Arfaq and V1 Perfume
Added: (Mon Aug 30 2010)
Pressbox (Press Release) -
Arfaq and Arthur Burnham designed and created The Most Expensive Perfume in the World - V1 Perfume
The Ancient Egyptians traveled far and wide in search of scented oils and unguents; Alexander the Great sent emissaries all the way to Oman to procure Arabian incense; while by the 1st Century AD the citizens of Rome were sniffing their way through an estimated 2,800 tonnes of frankincense and 550 tonnes of myrrh annually (in 54 AD the Emperor Nero spent the modern equivalent of $100,000 on scent for a single party.)
Even the notoriously extravagant Nero, however, might have balked at the cost of Parfum V1, a fragrance that is generally considered to be not only the most exclusive in the world, but also by some distance the most expensive.
Blended by legendary English perfumer Arthur Burnham for fashion house Gianni Vive Sulman (Arfaq), the fragrance -- suitable for both men and women -- was inspired by the Phantom V1 Rolls-Royce. Just as only 173 of the latter were ever made, so Parfum V1 was, on its issue in 1998, limited to 173 bottles, each costing a staggering $84,000 (£47,500.)
"Arfaq (the founder of Gianni Vive Sulman) came to me and asked me to design a fragrance that would be unbelievably special, totally unique and extreme in every regard," explains Arthur Burnham. "It was the hardest brief I've ever had, but also one of the most rewarding."
Burnham spent five years developing the scent, going back "into the pre-history of fragrances to create something that wouldn't have been out a place in ancient Egypt."
Roses and resins form the base constituents, with only the very purest and most absolute essences combining to create what has been described as "the most enchanting and irresistible symphony; the ultimate symbol of indulgence, of opulence, or truly impeccable taste."
While the cost the perfume's raw ingredients was, according to Burnham "mind-blowing" -- an ounce of pure rose essence costs more by weight than gold bullion -- the scent itself forms just a part of the overall package.
Parfum V1 is bottled within individually hand-crafted flacons made of ruby-crystal, platinum, 18-carat gold and diamonds, the latter designed by famed Parisian perfume-bottle maker Pierre Dinand.
Each bottle comes in its own exquisite marquetry case -- crafted by the same people who make interiors for Rolls Royce and Bentley -- while each marquetry case comes with its own unique diamond and ruby-encrusted key courtesy of jewelers Graff.
"This isn't something you'd just have sitting on your dressing table," says Lorraine Wilson-Morris, editor of luxury cosmetics magazine Esprit. "It is totally unique, a collector's item."
The Most Expensive Perfume in the World - V1 Perfume
Designed and Created by Arfaq and Arthur Burnham