In 1842, he bought from the Elkingtons of England the patents for electrolytic silver plating: a layer of silver on a common metal, and silverware ceases to be a privilege of wealth. His house became the largest silversmith's in France. He died at Brunoy, though his inscription says he died in Paris.
The story
Born in Paris on 25 October 1805, Charles Christofle came in 1820 as an apprentice to his brother-in-law, a jeweller; ten years later he had taken his master's place, and the workshop soon employed fifty hands.
The turning point was 1842: he bought the English Elkington patents for gilding and silvering by electrolysis. The process laid a coat of silver over a base metal — silverware ceased to be a privilege of the rich.
He founded “Charles Christofle & Cie” in 1845 and from 1846 made the pieces he silvered himself: the house controlled the whole chain.
Over the century the works became the largest silversmith in France: the cutlery of the Tuileries palace, the services of the ocean liners, official commissions.
He died at Brunoy on 15 December 1863 — the inscription, for its part, says he died in Paris. He rests in Division 4, avenue Latérale Nord, first row, in the Bouilhet-Christofle-Champetier de Ribes plot, with his son Georges (1839-1907).
The grave
A family grave spanning several generations, where the names of Bouilhet, Christofle and Champetier de Ribes intersect — the silversmith's trade passed down by marriage as much as by sons. The founder's inscription is precise and wrong at once: “Charles Henri CHRISTOFLE, manufacturer, Officer of the Legion of Honour, born in Paris on 25 October 1805, died in Paris on 15 December 1863.” He died at Brunoy.
On site, do not miss
Read the place of death: the stone says “died in Paris”, the registers say Brunoy. Then look for the other names — Bouilhet, Champetier de Ribes: three families of silversmiths in a single grave.
Visitors' questions
Where is Charles Christofle's grave?
In Division 4, avenue Latérale Nord, first row, in a family grave spanning several generations — Bouilhet, Christofle, Champetier de Ribes. His son Georges (1839-1907), a silversmith in his turn, rests there.
Jean-Pierre DantanWhat did Charles Christofle invent?
Nothing, strictly speaking: he bought. In 1842 he bought the electroplating patents of the Elkington brothers of Birmingham, and his real achievement was to turn them into an industry: table silver stopped being an aristocrat's luxury and made its way into middle-class dining rooms.
René LaliqueWhen was the house of Christofle founded?
In 1845, under the name “Charles Christofle & Cie”. From 1846 it was making the pieces it plated. It became the foremost silversmith's house in nineteenth-century France, and it still exists under the same name.
Ferdinand BarbedienneIs there a mistake on his grave?
Yes, about where he died: the inscription says “mort à Paris le 15 décembre 1863” — died in Paris — whereas the registers have him dying at Brunoy, in the Seine-et-Oise. The date is right, the place is not: the error has been in the stone since 1863.
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