Metal: The choice for luxury added value

Seen in "Formes de Luxe",  n° 152 (Winter 2022/23)

LIQUID METAL
 
”Some brands – like Paco Rabanne – have always been associated with metal,” says Bruno Pierrain, CEO at Prad. “Others use it sparingly, but it is essential to luxury codes. As rechargeable options become commonplace, we are seeing more metallization on glass jars and bottles in cosmetics; the longevity of these containers justifies the increased investment.” And while metal still tends to mean gold or silver, “in perfumery we’ve seen demand for transparent metallization, shading, and depth; True Oud by Carolina Herrera and Platinum by Coach are two examples. These variations can only be achieved using liquid metallization.” A top technique at Prad, it uses less energy than vacuum metallizing, says Pierrain. “’Light’ metallization is attractive for sustainability reasons: glassmakers don’t like ceramic in their cullet, and when it comes to recycling only sufficiently transparent glass makes it through the optical sorting process.”
Laser etching reminiscent of goldsmithing is also popular.