Precious and organic materials

THE SHAGREEN

The shagreen is a leather that comes from ray skin treated by a process of tanning and dyeing developed in the eighteenth century by Mr. Galuchat. Used for the first time in decoration on the microscope offered to Madame de Pompadour, it is mainly in the 30s that the Art Deco style will make it a refined ornamental element of furniture and decorative objects.
We have these handle done in a small workshop in South East Asia.

The natural color of shagreen is in gray-taupe little rewarding of the material so we chose since the beginning to dye this leather with this characteristic green of the art deco period. We also offer a range of custom color in special order in minimum quantities. It is also possible to choose different tannings and polishing from this leather leaving more or less appear the grain of the shagreen, in special order as well.

 

PRECIOUS WOODS

Our planet is increasingly protected. It is indispensable and reassuring. It is therefore more and more difficult to find ebony from Gabon or Makassar, the finely speckled brown leather, «panther skin» or snake wood from Surinam, Cocobolo (blood wood ) Nicaragua or green ebony from Sri Lanka. Local boxwood or olive wood are the easiest to find.

We were very lucky 20 years ago to find an amazing collection of precious wooden handles from the 1900s - 1930s at an auction. Some of these antique handles have become part of an ongoing collection, such as the snake wood of the Rambouillet flatware or the Cocobolo wood of the Neptune flatware. 

 

FOSSILISED CORAL

For Quartet cutlery, SIÈCLE Paris uses two different coral stones, the one with white veins on a pink-red background and the one rarer (and on special order only) which presents something close to small flowers embedded in the stone. 

Fossil coral is a natural stone that is formed when ancient coral is gradually replaced by agate. The proper name for this material is agate coral or agate fossil coral. Today SIÈCLE Paris uses only old coral stone handles found at random auctions.

 

 

 

 

HORN

Noble and attractive, the horn is a material of various colors, more or less "flamed". Formerly the blond horn was particularly prized, but the taste for the ethnic has developed today an attraction for the contrasting tones, with beautiful marbled effects, which one finds especially in the horn of water buffalo (bubalina bulalus).

This horn, which SIÈCLE has brought from South East Asia for almost 15 years, is still hot molded, which also gives a brilliant and durable resistance for a minimum of deformation with use, whereas lesser quality horns are simply cut, which makes them brittle.

CORK

Cork is the bark found in a few trees, including the impressive cork oak. It is this that SIÈCLE uses, and it comes from the fields of Alentejo of Portugal, first producer of Liege. The harvest of the cork is done manually every 5-7 years to allow the tree to reconstitute this bark. This ancestral tradition is always done in the respect of the nature and the tree. Cork protects the tree from insects, cold and bad weather and is often used for its insulating values ​​but SIÈCLE Paris had an entirely different destiny for this amazing material.

On a compact and durable cork chipboard base, a slice of bark is applied, much like a wood veneer. Then receives a waterproofing surface treatment to protect it during daily use.

 

 

CARE

To preserve the material, do not immerse in water, or expose to high heat (>50°C). Clean under a little warm, mildly soapy water when needed or simply wipe thoroughly without washing. To preserve the wood, it must be nourished: vegetable oil or for the maintenance of leather articles. Excess oil can be wiped off a few hours after application.
Dishwasher prohibited.