Heirlooms are made in the kitchen. Since our founding in France one century ago, Le Creuset has been hand-crafting high-quality cookware, bringing color and joy to the table for generations. Our founders changed the way the world cooks and entertains when they perfected colorful enameled cast iron in 1925, their innovation inspiring a century of legendary design and performance. As Le Creuset celebrates our 100th anniversary this year, we celebrate more than beautiful cookware that stands the test of time. We celebrate 100 years of colorful meals, milestones and memories—a story that begins in a little town in France but lives on in kitchens around the world.
A Brilliant Beginning
Le Creuset’s journey began in 1924 when iron casting master Octave Aubecq and enameling expert Armand Desaegher met at an international fair in Brussels. The two industrialists soon realized that their expertise could complement each other’s, and they set out to perfect the process of enameling cast iron. Their discovery gave cookware the superior durability and heat retention of cast iron, but with a porcelain enamel coating that made it even more durable, versatile, and easy to clean. By 1925, the men had created a prototype for the vessel that would define their company for generations to come.
The founders’ most brilliant innovation was also a beautiful one: the cookware was enameled in bold, vibrant color. The revolutionary enamel coating was the first of its kind, establishing Le Creuset as the leader in color and design. Le Creuset’s visionary founders chose the small French village of Fresnoy-le-Grand for its ready access to the raw materials needed to produce cast iron cookware. Local artisans joined the foundry to handcraft the individually-cast pots at every stage of the process—just as they still do today in the same small town, one hundred years later.
A Color Legend
Le Creuset’s very first color was a bold, brilliant orange, inspired by the color of molten iron in the crucible. Called “Volcanique” (now known as Flame), the vibrant hue became the first of hundreds of colors the brand has introduced over the years. Today, the secret to Le Creuset’s enduring color leadership lives in the foundry’s famed Color Lab. Behind these doors, creativity, trend forecasting and, most importantly, science come together. Every color Le Creuset produces is the result of precise, painstaking experimentation with chemistry, physics and thermodynamics to achieve the truest, most durable color.
Since 1925, Le Creuset’s color offerings have grown to be the widest in the industry, including our collection of signature hues. Our colors are collected, obsessed over, mixed and matched and cherished. We lead the way in creating colors that captivate people for generations and capture the spirit of the moment.
A Treasured Heirloom
Every pot is full of possibilities. Whether attempting your first loaf of sourdough or stirring up a beloved family recipe for Bolognese, you trust our cookware’s unrivaled performance and quality. Over the last century, Le Creuset cookware has helped new couples launch their life together, equipped world-renowned chefs in their Michelin-starred restaurants, graced the covers of design magazines and brought people together around tables of every size and occasion.
Our offerings have grown since the first cast iron cocotte was produced. Today, Le Creuset crafts cookware and tools in every material and shape a cook might need, from saucepans to spatulas, tea kettles to trivets. For 100 years, we’ve made our cookware to last a lifetime. We’re honored that you make it a treasured heirloom.
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