Accompanied with the gorgeous museum with the squeakiest floors, the complex offers factory tours as well. I had the opportunity to visit, since any excuse is a good one to visit Paris.
The tour was in French, but by understanding ceramics and the history of French porcelain development, I could follow the tour guide. I remember before my exchange year in Columbus Ohio, I could get very tired by listening to spoken English. Now I listen to a lot of French music and it has gotten me used to the fluency. I don't speak French fluently.
So, before kaolin was discovered, the factory used soft paste porcelain. The plasticity of the imitation was a factor. Now the factory uses the development of quartz, feldspar and kaolin - porcelain.
They cast their cups with a turning motion, and since the clay has a memory, must the handle be placed so that it will turn in its place in the kiln.
Everything is made by hand and every single production phase has their own mastering professional. Even the potpourri boat is still in production and the decoration, empty spaces, are cut by hand. The Madame Pompadour flowers, which she had by bouquets, are also done by hand, petal by petal.
I got to touch a Sèvres cast cup handle! At Wedgwoods I was so Finnish that I didn't dare to ask!
At the gilding polishers' workshop I got to learn that Sèvres gold has so many carats that it needs to be polished. It is not like my Parisian gold that has approximately 24 carats, but if I heard right, it has over a hundred carats.
Unfortunately I'm so spoiled by my Wedgwood factory tour that seeing only two workshops was a petite disappointment. But a factory needs to have trade secrets, after all.
