Product

A prerequisite for the awarding of the quality mark. The candles to be tested are taken directly from the production line. Burning time and behaviour are observed in detail. For example, the wick of a thin-form candle may only glow for a maximum of 15 seconds after it has been blown out. Raw materials are also closely examined: Sulphur and heavy-metal content may not exceed strict limits. For example the heavy-metal content must be notably under the limit set for children’s toys as defined by standard EN 71. Tea-lights and “grave-candles” must fulfil special requirements for their intended use. The original inspection is carried out by Dekra, one of the most respected testing and inspection companies in Germany.

This assures a consistent and reliable quality. The manufacturer must continually control their products. Regular burn-tests are carried out to the same stringent criteria as in the original inspection. Production candles must be just as low in soot and smoke, must drip as little and must be as environmentally-friendly as the originally tested samples. Detailed records of the tests and results must be made and archived.

At least once a year the manufacturing site will undergo a control inspection by a neutral assessor. They verify the documentation of the self-assessments and review the results in detail. Additionally samples will be taken again from the production-line and submitted to Dekra for off-site inspection. Any infringements of the test requirements can result in the “Candle Quality Mark” being rescinded.

The pressed, dipped or cast candles can now be further decorated. For example, raw candles could be given a coloured coating. The dipping mass is dyed with UV-resistant pigment. In this way the colours don’t fade and keep their decorative character for longer. The colour-coating is made from a wax that melts at a higher temperature than the candle core. This leads to the formation of a burning-pool around the wick and helps prevent dripping.

Clear or coloured paints can lend the wax an atypical brilliant or glossy finish.

The candles may also be decorated with silk-screen pictures or appliqués.

It is estimated that the candle was invented at least 3,000 years ago. It is known at least that “candles” were in use in the middle-east at this time. They had however little in common with candles as we know them today. They were made from straw, hemp or reed dipped in fat or resin.

It was much later that beeswax was discovered as a fuel for burning. The oldest wax candle in existence came from the 1st century A.D.  It is today kept in the town of Vaison-la-Romaine in Provence.

In the middle-ages wax was so expensive that, like sable skins or linseed, it was accepted as a means of payment. Only the church and the nobles could afford this luxurious source of light. Commoners made do with resinous (and very smokey) pinewood chippings.

It was only at the time of the great industrialisation towards the end of the 18th Century that the hitherto luxury item, the candle, became affordable to all.

Eugène Chevreul, a French professor of chemistry applied for a patent in 1824 for the manufacture of candles from stearin – a waxy mixture derived from palmitic and stearic fatty acids. He followed this in 1825 with an additional patent for a braided and chemically preserved wick. This was the birth of the candle in its modern-day form.