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Lampe Berger: The Air Purifying Fragrance Lamps
Lampe Berger is a luxury air purifying fragrance diffuser. There’s a lot in the news right now about both the dangers and the benefits of essential oil diffusers.
We get it. It’s confusing!
Did you know there is a stylish, high-quality, time-tested fragrance burner that will give you all the benefits of a diffuser without harming your family?
French Berger lamps by Maison Berger use a patented technology that renders them safe to use in the home or office. They look beautiful, and their fragrances are scientifically formulated with personal safety in mind.
Below, we delve into the opulent world of Lampe Berger. With over a century of scented history to explore, it’s quite the tale!
From France to the World
If you have a Berger lamp in your living room or home library, you’re among good company. Style icons and artists like Coco Chanel and Salvador Dali were as obsessed with their Lampe Berger lamps as you are with yours.
Humble Beginnings in Health
Shocked by the appalling conditions of Paris hospitals in the late 1800s, French pharmacist Maurice Berger set about to make a change. To counter the poor ventilation and unpleasant odors, he started working on a lamp that would fill the rooms with fresh scents. At the same time, he crafted a product that would clean the air.
What he created was a catalytic burner lamp that was not only beautiful to look at but also worked effectively. He filled the inside of the lamp with a heady mixture of health-providing Lampe Berger oil and isopropyl alcohol. When he lit the lamp, it emitted a gorgeous scent.
In 1897, he officially started his business, Lampe Berger. He patented his new product in 1898, and in 1901, the French government honored his entrepreneurial spirit with a National New Invention Award. The company, now called Maison Berger, carefully guards its secret aromatherapy recipes and lamp construction techniques to this day.
A Golden Era of Luxury
Riding on the coattails of his success, Maurice Berger was able to retire comfortably at the age of sixty. This was in 1926. Though Berger discussed the future of the company with his family, it was eventually sold to industrial manager Jean-Jacques Faillot one year later.
It was Faillot that made the true success of the lamps we know and love today. Keeping the name Berger, he expanded the range of lamps from around a dozen to over one hundred. He had a simple clear glass burner for those favoring minimalism right up to luxurious models crafted from Baccarat crystal.
Focused on the aesthetics as much as the development of tantalizing fragrances, Faillot worked with leading creators of the day–Camille Tharaud, Lalique, and Galle, among many others–to craft covetable, limited edition bottles from precious materials.
Sadly, just as Jean-Jacques Faillot started to expand into retail outlets for Lampe Berger, his business was halted by the outbreak of the Second World War. After his death, the company passed to his son, Gilbert Faillot, who sold it soon after his retirement in 1973.
More Successful Than Ever
New owner Marcel Auvray pushed the Berger Lampe business into a new era. He built a brand new production plant and worked hard to refresh the range to appeal to contemporary customers. He created two collections: a classic line (to satisfy the needs of the more traditional Berger clientele) and a radically new line of designs.
Today, Lampe Berger is known as Maison Berger Paris. The company has survived two world wars and numerous ownership changes with little alteration of its original mission.
Backed by a 120-year history, the patented diffuser and carefully crafted Lampe Berger oil are as desirable as ever. Maison Berger sells an astonishing 800,000 lamps and 5 million liters of fragrance in over 50 countries every year.
Art of the Craft: Lampe Berger
With standard models and special edition collections released seasonally, there is a Lampe Berger bottle to suit every home. Just as they have been for over a century, the makers craft the bottles from the finest materials–ceramics, precious metals, crystal, and glass. A single lamp offers its owner decades of use.
Delicately Designed for Today’s Homes
From a modest dozen or so lamps, the Berger Lampe collection in 2020 features around one hundred stunning lamps. While many pay homage to the art nouveau origins of the company, some honor the world’s greatest artists.
Still, others are decidedly contemporary, each signed by its designer. Each lamp is handcrafted in France and takes eighteen months of work–from design conception to completion.
When it comes to creating new lamps that are as beautiful as they are useful, Maison Berger has always sought out partnerships with the world’s greatest designers and creatives. Picasso, Coco Chanel, Jean Cocteau, and Colette number among early collaborators.
In 2020, for example, Maison Berger released the Mr. & Mrs. Collection. Created by famed potter Jonathan Adler, the range takes inspiration from the works of Salvador Dali. The bottles feature the artist's infamous mustache and the lips of his muse, Misia Sert.
Highly Collectible
Maison Berger has created a huge variety of beautiful bronze, porcelain, and crystal Berger lamps over the past century.
These antique lamps are highly sought after by passionate collectors. Antique dealers sell them in-store and on websites like eBay and Etsy. Depending on the design and condition, a single lamp can go for hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
If the lamps are still functional, they can sell for even more. Though collectors get excited by vintage lamps, especially those pre-1950s, even if they don't work anymore.
The retired lamp designs are the ones most coveted by collectors. Enthusiasts are even more enthralled if the lamps come boxed in their original packaging.
Berger also releases limited edition collections by famous designers, which are snapped up quickly.
Purifying Fragrances and Provocative Scents
Maison Berger expertly crafts its refined range of Berger Lampe fragrances to purify indoor air and take care of your health. The scent-makers use perfumery science and aromatherapy practices combined with over a century of technical knowledge to create aroma collections that satisfy all the senses.
