Duralex

Duralex traces back to 1927, when workshops were established in La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin, just outside Orléans, initially making carboys, jars and glass containers, at one point under Coty perfume ownership as Verreries de la Chapelle Saint-Mesmin. The Saint-Gobain group bought the factory in 1934, and it was inside these workshops that the company developed tempered glass - a process of rapid, controlled cooling that leaves the surface under compressive stress, making the glass several times more resistant to chipping and thermal shock than ordinary annealed glass. The Duralex brand name followed within the following decade or so (sources vary between the late 1930s and 1945), and the company built its reputation on virtually unbreakable everyday glassware rather than fine crystal. Its best-known design, the Picardie tumbler, was created in 1954: a stackable, faceted glass whose slightly flared, ribbed sides became instantly recognizable in French cafés, school canteens and households. Because tempered Duralex glass tolerates temperatures from about -20°C to 100°C, the same tumbler can go from freezer to dishwasher to microwave without cracking, which helped it become one of the most widely distributed glass designs in French institutional catering as well as home use. The company continues to manufacture in La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin today.