The first voyage into the sky
On 19 September 1783, before the awestruck gaze of King Louis XVI, Queen Marie Antoinette, and a vast assembly of spectators, a sky-blue hot-air balloon ascended above Versailles—carrying an improbable crew: a sheep, a duck, and a rooster. Mere months later, human passengers would follow, inaugurating a new era of aerial exploration.
Montgolfier honours this audacious feat with a faithful reimagining of the original balloon’s ornate decoration—carefully cast in sterling silver and enriched with vermeil detailing.
Enlightened confidence in reason
Beneath the balloon-shaped cap top, ornamental drapery encircles the golden crown, joined by a zodiac ring referencing the Enlightenment belief in a universe governed by harmony and knowledge. At the centre, a lion medallion symbolises regal strength, courage, and the power of Nature mastered by reason.
Heraldry and invention
A golden eagle, wings outstretched in pride, soars across a sky-blue acrylic body. A symbol of vision and ascendancy, it represents both royal patronage and the Enlightenment ideal of knowledge that lifts and liberates. The clip, crafted in lost-wax cast metal, takes the form of a twisted rope—a visual metaphor for the bond between sky and earth, between concept and execution.
A place in history
On the octagonal blind cap, an engraved sterling silver finial features intricate guilloché—a pattern that echoes the woven wickerwork of the original flight’s gondola. Each piece is individually numbered.
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