Orris: The world’s rarest perfume ingredient

Re:Orris: The world’s rarest perfume ingredient by numlocked on Tuesday October 09, 2018 @09:23AM (#18175713)

Seems like ambergris[0] would be rarer since you can’t cultivate it in any way. Just have to stumble upon it.

[0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambergris

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Re:Orris: The world’s rarest perfume ingredient by majos on Tuesday October 09, 2018 @09:31AM (#18175778)

A possible explanation, also from the ambergris Wikipedia page:

> Ambergris used to be very highly valued by perfumers as a fixative that allowed the scent to last much longer, but it has been replaced by synthetic ambroxan.

But buyers still exist for the natural stuff.

> A 1.1-kilogram (2.4 lb) lump of ambergris, found on a beach at Anglesey, Wales, was sold to a French buyer for £11,000 at an auction in Macclesfield, England, on 25 September 2015.

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Re:Orris: The world’s rarest perfume ingredient by overcast on Tuesday October 09, 2018 @09:54AM (#18175968)

Saffron is more expensive per pound, and is cultivated. So it's not TOO crazy. Depends I guess on how much is required. (still crazy though)

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Re:Orris: The world’s rarest perfume ingredient by mkstowegnv on Tuesday October 09, 2018 @10:34AM (#18176277)

to summarize in consistent units:

Orris oil 50,000 euros per kg OP BBC story

Ambergris 1,140 euros per kg Wikipedia

Saffron 958-9,583 euros per kg Wikipedia

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Re:Orris: The world’s rarest perfume ingredient by epapsiou on Tuesday October 09, 2018 @09:41AM (#18175846)

I think it has more to do with demand. Ambergris can't be found in large quantities. This makes it useless for big houses like Chanel,Dior,Guerlains etc. The other thing is consistency. The commercial fragrances want their fragrance to smell the same every year. Something you cannot guarantee if you do not know what Ambergris will you stumble upon. These days Ambergris is used mostly by artisan perfumers.

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Re:Orris: The world’s rarest perfume ingredient by sandworm101 on Tuesday October 09, 2018 @10:09AM (#18176078)

>> Just have to stumble upon it.

You can physically remove it from the whales, which is why ambergris trade is illegal in many countries. Even where legal, you have to be able to prove that it was pooped out and found, that you didn't kill a whale to get it.

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Re:Orris: The world’s rarest perfume ingredient by plink on Tuesday October 09, 2018 @12:17PM (#18177213)

I would hazard that Japanese "scientists" must have vaults crammed with this stuff.

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Re:Orris: The world’s rarest perfume ingredient by cobbzilla on Tuesday October 09, 2018 @10:44AM (#18176355)

>> pooped out

technically isn’t the ambergris “vomited up”?

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Re:Orris: The world’s rarest perfume ingredient by sandworm101 on Tuesday October 09, 2018 @02:08PM (#18178351)

It is used in perfume, reason enough for marketers to avoid any "whale poop" descriptions.

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Re:Orris: The world’s rarest perfume ingredient by epapsiou on Tuesday October 09, 2018 @01:41PM (#18178091)

Nope. It is pooped out.

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Re:Orris: The world’s rarest perfume ingredient by cobbzilla on Tuesday October 09, 2018 @01:54PM (#18178223)

Thanks. Wikipedia [1] says you’re right, and also offers me a small condolence that my misconception is fairly common: “Ambergris is usually passed in the fecal matter. It is speculated that an ambergris mass too large to be passed through the intestines is expelled via the mouth, leading to the reputation of ambergris as primarily coming from whale vomit.”

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambergris#Formation

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