The World’s Most Expensive Perfumes
There are many luxury perfume brands on the market that pride themselves on their opulence and exclusivity. Using rare ingredients and lavish bottles and packaging, some fragrances are priced at a premium. Just how much money do the most expensive perfumes cost? FragranceX set out to find the most expensive perfumes in the world, and the costs of the fragrances at the top of the list may surprise you.
What Is the Most Expensive Perfume in the World?
The most expensive perfume in the world is Clive Christian No. 1 Imperial Majesty, at an incredible $12,058 per ounce. This exclusive limited run of the popular (and also pricey) No. 1 fragrance only produced ten bottles. At a total cost of $205,000 per bottle, this fragrance currently holds the Guinness world record for the most expensive perfume.
Next on the list is Les Larmes Sacrées de Thèbes by Baccarat. The company is known for their glassware — they have created perfume bottles and barware for hundreds of years. Baccarat is now in the high-end perfume industry, as one ounce of Les Larmes Sacrées de Thèbes costs $6,800.
Third on the list is another Clive Christian fragrance. Absolute Vetiver, which is 100% pure perfume oil, costs $5,000 per ounce. The bottle is packaged in a handcrafted walnut burr box that takes artisans weeks to create.
The fourth most expensive perfume in the world is a limited edition of classic fragrance Chanel No. 5. Chanel’s No. 5 Grand Extrait costs an incredible $4,200 per ounce. The original Chanel No. 5 is the most popular women’s fragrance in the world and is generally considered to be one of the best perfumes of all time.
Honorable mention goes to Shamukh created by The Spirit of Dubai. This fragrance is not commercially available, but the 3-liter bottle is estimated to be worth a whopping $1,295,000! The unique Italian crystal bottle is adorned with 3,571 diamonds (for a total of 38.55 carats), pearls, 2.5 kilograms of 18-karat gold, and 5.9 kilograms of silver. It holds Guinness world records for the most diamonds on a perfume bottle and the tallest commercially available remote-controlled fragrance spray bottle.
Why Is Perfume So Expensive?
Many people are willing to pay a pretty penny to smell good. The reason some of the most popular luxury perfumes cost so much is that the ingredients in them are rare. High-end fragrances are typically made from the extracts of natural elements like flower petals or roots, while cheaper fragrances are made from synthetic oils or more common ingredients.
Packaging also plays a part in how expensive a fragrance is. For instance, Baccarat cologne and perfume bottles are considered works of art, and any fragrance contained in one is going to be more expensive than a fragrance in a regular spray bottle. Other bottles are encrusted with precious gemstones or come nestled in handcrafted wooden boxes.
Marketing also adds to the cost of a fragrance. From print ads to television commercials and celebrity spokespeople, manufacturers have to thoroughly market their perfumes in order to get consumers to buy them.