FOR EVERYONE, EVERY DAY, FOREVER

 

The table unites, brings people together and invites them to be carefree. It is a haven, a landmark. Since 1945, the Duralex® brand has drawn its inspiration from the little pleasures of everyday life. 

Duralex® glasses have been designed to accompany you at every moment. Like when you share a meal with your family, or when you have friends over for dinner.

Our tempered glass tableware celebrates life's simple pleasures. It's an invitation to share, a vehicle for emotion, and a bridge between generations.

Our history

Duralex® has been producing our famous tempered glass tableware for over 70 years. As it would take too long to tell you all about it, we've only included the key dates in this wonderful history shared with you.

1927

Birth of an icon

The Duralex® workshops were founded in 1927 in La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin, near Orléans. In the early days, the factory manufactured carboys, jars and glassware for the distillery. 

1930

Like a fragrance of eternity

The workshops were soon bought by Parfums Coty under the name Verreries de la Chapelle Saint-Mesmin. And the gigantic furnaces transformed the sand into finely chiselled perfume bottles.

1934

A strong character

The Saint-Gobain group bought the factory in 1934. And it was within these walls that the manufacturer invented tempered glass, a manufacturing process that gives glass unrivalled strength, and which would later become the Duralex® trademark.

1944

The zero ball

To test the strength of this new material, our researchers suspended a 1kg steel ball 1.50 metres above two glass plates. The first, made of ordinary glass, shattered. The second, made of toughened glass, resisted. The Duralex® brand was born. 

1945

Floor to floor

This new process was first used to produce lighting and glass for the automotive industry. But in 1945, we imagined a new outlet for tempered glass: everyday crockery, for everyone, for ever. And then everything accelerated.

1946

"Guess how old I am?"

The Gigogne® tumbler, our first model, came out of our workshops. Universal and timeless, this crockery item, which has become a cult item, is soon to be found on every table. In canteens, where schoolchildren have fun reading the number on the bottom of each glass to compare their age. But also on the tables of top restaurants. 

1954

Picardie®, of course!

New design. A new model. A new global success. Picardie® glass leaves our workshops and its nine facets, bevelled profile and bold lines quickly make it a must-have for tableware and pop culture.

1956

The glass bowl

The Real Madrid players arrive in France to play in the European Cup at the Parc des Princes. The first thing they do when they arrive in Paris is buy Duralex® crockery and glasses.

1961

High in colour

Duralex® creates its first "mass tinted" glass. The minerals are incorporated directly into the liquid glass. When the glass solidifies, it captures the minerals. This way, the colour retains its brilliance. Even after years. 

2007

A night at the museum

Duralex® glass joined the collection of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris for the "Editing Design" exhibition. Subsequently, Picardie® coloured glasses and Gigogne® bowls and salad bowls even found their way into the shop of MoMa, the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

2012

Bond, James Bond

In the film Skyfall, England's most famous spy enjoys his whisky in a Picardie® glass. Timeless and timeless, Duralex® glasses have become stars of the silver screen. They appear in films by Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen. 

2019

Heritage Days

Duralex® has been awarded the prestigious Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant (Living Heritage Company) label, which rewards historic French companies for their exceptional expertise, combining innovation and tradition.

2021

Deus Pyrex® Machina

The Duralex® brand joins the International Cookware group, renamed La Maison Française du Verre in 2021. This is a stroke of good fortune, bringing Duralex® closer to the Pyrex® brand, the other French champion of glass products. It's also an opportunity to expand Duralex®'s presence and become a key reference, both in France and internationally.

In the workshops

All Duralex® glassware is manufactured in France, in the same factory as in 1946, in La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin. Today, the Duralex® workshops employ 250 people and produce over 350 different types of tempered glass tableware.

Our tumblers are heated, shaped and then rapidly cooled by ventilating them with cold air. It is precisely this thermal shock that gives Duralex® glass its extraordinary strength. The cups are then packed and shipped.

The most French of cups

All Duralex® tableware is stamped with the following symbols Guaranteed French OriginThis is a certification awarded by an independent body to attest to the French origin of a product. And 99% of the raw materials we use come from France. Trucks arrive from Fontainebleau filled with sand, limestone and alumina. Then they set off again for the four corners of the world, loaded with our famous tempered glass cups.

< Discover the Duralex® range >

The secret of solidity

With Duralex®, your glass falls but doesn't break. And its colour remains intact, even after repeated trips through the dishwasher. All thanks to a patented process we invented years ago. Discover the secret behind our legendary glasses.