Four French brands team up to create a very special cognac set
The name of this collaboration is most intriguing – L’Odyssée d’un Roi – the Odyssey of a King. Collaboration are a great way to fuse individual talents to create something that is more than the sum of its parts, and this collaboration – bringing Louis XIII together with Hermès, Puiforcat and Saint-Louis – is something truly special.
Inspired by the first shipments of Louis XIII grand champagne cognacs in the late 1870s that brought the elixir to the farthest corners of the globe, the L’Odyssée d’un Roi cognac set recreates the sepia-toned nostalgia of the earliest luxury travellers. Its companions on the journey each contribute a special something to escort the rare blend of Louis XIII cognac: from Hermès, a bespoke hand-stitched trunk using the finest leathers, from silversmith Puiforcat, a hand-forged white gold pipette for the ritual of service, and from royal cristallerie Saint-Louis, a crystal decanter and four serving glasses, mouth-blown, cut and wheel-engraved by hand, with each decanter etched with a 19th century map of its specific destination.
There are three destinations in this odyssey of kings – New York, Hong Kong and London – where the three objets d’art will tour before being auctioned by Sotheby’s in each city from September to November 2016. Proceeds from the auction will benefit Martin Scorsese’s The Film Foundation, devoted to preserving and restoring classic films.
More than 50 individual artisans contributed over a thousand hours to produce the three bespoke cognac sets, each themed around their individual continents – Europe, Asia and America. Completing the set is a book chronicling Louis XIII’s mythical journeys from a 16th century rural battlefield in France to every corner of the globe. Each cognac set carries a reserve price of US$396,000 (RM1.63 million).
