To Start With......
a mass of cut wood.
The journey begins... For four to six months in our workshops, your object will have benefited from the eclectic gestures of an inspired craftsman.
Planing, adjusting, sanding, varnishing, polishing, sheathing... Constantly innovating, working with rare woods and noble materials,
Elie Bleu knows that to achieve perfection, his hand, with patience, must also be a caress. Through these various manipulations, which cannot be accomplished in a matter of days, Elie Bleu infuses his objects with the creative spirit of a tradition he has been upholding for over 45 years.
Know-how
Elie Bleu has been striving for decades to put all its creativity at the service of its productions, whose tradition is faithfully guaranteed. Elie Bleu has always maintained the exceptional quality of its products, the fruit of genuine expertise. This has been achieved by selecting the finest precious woods and the rarest exotic species, which only a few still work. Marquetry is done by hand, just as jewelers do, requiring countless manipulations before it becomes a true luxury object.
The workshop
On the outskirts of Paris, the factory brings together the best craftsmen often coming from the "Boulle" school and uses the noblest materials to make products of excellence.
Marquetry work requires the use of different species of precious woods cut into delicate shapes, assembled and glued to create a multitude of patterns.
Mother-of-pearl, straw and gold inlays are also used as real goldsmiths' pieces. These processes require a great deal of know-how and precision.
These secrets have always been well protected by highly specialised but above all passionate workers.
Testimonials from our designers and craftsmen:
Episode 1: The Matter
Wood - a living material - is at the centre of all the know-how of the various trades and craftsmen present at Elie Bleu. We use the most precious species and varieties, such as Royal Ebony, Macassar Ebony, Cocobolo, Indian or Rio Rosewood, Walnut burl or Ambony, flamed Sycamore, and many others...
For the veneer, the most beautiful species are chosen and then sliced until these real sheets of wood are obtained. Most often stained to the heart, these elements - an integral part of the identity Elie Bleu - then come to dress the "soul" of the object (technical term designating the inner "body") to reveal an unexpected aspect.
Episode 2: Design & Marquetry
Whether it is for our iconic collections, or for our limited editions, the process of creating a product Elie Bleu always starts with a concept, a design.
In the great French tradition of "element-by-element" marquetry, a close cousin of Boulle marquetry using superimposed cuts, each element is cut according to pre-drawn patterns, then assembled by hand, like a meticulous jigsaw puzzle.
Episode 3: Production of the boxes
The boxes ELIE BLEU close with a characteristic silky sound and its opening line is barely perceptible. Each box is adjusted by hand, piece by piece, using a small planer. As wood is a living material, this operation is repeated several times within a few days or even weeks depending on the weather conditions.
Episode 4: Sheathing & Accessories
ELIE BLEU realizes and adjusts by hand, in its workshops, one by one, the sheathing of the cases and secret cabinets, which will receive: watches, jewels and the most precious objects.