In deciding to redesign his family crest to embody the Group’s identity, Baron Benjamin de Rothschild wanted to instil a dynamic and contemporary spirit.
The commission entrusted by Baron Benjamin de Rothschild to Philippe Druillet was clear: restore our logo, based on the family coat-of-arms, to its former glory and place it firmly in the modern world, while still remaining true to the rules of heraldry.
- The eagle is from Austria. By imperial decree of the Austrian Court on 29 September 1822, Emperor Francis I raised to the rank of hereditary baron the five Rothschild brothers, Mayer Amschel Rothschild and all their legitimate descendants bearing the Rothschild name, of either sex and without regard to nationality.
- The lion is from Hesse. It refers to William I, Elector of Hesse-Kassel and heir to one of Europe's largest fortunes, the management of which he entrusted to Mayer Amschel Rothschild, founder of the family dynasty. The lion, neither crowned nor armed, is depicted in jagged Zackenstil.
- The five arrows fan out from a compass, reproduced in the central inset. They symbolise the five branches of the family and the five sons of Mayer Amshel Rothschild who left to settle in the five major European capitals of the time: Paris, London, Naples, Vienna and Frankfurt.
- Gold (yellow) and azure (blue) are the historical colours of the Rothschild family. Gules (red) evokes the name Rothschild itself. Sable (black) is the colour of the Austrian eagle.