I can say with conviction that sea salt and table salt have virtually nothing in common. One is mild and urges flavor from food, while the other is sharp. These imported sea salts are unprocessed, unrefined and unadulterated. They come primarily from Brittany and other coastal areas in western France. Unlike the table salt familiar to most Americans, which are produced primarily with heavy equipment from mines or solar evaporation, imported sea salt is hand-harvested, using methods that have been passed down from generation to generation for hundreds of years.
Harvesting is limited to about three months of the year.
Most of the harvest is a coarse gray salt, called sel gris. The grayness comes from magnesium, iron and other minerals. On certain afternoons, however, when weather conditions are right, a lacy-white film forms on top of the salt beds. This is the fleur de sel, and because of its delicacy, it must be harvested the same afternoon it's formed. Some fleur de sel containers give the date the salt was harvested, and the name of the harvester.