Gallery

30cm Jules Gaillard rondeau

VFC

VFC


This is an unrestored pan that I’m not ready to have refurbished because I think it’s just beautiful as it is.

2018-12-02-15.36.01

  • Type: Tin-lined rondeau in hammered finish with brass handles fitted with three copper rivets
  • French descriptionRondeau étamé et martelé avec poignées en laiton munies de trois rivets en cuivre
  • Dimensions: 30cm diameter by 11cm height (11.8 inches by 4.3 inches)
  • Thickness: 3mm at rim
  • Weight: 5522g (12.2 lbs) without lid; 6962g (15.3 lbs) with lid
  • Stampings: “Jules Gaillard 81 Faubg St Denis Paris” on pot and lid; “3” on pot, “9” on lid
  • Maker and age estimate: Gaillard; 1920-1930s
  • Source: eBay

This pan is right on the edge of needing to be retinned but I’m keeping it in its current shape because I don’t think it quite needs it. Take a close look at the interior tin condition below. There’s no copper showing through, and while the tin is a bit pitted, it’s still smooth and consistent. This, in my opinion, is the condition of tin that’s reached a good working state of low-stickiness for cooking.

30cm Gaillard rondeau

This pan came with what seems to be its original lid, and like the pan, the lid carries signs of age. A proper retinning would polish this away, but it’s likely the copper underneath would be slightly rough and pitted.

30cm Gaillard rondeau

But I’m not ready to have all these marks of age and use polished away. There are several variants of the Gaillard mark, and this pot carries the “straight across” one for Jules Gaillard. (Those drip marks are from cooking, by the way.)

30cm Gaillard rondeau

The handles are brass, and the rivets are copper, but relatively small.

30cm Gaillard rondeau

The underside of the pan has burnt-on polymerized oils from cooking. These are hard to polish off by hand, but if and when I send this pot in for retinning, they’ll take this stuff right off. Also, if this surface looks a little irregular to you, you’re absolutely right: this pot has taken some impacts to its base at some point, and it’s not flat. This slight rock is not a problem for me for cooking but this pot would not be ideal for a glass-topped cooking surface.

30cm Gaillard rondeau

30 centimeters (11.8 inches) is an uncommon diameter for a French rondeau. It’s also a bit tall, perhaps a centimeter or two more than the usual ratio of width to height. It’s a nice shape for cooking.

Note: This post has been updated in October 2021 with a more correct estimate of this pan’s age.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,