In 1850, Charles Halphen founded his jeweler's workshop in Paris. The "Alfenide metal" - its name clearly a play on the name of the founder- was used as the base for the silver-plated items of this factory. This was an alloy of copper, nickel and zinc, which was perfect as a base metal due to its silvery shine, in contrast to the brass and copper that was still common until then (which has a yellow-red colour).

The Parisian jeweler and silverware manufacturer -  Christofle - enters into a collaboration with Halphen, in which Christofle makes the designs, Halphen creates the pieces from her Alfenide, and these are then silver plated by Christofle and marketed under the name Alfenide. This gave Christofle the opportunity to address a broader market segment, and provided Halphen with bread.

After Halphen's death, his widow took over. In 1888, Christofle finally took over the factory and continued to produce cutlery under the Alfenide line until around the Second World War. Although it is not very well known, these parts are inextricably linked to the name Christofle. With its beautiful designs and excellent quality, Alfenide remains a quality mark for luxury table settings. The pieces are no longer made these days.