Early Development
The liquid in Berger Lampes was initially formulated to clean germs, bacteria, and odors from the air inside hospitals. Inventor Maurice Berger was eager to rid health centers in turn-of-the-century France of what he called a “dead and demoralizing” atmosphere.
The user placed the Lampe Berger oil on a heating stone and lit the special Lampe Berger wick. Once they had heated the oil for the requisite amount of time, they snuffed the flame out.
The dual purpose of the fragrances formulated by Berger was to replenish oxygen and dispel odors in a room. It wasn’t until much later that fragrances were added to the essential oils, cementing Lampe Berger’s place in the home. Like today, it was as much a desirable, luxurious, and beautiful product as it was practical.
Inside the Formulation Process
Perfume lies at the very heart and soul of the Lampe Berger business. In it is the DNA of 130 years of development, experimentation, and the pursuit of perfection. The brand, the company says, focuses on creating rich olfactory concoctions with complex, seductive notes.
The entire process pays homage to French traditional perfume-making techniques.
First, the Maison Berger “Nose”, the in-house perfumer, researches future trends. He also reviews ideas sent in from the other master perfumers based at the company's perfumery in the South of France. From these initial investigations, the laborious process of bringing poetry to life through scent begins.
The dozens of Berger Lampe scents fall under seven fragrance families: fruits, florals, fresh, sweet, oriental, pure, and functional. The aromas in each family share similar base characteristics. This makes it easy to select other scents; just choose them from the family you favor.
The Fragrance Range Today
Collections of fragrances fall under the banner of their intended use.
The scents developed for the flagship Lampe Berger stay true to the product’s roots. The catalytic combustion technology of the lamp uses a combination of heat and alcohol to eradicate odors, bacteria, and even mold. Natural air circulation caused by the heat of the lamp helps to move the fragrance around a room.
From the freshness of Pure White Tea to the piquant notes of Zest of Verbena and all the scents in between.
For their Aroma range, Maison Berger focuses on scents that enhance one’s mood and delight the senses. They blend essential oils, their benefits backed by science, with Lampe Berger oil. These fragrances showcase the unmatched talents of the company perfumer in a product that is as natural as possible.
The largest category is the Home Fragrances collection. Standing at fifty different scents and counting, it is in this range that Berger Lampe enthusiasts can explore the company’s seven fragrance families. In all their depth, sparkle, and warmth.
Using a Berger Lamp: The How-to
A Lampe Berger lamp is a lifetime purchase. The burners are of high quality, work effectively, and you can get replacement parts for them, in most cases. However, you must learn to use your lamp correctly if you want it to last a long time.
Setting up a New Lamp
You’ve got your beautiful new Lampe Berger home and you’re excited to get it fired up. Before you do, make sure you understand the steps for success.
The dos:
- Place the lamp on a dish
- Add your fragrance oils
- Allow the wick to absorb the oil
- Light the burner
- Let it burn for two minutes
- Put out the flame
At this point, the catalytic stone has reached the correct temperature and the radiating heat is helping to move the Berger fragrance around the room.
The don’ts:
- Don’t leave the lamp unattended while it's lit or warm
- Don’t light the lamp in a room with no ventilation
- Don’t inhale the fragrance oil
- Don’t place the lamp on top of wooden furniture
If you spill any lamp oil, be sure to wipe it up thoroughly before lighting the lamp.
If you want to use more than one scent, lamp maker Maison Berger recommends having one lamp for each fragrance. This will keep the aromas pure.
Lampe Berger Best Practices
To guarantee the cleanest possible air in your home, you should use your lamp in conjunction with a few other daily activities.
Smoking indoors is a big no-no (for general good health as much as clean air), as is keeping a room too hot. Make sure you air rooms out for at least ten minutes a day, vacuum often, and keep HVAC or central heating vents clean.
Contrary to popular belief, you only need to use your lamp for about thirty minutes each day. This will preserve your lamp and the Lampe Berger wick will last longer.
Have an open floor plan? You can leave the lamp in a central location. If you have rooms separated by corridors and doors, move the lamp from room to room.
Lampe Berger Oil: Don’t DIY
There are a lot of recipes online for making your own Lampe Berger oil, and the instructions are all fairly similar. Essentially, you mix isopropyl alcohol with a few drops of fragrance oil of your choice (or your scent blend). Shake well to combine and pour into your lamp.
But should you do it? Maison Berger says no.
They advise users to avoid putting essential oils, perfume, or water into their lamps. The company's fragrance solutions are specially formulated, and you could damage the lamp or reduce its lifespan if you use other liquids.
If you’re having difficulty deciding the best Lampe Berger bottle and fragrance fit for your existing home decor, consult with an interior design professional. They can help you pick out the most appropriate lamp designs and give you advice on scent selection.
Beautify Your Home With Lampe Berger
Lampe Berger is one of the only fragrance products available today that embodies a rare trifecta of practicality, beauty, and quality. With over one hundred designs available, you can easily find a Lampe Berger near me that will fit with your interior decor. They also make a perfect gift for those discerning family members that have everything.
At Linly Designs, we are experts in the intricacies of Lampe Berger’s elegant designs and fragrances. If you have questions about this exquisite range of air fresheners, don’t hesitate to contact us to discuss your purchase.
