Born in Paris in 1860, Lalique was apprenticed to a Parisian jeweler, at the age of 16, while doing night school at the Ecole Des Beaux Arts. He went on to attend School of Art in Sydenham, England where he was inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement of the time. In 1885 Lalique purchased a small workshop in Paris and produced his own interpretation of the emerging Art Nouveau style jewelry and art glass especially vases which he became widely known and noticed for.