Fragrance Bottles: Chloé by Chloé
Chloé by Chloé was designed with an outstanding feature—genuine silver plating on the bottle’s shoulders. The silver looks brighter than alternative materials, such as white bronze or chrome. The packaging was designed by Patrick Veillet of Coty Prestige, under the direction of Hannah MacGibbon, also from Coty Prestige.
“Silver gives a feminine look and a softness to the bottle, as well as the perception of luxury, to the consumer,” says Osnat Lustig, vice president of packaging concept development, Coty Prestige.
Traditional silversmith techniques used by jewelers, combined with modern production methods, made this design possible. Qualipac produced the silver-plated collar, which rests on the bottle’s shoulders.
“Coty is the only company I know of doing real sterling-silver plating at this global level of production,” says Eric Vanin, vice president of sales, Qualipac. “It took us three years to master the silver-plating process.” Lustig says that precious-metal plating is a mix of chemistry and alchemy. “An electric current is sent through silver metal bars inside a series of baths infused with conductive liquid mediums. The parts to be plated are submerged into these baths. After a while, a thin layer of pure silver coats the surface,” he explains. Next, the parts were dipped into several additional baths to preserve the surface. The final step was to thoroughly rinse the parts in purified water.
Vanin says that other companies have tried using silver plating before, but that the silver plating tended to oxidize quickly and tarnish. “We found a way to neutralize the oxidation process by protecting the silver layer better,” he says. “Oxidation will still happen, but at a much slower rate. Most likely, the fragrance will be used up by the time the plating starts to tarnish.”
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