No house in the realm of fine fragrance is more revered with the appreciation of history than the house of Guerlain, the one "sans prenom" (since there's also Marcel Guerlain, a different outfit). The re-issue of the heritage perfumes, collected as "collection patrimoine" at the flagship store in Paris at Champs Elysees was a move into museum worthy greatness. We have
described & reviewed the re-issued historical Guerlain perfumes on
these pages before thanks to the help of the house's artistic director, Sylvaine Delacourte, and it is my great joy to inform you that the prestige collection which includes
Vega and
Sous le Vent will be itself augmented by the erstwhile addition of another long discontinued gem…
Which is it? Can you hold still?
This time the perfume in question also happens to be encased in a precious, collectible vessel as well.
Coque d'Or from 1937 (in the blue bottle in the shape of a bow, like
Dawamesk, but with gold overlay which always reminded me personally of scarab jewels from Egypt, designed by George Chevalier and raymond Guerlain) is a legend. Composed by Jacques Guerlain of the mature period, it encompasses what is quintessential Guerlain in spirit: the warm amber chord with labdanum and vanilla plus the inky note of oakmoss, overlaid with powdery floral notes that are precious to the makers.
The re-enacted formula undertaken with the care of head perfumer Thierry Wasser is a bet that challenges the contemporary style of the industry (though it will have to conform to contemporary regulations I hear). Its discovery will take place next autumn, before the holidays.
Coque d'or will be a wonderful pilgrimage to the shrine that is Champs Elysees and a covetable item for those who can afford it. May we wish for time to fly!
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| Guerlain's Coque d'or perfume presentation PerfumeShrine.com |
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I was thinking Djedi.
ReplyDeleteThree weeks from now we will be in Paris! I didn't make it to the GUERLAINE shop last trip but this time ... Thanks for this info.
ReplyDeleteHuh, I read Dawamesk and wanted to dance around because I have some of the old stuff and I could certainly fancy more.
ReplyDeleteFair enough, though. And I agree that the world needs more Djedi.
Guet-Apens, guet-apens, guet-apens... Pourquoi-pas? Maybe next time?
ReplyDeleteAnon,
ReplyDeletethat might be in the works too! ;-)
MK,
ReplyDeleteit's a pilgrimage not to be missed.
L,
ReplyDeleteit's a very rare find you have, but I doubt they'd really re-issue it. It seems a bit out of sight out of mind, no one talks about it (contrary to Coque d'Or) though the reason is not the perfume's fault.
Djedi is good, but there's Onda. Perfect sub. ;-P
Anon#2,
ReplyDeleteI kinda think they will at some point. Everything gets re-issued. My only qualm is if GA was expensive to begin with and every re-issue is more expensive than the previous/original edition, then what the hell will it cost!! Thankfully I'm all set for now.