Point d'Alençon lace was consecrated Queen of laces in 1851, during the first Universal Exhibition in London. Its technique dates back to the middle of the 17th century, when it was introduced to Alençon by a local lacemaker, Marthe La Perrière. Inspired by the Point de Venise - an Italian needle lace technique - and technically perfected, it gave birth to a very fine lace first called Point de France. It became known as Point d'Alençon when Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619 -1683), comptroller general of finances of Louis XIV, granted the privilege of the installation of a royal factory to the Norman city in 1665.