Well known as silversmith to the kings Louis XVIII and Charles X, Jean-Charles Cahier was apprenticed to Martin-Guillaume Biennais, silversmith appointed by Napoleon. In 1801 he became master silversmith and in 1821, after Biennais retirement, he took over his company.

A student of Adrien-Maximilian, maker of gold boxes to Louis XVI and Napoleon. In 1818 he started working independently and registered his first mark in August 1827 and later went to work with the Fossin brothers in 1834, remaining there until 1840.

Founded in Paris in 1820 by Emile Puiforcat, the firm produced originally silver flatware and cutlery. At the end of the century Louis-Victor Puiforcat shifted the focus of the company to high-end silver pieces, especially reproductions of 18th Century masterpieces.

The company was founded in 1804 by Antoine-Vital Cardeilhac, who specialised in silver tableware and cutlery in a fine Rococo style.

Soon, the firm gained notoriety participating to the International Fairs and winning a bronze medal in 1823 and the silver one in 1827 and 1834.

The story of the firm began in 1830 when Charles Christofle (1805 - 1863) arrived in Paris from Lyons to join his brother-in-law’s jewellery firm.

When his brother-in-law died in 1837, Charles took over the business which became, within a few years, one of the most successful and popular silver brands of the last two centuries.