr., and in 1918 he acquired a larger factory at Wingen-sur-Moder, Fr. An order for perfume bottles led him to develop that style of molded glass with which he is generally associated: it is characterized by iced surfaces, elaborate or partially realistic patterns in relief, and occasionally applied or inlaid colour.

His new designs shown at the Paris Exhibition of 1925, greatly enhanced his reputation. Used for luxury articles, Lalique glass was the height of fashion during the 1920s. He was a leading advocate of the use of glass in architecture, and much of his work was in the form of lighting equipment and other details of interior decoration. Under the direction of his son Marc, Lalique's factory continued to produce glass in his own personal style after his death.

Today, Lalique glass is in great demand both from modern production and older designs.