The atelier is two rooms at the end of a covered passage in the third arrondissement. One room for making, one for waiting. Most of the work happens in the second.
07:30, the waxes
Candelilla and carnauba melt slowly in a water bath, never above 85 degrees. Above that the oils begin to darken and the red goes brown. The pigments are ground into castor oil the day before and left overnight, so every speck is wet through.
09:00, the pour
A batch is 240 bullets, no more. The colour is poured by hand into brass moulds warmed to the same temperature as the wax, so it does not set from the outside in. The moulds go into the cold room for twenty minutes.
10:00, the slant
Each bullet is cut on a jig at 52 degrees, then the three small facets are pressed in with a warm blade. This is the only step that needs a steady hand, and the only step we refuse to automate. A good cut takes eleven seconds.
11:00 to 17:00, the waiting
The bullets rest for four days before they go into cases. Wax keeps moving after it sets; give it time and the surface stays smooth. A bullet cased too soon will bloom, a white haze on the colour, within a month.
So most of the day is spent on the cases: lacquer coats, sanding between them, polishing the gold bands, checking each click. By evening there are 240 bullets on the racks and 240 cases ready for next week.
18:00
Someone sweeps. Someone writes the batch number on the board. Someone tries the new red on the back of a hand, then on a mouth, and we decide whether it is right. Usually it is not, yet.