This industry was long a rival to that of Lyon because of the quality of its products, and one third of the active population of the city of Tours lived from it in the 16th century.
Today, silk goods from Tours are still well-known, thanks to two companies: Roze and Le Manach (also called Trois Tours).

Printing on silk is done with pieces of wood@NRCO	The Jean Roze silk goods factory The changeover to power looms made it possible to add contemporary designs to the company's catalogue, in addition to the reproductions of old fabrics, which is their main activity. The Court of England has been a customer since Queen Victoria's Jubilee, and the Dutch government has asked the company to work on restoration of the Het Loo castle, which is to Holland what Versailles is to France.
The Trois Tours silk goods factory Le Manach works in a way that is unique in France, using backstrap looms, and its 4,000 types of silk upholstery fabric allow them to respond to all the needs of their customers. These customers have not changed: curators of chateaux and museums, royal families, decorators... 60% of their production is exported to Great Britain and the USA.		Le Manach@NRCO-DL
©NRCO	The last silk dyer The Henri Gardin company still uses traditional silk manufacturing techniques to give the raw skeins of silk the colors that customers desire. The exclusive models that are requested call for taste and know-how to faithfully reproduce the right colors. Opposite: This silk workshop made a chasuble for the Pope when he visited Tours in 1996.
Contacts: Roze Jean SARL Zone artisanale 37310 Chedigny France Tel. +00 33 (0)2 47 92 56 93 Le Manach Georges SA 35, quai Paul Bert 37100 Tours France Tel. +00 33 (0)2 47 54 45 78 Gardin Henri 8, rue des Provinces 37300 Joue-Les-Tours France Tel. +00 33 (0)2 47 53 68 99	@NRCO	Opposite, spinning threads from cocoons. Each cocoon can contain a thread from 800 to 1500 meters long. Silk threads are made up of several cocoon threads.