Inside An Oman Factory Where The World’s Most Expensive Perfumes Are Made

You can bet on its sillage in a room full of your Chanels and YSLs. The dark, sexy oud is complemented by the romance of frankincense and myrrh, and your nose readies itself for a full-fledged olfactory implosion as you enter the House of Amouage.

A stone’s throw from the city of Muscat in Oman, the exterior drips gold. No, literally. A gilded gold-lined waterbody greets you as you step into the fragrant portals of the House.

This is the perfumery where some of the world’s most expensive perfumes are made. By hand, with care, and boasting an attention to detail only Amouage can boast of.

The brand hasn’t been around for too long. It was only in 1983 that the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said of Oman set out to realise a dream – of reviving Oman’s legendary perfume industry. But before we get to the present, a bit of the past.

For centuries a few thousands of years ago, Oman enjoyed the rare status of being the central point of the frankincense trade route. This route ran from the Mediterranean in the west to China in the east. So, Oman was bang at the centre of it geographically and otherwise. The port city of Dhofar is home to some of the best frankincense in the world. In the dry wadis of Dhofar, it’s the the dryness that sends the prices of Dhofar frankincense shooting: any humidity, and you have sub-par quality.Inside An Oman Factory Where The World’s Most Expensive Perfumes Are Made

You can bet on its sillage in a room full of your Chanels and YSLs. The dark, sexy oud is complemented by the romance of frankincense and myrrh, and your nose readies itself for a full-fledged olfactory implosion as you enter the House of Amouage.

A stone’s throw from the city of Muscat in Oman, the exterior drips gold. No, literally. A gilded gold-lined waterbody greets you as you step into the fragrant portals of the House.

This is the perfumery where some of the world’s most expensive perfumes are made. By hand, with care, and boasting an attention to detail only Amouage can boast of.

Entering the House of Amouage in Seeb, Oman. Photo: Author

The brand hasn’t been around for too long. It was only in 1983 that the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said of Oman set out to realise a dream – of reviving Oman’s legendary perfume industry. But before we get to the present, a bit of the past.

For centuries a few thousands of years ago, Oman enjoyed the rare status of being the central point of the frankincense trade route. This route ran from the Mediterranean in the west to China in the east. So, Oman was bang at the centre of it geographically and otherwise. The port city of Dhofar is home to some of the best frankincense in the world. In the dry wadis of Dhofar, it’s the the dryness that sends the prices of Dhofar frankincense shooting: any humidity, and you have sub-par quality.

Frankincense is harvested by hand, before it makes its way to perfumes. Photo: Instagram/Amouage

This frankincense from Dhofar brought in trade might and money for Oman. The craft of perfume-making lay confined to the contours of the country for years, till Oman’s much revered and longest-serving Sultan, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, decided it was time to raise the curtains and take the scent of Oman to the world.

He commissioned ‘The Gift of Kings’.

The perfume was named ‘Amouage’, a symphony of the French word ‘amour’ for love, and Arabic for ‘wave’. And thus, with the ‘Wave of Emotion’, the world was awash in frankincense. It soon took note of the notes crafted in Muscat. Amouage shot to fame in exquisitely designed bottles; gold-dusted, Swarovski-studded.

The bottles, or flacons, are works of art in themselves. The men’s perfumes take their inspiration from the Khanjar, the Omani dagger. The women’s lines have caps inspired by the dome of a mosque, with a Swarovski crystal on them.

As you go higher in the price index, the bottles become veritable collectibles. The Zadora containers, the rarest Amouage bottles ever created, belong in museums. The price tag is in sync. At $150,000 each, these aren’t perfumes you pick up at your nearest duty-free. They are made to order and kept for eternity… gift fit for a king, indeed.