Agarwood

What is Oud?

Oud is not wood. Oud is what a tree produces when it is wounded — resin, stored for decades as a defence. This single fact explains the price, the rarity, and the scent.

~1%

of Aquilaria trees produce resin in the wild

20+

years until usable agarwood forms

CITES II

the genus is protected

Resin-permeated agarwood in macro detail
What shines dark here is not wood but resin — the defence response of an injured tree.

From tree to bottle

Twenty years, then six months

Nothing in this sequence can be shortened. That is the entire cost of real oud.

  1. Aquilaria-Baum im thailaendischen Wald

    01

    The Tree

    Aquilaria, Thailand. Twenty years and more before it is even considered.

  2. Harzbildung im verletzten Stamm einer Aquilaria

    02

    The Wound

    Only a wound and a fungus trigger resin formation. About one percent of trees do this in the wild.

  3. Harzhaltige Agarholzstuecke

    03

    The Wood

    Resin-permeated heartwood. The darker the veins, the denser the resin.

  4. Kupferdestille zur Gewinnung von Oud-Oel

    04

    Distillation

    Steam extracts the resin from the wood. From kilograms of wood come millilitres of oil.

  5. Verschlossene Reifungsbehaelter in einem Schweizer Duftlabor

    05

    Maturation

    Switzerland. Each batch rests for six months before bottling. Four weeks would be standard.

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Whether a fragrance contains real agarwood or an accord reveals itself in hours three to six — not in the first ten minutes.

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