Justine Fournie - Trudon

Trudon is a well-known French candlemaker. Founded in 1643, it was the provider of the royal court of Louis XIV, as well as most of the great churches of France. It was the biggest wax-producing factory in the French Kingdom during the 17th and 18th centuries. 

Claude Trudon soon became the owner of a shop on Saint-Honoré, which provided its customers with wax, candles for any domestic usage as well as church candles to the neighbouring Saint Roch parish. The candles were homemade, developing and building on a specific manufacturing process.

At the time, wax was under high scrutiny. Carefully collected on the hive, it was bleached through a series of pure water baths that washed off all the impurities. Dried in the open air, the wax was whitened by sunlight. When burning, the flame lit the translucent edges generating the glowing aura of the candle.

In 1737, Jérôme Trudon, heir of the family, purchased one of the most famous wax producing factories of the times that belonged to Lord Pean de Saint Gilles. Pean de Saint Gilles was then the official wax provider to the King. He produced a wax of very high quality, collecting it from the best hives of the kingdom and trading directly with the producers. The wax was washed with the purest water after being filtered with gypsum, guaranteeing the highest quality.

Petersham Nurseries includes a beautiful collection of Trudon candles in its range. Every candle celebrates Monsier Trudon’s favourite discoveries, using ingredients in their purest form from some of the world’s most beautiful regions.