Editor’s Note
This article highlights the strategic expansion of Orest Group (LVMH) with a new manufacturing facility in Saint-Dié-des-Vosges, underscoring the luxury sector’s investment in French craftsmanship and industrial heritage.
Orest Group, the French leader in wedding ring manufacturing, and LVMH, the global luxury leader, inaugurated their new manufacturing facility on March 6th. The ceremony was attended by Denis De Becker, President of Orest Group, and Alexandre Arnault, Executive Vice President of Products, Communication, and Industry at Tiffany & Co., the American jewelry and tableware company.
Having been established in Saint-Dié-des-Vosges since 2021, in the heart of nature, Orest currently employs 200 people and plans to reach 300 employees by the end of 2024. This establishment contributes to sustaining and preserving craftsmanship and jobs in the heart of a strategic territory. The company has implemented a training program in collaboration with the Grand-Est region, Pôle Emploi (the French employment agency), the Greta training center, Lycée Baumont, and the UIMM (Union of Metallurgy Industries and Trades). This program enables job seekers and individuals without professional qualifications or those undergoing career transitions to acquire skills in artistic crafts such as jewelry making, stone setting, or polishing.
This is a boon for the Vosges town, where the unemployment rate is around 10% (a figure higher than the national average). The town’s industrial and artisanal past, as well as its geographical location, were also determining factors in the company’s development strategy.
Founded in 1963 in Alsace and acquired by the luxury group in April 2023, Orest Group has quickly established itself as an essential player in French jewelry. The company has built a reputation for excellence thanks to its unique expertise in manufacturing fine jewelry for international markets.
As a privileged subcontractor for the biggest luxury brands (Tiffany, Louis Vuitton, Chaumet, and Dior), Orest Group has experienced significant growth in recent years (nearly 25% per year). With its order book full, the historic production site located in Erstein, Alsace, was no longer sufficient.
This led to the creation of new premises in Saint-Dié-des-Vosges, a true flagship of French artisanal know-how that shines worldwide. The company even aims to develop further locally with the upcoming establishment of a new foundry and the acquisition of another plot of land in the Déodatian valley.
This 2,500 m² site, located in the Herbaville area, equipped with the latest technologies and state-of-the-art equipment, will enable the company to continue its development and meet the numerous demands of its clients, notably by strengthening production capacities and the development of the Tiffany brand in France. In fact, half of the production at the Saint-Dié-des-Vosges facility is expected to be dedicated to the American brand.
With the presence of Aurigane in the town, another jewelry company, and the Claude et Duval factory which collaborates with Houses such as YSL or Balmain, Saint-Dié-des-Vosges could well become a reference territory in the luxury sector.