ARQUES, France-Arc International has sold Salviati, the Italian art glass brand, to JL Coquet-Jaune de Chrome, a small French Limoges company.

Arc characterized the sale as part of an effort to refocus on its core business and "reach its profitability objective." It announced last June that it was selling both Salviati and Mikasa. At press time, there was no word on a Mikasa sale.

Patrick Gournay, chief executive officer of Arc, said in a statement, "We are confident that the buyers will put in place the means to ensure the future of the Salviati brand."

JL Coquet-Jaune de Chrome, which generated roughly $9 million in sales last year, is headed by Christian Le Page and Pierre Rohatyn. Neither executive could be reached for comment.

Salviati was founded in 1859 and is well known for its Murano glassware and jewelry. The sale included Salviati's workshop in Murano, Italy.

The JL Coquet and Jaune de Chrome brands are distributed in the United States by DeVine Corp., which will also handle Salviati.

"The combination of the creative talent of Christian Le Page and Pierre Rohatyn, as well as Pierre's wealth of experience in glassmaking on both the technical and creative side, should make for a potent combination yielding interesting product to add to an already potent line," DeVine said. -- Allison Zisko