Boucheron is one of those impressive century-old French jewellery houses where Kings and Queens, world famous movie stars and Indian Maharajas bought their impossibly valuable and fascinating pieces for eternity. Coming to think of it, it is high time to write about Boucheron’s jewellery in a blogpost in the “Art of Books” section.
“Ambre d’Alexandrie” from ‘La Collection Boucheron’ is a wonderful oriental gourmand fragrance. To my nose, it is one of the best, if not the best, pear scent. It was certainly the first that joined my collection. Created in 2017 by perfumer Jean-Christophe Herault, the fragrance does not contain the amber perfume ingredient, formerly made from the digestive tract of whales and today replaced by synthetic origins. ‘Ambre’ here means the jewel, like in ‘a necklace made of amber’. The German word is Bernstein.
The scent notes according to the Interparfum website are: bergamot, spirit of narguile, cistus essence, creamy vanilla, ambergris, and benzoin balm. A word to Interparfums: the perfumes by Boucheron have never been closely attached to the jewellery house (owned today by ‘the global luxury group’ Kering) sharing mainly the name. Boucheron gave licences first to L’Oreal, then in 2011 to Interparfums, to produce and sell perfumes under the Boucheron name.
The spirit of narguile, a shisha pipe scent, it probably the fruity and ripe pear that I smell. Cistus is one of my most loved ingredients in perfumes, having a warmth and engulfing beauty that is perfectly combined with benzoin and vanilla. The other scent notes I cannot distinguish. There is a liquorish or syrupy note that I attach to raisins, dried fruit in alcohol or some other liquid. The perfume has positive vibes and shows life at its best. It is delightful like an early summer day in city full of light.
On the Interparfume website, “Ambre d’Alexandrie” is symbolized through a picture of the Egyptian pyramids during an orange-golden sunset – this is the perfect colour of the perfume.
Amber (Bernstein) has that colour, too, and was used and traded even in ancient times as far as Egypt. Amber’s cradle has always been the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. Today’s Russia, the Baltic States, Poland, and Germany are still the main countries of origin. Amber was brought to its highest glamour at the court of the Pharaoh’s. Imagine the dangerous journey a piece of amber made 3000 years ago for over 2000 miles, to come to a country full of light and to be seen in its full beauty.
A quote by perfumer Jean-Christophe Herault adds to the Egyptian luxury feeling, but of newer times. He describes his creation as “an exceptional fragrance inspired by the city of Alexandria, a flamboyant place of encounters and opulence.”
Indeed, spraying the perfume is like being transferred to a place of light and joy. I remember smelling “Ambre d’Alexandrie” first at London airport in 2017, when checking through the new luxury perfumes. The smell really hit me and of course the perfume was immediately bought and always had its special place. It is a masterpiece.
Other perfumes of the ‘La Collection Boucheron’ are also very nice, like “Cuir de Venise”, “Feve Tonka de Canaima”, and “Iris de Syracouse”, but none has the same spirit as “Ambre d’Alexandrie”.
Interparfums made a worldwide successful business though the licence system. They write on their website that they study the market for each new brand for almost a year before they release the first fragrance. They concentrate on scent, bottle, appeal to the buyer and packaging to make a successful product. Under the Interparfums roof different brands like Abercrombie & Fitch, Graff, Guess, Longchamp, Van Cleef & Arpels, and many more found their place in the world of perfumes. The company is listed in the USA and Europe, and they seem to look carefully to find the best market for each product.
The Interparfums website is one of the most down-to-earth websites I know, only when describing the brands they become more colourful. One can download the full investor relations presentation – something I recommend, as one can learn quite something about the perfume business.
We will see what happens to Boucheron’s perfumes now in 2026, as the licence agreement between Boucheron’s owner Kering and Interparfums expired on 31st December 2025. There was not yet more information to find in the internet, unfortunately, as to how the future of the Boucheron perfumes is going to be.
From my point of view “La Collection Boucheron” is the peak of Interparfume’s collection, a real niche luxury brand, perfectly developed and curated. Fingers crossed for a golden and successful future of beloved scents like “Ambre d’Alexandrie”.