The provenance of a luxury good and its exclusiveness are two characteristics that matter a great deal to luxury consumers. Just ask Jessica Dunne–she had always loved perfumes and wanted to create a fragrance that appealed to the olfactory memories she associated with her grandmother, a fragrance that would be classic and familiar. Her desire to create a homage to her grandmother led to create ‘Ellie,’ a modern floral perfume with a “vintage ladylike properness” says the New York Times.

Dunne worked with a perfumer in France to create the scent and designed the packaging with the help of friends and family. She sent a sample to the Henri Bendel store in New York, and Claudia Lucas, the perfume buyer there, decided to give ‘Ellie’ a shot.

Sensing that women would like the perfume’s backstory as much as they liked the scent, Lucas noted that “a brand is always a story well told.” Dunne’s story of creating a modern interpretation of her grandmother’s femininity appeals to people looking for familiarity and stability in uncertain economic times. The limited run of 2000 bottles and limited availability in Bendel’s and a few other stores also makes the perfume something that other women won’t have.

A great raison d’être and healthy amount of exclusivity makes it easier for people to interpret a luxury product and understand the difference it can make in how they feel and what they do.

Photo by Ayala Moriel.

Clive Christian has launched the world’s most expensive perfume, setting a new Guinness World Record for a fragrance.

Christian gave the design team an unprecedented brief, instructing staff to create the world’s best perfume, ignoring all cost and sustainability issues. The result is a perfume that will change annually as precious ingredients are exhausted.

With only 1,000 bottles each of men and women’s fragrance released annually, the base product is priced at an eye-brow raising £1,250 for just 30ml. The most expensive bottle in the range, the No. 1 Imperial Majesty, retails for over £100,000. Containing natural aged sandalwood from India and Tahitian vanilla, the bottles are made with Baccarat Crystal and inset with a white diamond on the neck. Only 10 have been produced globally, increasing the exclusivity of the brand.

Fears the elastic brief may have priced the product out of the market appear unfounded however, leading Christian to comment:

We didn’t expect it to be as well-received as it has been, which goes to show that if you produce something so well, the world will respond well to it.

For all the doom and gloom in the diamond industry at present, the problem is clearly not at the demand end.

LVMH profits leapt way above expectations in the first half of the year to 817m Euros–easily beating the analysts’ consensus estimate of 766m…

Watches and jewellery were strong performers, but perfumes and cosmetics were the star performers.