Illuminating History – Exploring the Legacy of Trudon Candles

Iconic French brand Trudon has been a firm favourite at Maze for many years. Commanding central stage in the Home Store, the company's candles always steal the show with their hand-blown green glass vessels and complex, evocative scents.

As the company gets ready to celebrate its 381st anniversary, we take a look at its incredible history.

In the world of candles, few names command as much attention as Trudon – and what else would you expect from one of the world's oldest candlemakers? Steeped in tradition, Trudon has been turning wax into light since 1643.

A lot has happened since Claude Trudon opened his first store on the Rue Saint Honoré in Paris. From being named the Royal candle manufacturer to the French Royal Court in 1719, to winning a gold medal at the World Exposition for remarkable innovation in 1889, to becoming a French living heritage company in 2020, Trudon's innovations are embedded in French history. We love to think that in burning Trudon's candles, we join a customer list that includes Louis XIV, Marie Antoinette and Napoleon.

The candles are handcrafted in Normandy and are still made using traditional methods and the highest quality ingredients. Each candle is hand-poured into beautiful, reusable glass containers that are miniature works or art in themselves. Their fabrication begins by the setup of the wicks, which are set at the bottom of each glass so that they stay perfectly centred. The glasses are then aligned on wooden counters before pouring. The molten wax is mixed with the perfume and poured by hand into the aligned glasses. When the wax is poured, the wicks are softened due to the effect of the heat and they slightly bend inside the glass. When the wax starts to solidify, the wicks are straightened by hand to ensure that the stay perfectly centred. The wick is then cut at a specific height to ensure an optimal first burning. This attention to detail combined with their signature wax blend creates a clean burn and even fragrance distribution that lasts long after the flame has been extinguished.

When asked how the brand has managed to survive for so long and how it will continue to push on into the future, Trudon’s CEO and Creative Director Julien Pruvost says, ‘If you look back at that 380-plus years, what you see is essentially a company evolved in making light bulbs. It’s only fairly recently in the company’s history that we don’t have a really strong functional aspect, since these candles were originally made to help see after dark and to convey a sense of spirituality within the church.’

‘The decorative history of the company is still quite young and small comparatively. But that is the way we’re staying relevant; by transforming this know-how and production capacity that has never ceased to function for a modern audience,’ he continues. ‘We’ve never stopped manufacturing our own products, and we've never stopped improving the state of our art.’

In addition to the wide range of candles available at Maze, the Trudon room sprays and diffusers will add depth of fragrance to your room. Presented in ribbed green glass vessels and adorned with the iconic gold bas-relief seal, the room spray comes boxed with two pumps: a gold atomiser and a traditional gold spray head, making it a beautiful gift. 

How should I care for my Trudon candle?

All of our 270g Trudon candles will burn for 60 hours. Make sure you follow our tips to maximise your candle's performance.

• Allow the candle to burn for roughly two hours to allow an even layer to melt. Otherwise it will lead to uneven burning and the wick appearing sunken.
• Keep the wick trimmed to 5mm. This will increase the size of the flame and you'll see smoke start to appear.
• Leave one finger of wax in the glass once it has burnt down. This will avoid the glass getting too hot and exploding.
• If the wick moves when the wax is melting, make sure you move it back to the centre to avoid uneven burning.
• Use a snuffer to put out the flame to protect the scent.
• Only burn Trudon candles for two to three hours. You won't experience any more scent after this amount of burning, and you'll be wasting the candle.
• Get a cloche to protect and get the most from your candle. Unless the candle is burning, no scent will be coming off it whereas if you buy a cloche and allow the scent from the candle to rise up into it you can then move the cloche to another room and it will act as a diffuser. The cloche also means that no air damages the scent of your candle and they look super smart.