Agarwood, oudh, oud. Lots of names to describe one of the most precious and prestigious raw materials in the world. Affiliated with royalty, deeply seductive and mysterious, mentioned in the Holy Bible’s song of Solomon, preferred by Sultans, Pharaohs and Arabian princes throughout centuries. Oudh nowadays is called ‘ liquid gold’ as long as its price of $30,000.00 per kilo, exceeds that of gold. But what do you know about it? And at the end of the day, would you go oudh?
Thanks to a very well informed lady in Harvey Nichols I came recently across to one of the most alluring perfumes in the market, Maison Francis Kurkdjian oud. Trust me, it is like no other. Penetrates your subconscious and let you dive in your deepest memories, spreading an untold majesty in the air. Some might find it gross, extraordinary intense or almost animalistic. I personally got enchanted and the feeling I got, gave me a good reason to indulge into the rapidly growing business based on oudh, whose estimated value is of more than 8 billion dollars!
Oudh is a dark resinous heartwood from Aquilaria trees (native to countries of former Indochina such as Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam), and is produced when they become infected with a specific type of mould. The resin is formed by a simple yet rare procedure. As the infection progresses, the tree produces a dark, dense, resin in response to the attack, which has one of the most unique aromas in the world.
Oudh is used to refer to both the resin-saturated wood as well as the oil distilled from it. The best quality oud is produced when the tree is at least 100 years old but as you can understand it almost impossible to find a tree like this in nature after years and years of deforestation. Only 2 per cent of trees will produce agarwood in nature and that is the reason why it is considered as an endangered species. From 17 types of Aquilaria trees, 2 have already extinct, 8 are known of producing agarwood and since the last decades are protected by international laws and foundations. Fortunately it is widely produced artificially by using a technique which infects the bark of younger trees and 99% of times produces the rare, desired resin which resembles the real aroma. As long as the demands of the market have increased enormously, agarwood plantations have been established in a number of Asian countries, and reintroduced in Malaysia and Sri Lanka as commercial plantation crops, giving jobs to thousands of people.
In Middle East and especially in Gulf countries is an integral part of the culture dating back to ancient times. Men use oudh oil on their clothes and skin, especially during Eid and Friday prayers. Is considered as a part of a woman’s dowry which she inherits with her marriage in luxurious, tiny bottles. Japanese shamans use it for meditation as it is believed to activate the upper chakras and sufis use it in their mystical esoteric ceremonies. You want more to give it a try?
In the western world, it was only in 2002 when Yves Saint Laurent introduced us this unique perfume oil , by launching the prestigious M7. A masculine, legendary perfume which contains amongst others, pure oudh extract. Since then, Killian, Tom Ford, Maison Francis Kurkdjian and other top-end niche perfumers started the oudh-mania which increased the profit by millions of dollars. One out of 8 perfumes sold in the market today, contains oudh in some density. Even Body Shop, Molton Brown and other premium toiletry making companies introduced oudh in their products. Everyone seems to want to acquire a drop of its oriental magnificence...