Etablissement Du Val D'or

Val d'Or logo in yellow with stylized letters and two curved lines above and below the text

History

Val d'Or was a French tool manufacturer that also made hurricane lanterns in its early years. The name first appears in newspapers around 1918, as Ateliers Val d'Or, based at 49 rue du Mont-Valérien in Saint-Cloud, near Paris.


The company traded as Etablissement Ch. Goujon before becoming Etablissement du Val d'Or in 1923. By 1926 its advertising focused on tools, including hand drills. The name changed again to Outillage Val d'Or in 1930, reflecting its shift toward tool manufacturing.

Tools and later years

In 1930 Outillage Val d'Or partnered with Société Métallurgique du Rhin (Métarhin), another hand-drill manufacturer, to compete against foreign imports and to develop electric drills together. In 1933 the company publicly called for a boycott of German manufacturers over dumping practices that had cut prices by around 30%. From the 1930s on, Val d'Or moved further into electric tools and likely stayed active into the 1960s.

Vintage metal oil lamp with protective wire cage and glass enclosure showcasing the classic design of Dietz lamps

The Val d'Or hurricane lanterns

Val d'Or made one main lantern model in a few variations, plus a small skater's lantern. Based on the catalog evidence available, production likely ran from around 1900 to 1928.


Models:

  • Type A: standard model, steel construction throughout
  • Type B: as Type A, with a copper base on the reservoir
  • Type C: copper base, chimney cover, and tank cap

Skater's lanterns: two versions are known — one with a decorated base, one with a protective cage around the glass
Vintage Val d’Or oil lamp with protective metal frame and glass chimney shown in detailed illustration.

SIF takes over

After 1930 the lanterns continued under the SIF brand: the Type A became the SIF 500 (a common find today), and the Type C became the SIF 501 (rare).

A catalog from Union Industrielle et Commerciale d'Articles d'Éclairage, likely dated 1928–1930, lists both models under these numbers.

Val d'Or Type A

The example shown has a glass globe marked with the Val d'Or logo. A brass screw cap on top gives access for cleaning the internals, and the fuel tank cap is brass as well.
Vintage brass oil lamp with lit flame and glass chimney on a rustic white and brown metal table

Skater’s Lantern

Small skaters lantern with a decoratied base
Antique brass oil lamp with glass chimney and wire handle standing on a wooden surface against a neutral background

Skater’s Lantern

And a second version with a protective cage around the glass.

Sources

Many sources were used for this research. If you have any questions or comments about the information above, please feel free to get in touch.

  • Delcampe.net – Old invoices
  • gallica.bnf.fr – Historical newspaper articles
  • retronews.fr – Historical newspaper articles
  • Inpi.fr – Patent records
  • Geneanet – Genealogical information