REDISCOVERED
MATERIALS

Exploring new uses, choosing rarely used materials, reinventing those we know by heart and which will nevertheless open up new paths and unsuspected forms of expression: this is the research path taken by many designers. Some explore parchment and linoleum or combine recycled wood and composite plastic. Certain materials like black crystal or obsidian are also inviting themselves onto the object creation scene after a very long absence.

The rebirth of black crystal

As for crystal, when Philippe Starck designed a black chandelier in 2005, which became a cult object, he simultaneously wrote a new chapter in Baccarat’s history and resurrected a forgotten tradition of the prestigious house. And for good reason: black crystal was first invented here in 1844!

The mystery of obsidian

As for the haunting obsidian, born in the fire of the Mount Ararat volcano, south of Yerevan, 2 to 4 million years ago from the meeting of lava and water, it intoxicates many creators. The French decorator Jean-Michel Frank had notably used it as early as 1925 for the base of one of his lamps.

Today, and since the 2000s, after Michel der Agobian (of Armenian origin) rediscovered the know-how of his ancestors’ country and launched into the production of obsidian art pieces, artists and designers have seized upon this powerful and sharp rock. They thus reconnect with the millennial history of this stone from which the sacrificial knives of the Incas, the black mirrors of the pharaohs’ mummies, or the razor blades of the Romans were carved.