Rallet, Le No. 1, 120 ml. or 4 oz. Flacon, Eau de Cologne, 1923, Paris, France ..

Rallet, founded 1843 in Moscow by Alphonse Rallet .. 1819 to 1894 .. had become, by 1900, Russia's preeminent manufacturer of fine perfume, soap, and cosmetics and was an official supplier to the royal courts of Russia, Persia, and Montenegro.

By 1855 manufacturing was being carried out in 22 wooden buildings on "warm lane" .. Теплом переулке .. in the Zamoskvoretsky district. Perfumers had been hired from France and raw materials were being sourced from France and Italy. In addition to candles, Rallet also produced perfumes, colognes, soaps, powders, and lipsticks.

In 1855 Rallet achieved the prestigious title of Supplier of the Imperial Russian Household. In this same year The Trading House of Rallet also became owner of the Crystal Factory of Frederick Dyutfua, giving Rallet, for the first time, the capability of manufacturing their own original bottles and decanters. Dyutfua, in turn, became a joint owner and a Rallet shareholder.

Starting around 1855, when Rallet became an official supplier to the Imperial Court of Russia, the company achieved a number of distinctions for its products. Rallet later became official supplier to the courts of Persia and Montenegro. The company was awarded the state emblem of the Russian Empire four times, a very unusual distinction. In 1896 Rallet was purchased by Chiris of Grasse, France, the large Grassois fragrance house founded by Antoine Chiris in 1768.

In 1912, Rallet scored a major success with its Le Bouquet de Napoleon, a fragrance launched with great fanfare to commemorate the centenary of the Battle of Borodino, Napoleon's last victory in his failed Russian campaign. The fragrance was the creation of Rallet's technical director, perfumer Ernest Beaux. In the same year, Houbigant introduced Quelques Fleurs, created by perfumer Robert Bienaimė. Quelques Fleurs was novel in its use of aldehydes which had been synthesized by Georges Darzens in 1903. The inclusion of aldehydes gave Quelques Fleurs a "modern" feeling which fascinated a number of Bienaime's young contemporaries including Chiris perfumers Vincent Roubert, Henri Alméras, and Henri Roubert, and Rallet's somewhat older Ernest Beaux.

The following year Rallet introduced the Bouquet de Catherine honoring Catherine the Great and the tercentenary of the Romanov dynasty. Again the perfumer was Ernest Beaux. When Rallet's Russian assets were nationalized in 1917, the company was reestablished in France. In 1920, Rallet's technical director, Ernest Beaux, created a series of perfumes for Gabrielle Chanel, one of which was the famous No.5.

Beaux created No. 1 for Rallet and it became an immediate success, having a sweet intoxicating scent that felt fresh and modern and was reminiscent of Chanel's No. 5. In 1926 Rallet was sold to François Coty. The brand was revived in 2013 as a tribute to the creator of Russian perfumery. Ernest Beaux had already become famous for his Chanel No. 5 creation, as well as for creating Kobako for Bourjois.

Rallet No. 1 has a similar structure to Chanel No. 5, with sparkling floral Aldehydes in the top notes.

Top notes are Bergamot, Neroli, Citrus, Spearmint, and Orange Blossom
Heart notes are Rose de Mai, Jasmine, Ylang Ylang, Orris, and Geranium
Base notes are Amber, Vanilla, Coumarin, Cinnamon, and Myrrh

Offered here is a very rare two ounce of this wonderful eau de cologne. It bursts with aldehydic citrus notes and then moves to a beautiful rose jasmine accord. This gorgeous scent then dries down with a lovely ambrette vanilla note. It is gorgeous and very hard to find. I have never found another EDC in the Rallet No. 1, and it is so bright and lovely! Gorgeous! Very rare and hard to find nowadays ..