Prince Matchabelli, Georgian Carnation, 30 ml. or 1 oz. Flacon, Parfum Extrait, 1941, Paris, France, New York, NY, USA ..

Prince Matchabelli is a well known perfume line. It was first designed by Prince Georges V. Matchabelli who was an amateur chemist. Georges Matchabelli was a Georgian prince who worked as Georgian ambassador to Italy, but fled the Soviet Union and emigrated to the United States after the Russian Revolution. In New York City he and his wife, Princess Norina Matchabelli .. an actress whose stage name was Maria Carmi .. opened a small antiques shop, Le Rouge et le Noir, at 545 Madison Avenue.

The name Le Rouge et le Noir came from Stendhal's novel of that name, which they interpreted as the red for the aristocracy for him and black for the religious .. The Miracle, a famous religious play in which Norina had starred. They later established the Prince Matchabelli Perfume Company in 1926. Perfumes were personally blended for clients by Prince Matchabelli. The first three perfumes were Princess Norina, Queen of Georgia and Ave Maria. The company became known for the many color-coded, crown-shaped bottles designed by Norina after the Matchabelli crown and introduced in 1928 with labels on the underside.

In 1936 Princess Matchabelli sold the company to perfume manufacturer Saul Ganz for $250,000. Ganz then named his son Paul H. Ganz president of the company. In 1941 Prince Matchabelli was sold to Vicks Chemical Company. In 1958, Vicks sold Prince Matchabelli to Chesebrough–Pond's. Chesebrough-Ponds was acquired by Unilever in 1987. In 1986 the division had annual domestic sales of about $140 million, according to company officials. In 1993 the Chesebrough-Ponds division of Unilever sold the Prince Matchabelli brands to Parfums de Coeur.

The crown shaped bottles are highly collectible and some of them warrant higher prices, which is the case with the older perfume bottles. The older Matchabelli crown shaped bottles are all glass, including the cross shaped stopper. These seem to command better princes than their plastic counterparts. The older bottles have colored glass; the later bottles are colored enamel over glass. The tallest bottles stand 6 1/4" tall and the smallest measure just 1 5/6" tall.

The Prince used nothing but the very best ingredients in the creation of his perfumes: Tibetan musk, Abyssinian ambergris and civet, jasmine oil, patchouli, oakmoss, Calabrian bergamot oil, resins, East Indian vetiver and dozens of other essences. The pay off was excellent as in in 1928, Matchabelli's perfumes were awarded the Grand Prix with a gold medal at the expositions in Paris and Liege for their quality and originality.

Perfumes were also created for royalty. Some of these perfumes were Princess Norina, Princess Marie, Princess Nina, Queen of Georgia, Prince Georges and Princess of Wales. Other clients included the Duchess of York, for whom he created a special perfume in her honor, Queen Marie of Romania, and Matchabelli even created a personal perfume for Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt called "Inauguration". King Edward VIII was an avid user of Matchabelli's men's fragrances.

Launched in 1941, Georgian Carnation refers to the Russian state of Georgia, where carnation perfumes were most beloved. Carnation is cultivated in many countries, but carnation absolute is produced only in the south of France. Russia adores carnation perfumes. It possesses floral spicy scent with pepper and clove nuances. Carnation is often used in classical fragrances due to its spicy peppery scent that deepens floral notes, and is especially effective combined with rose scent. Unfortunately today, many perfumers consider carnation to be old fashion, but yet, it is still an unavoidable component in oriental style fragrances, and of course as a soliflore.

Top notes are Orange Blossom and Bergamot
Heart notes are Carnation, Rose, Lily of the Valley, and Gardenia
Base notes are Sandalwood, Clove, and Vanilla

Offered here is a wonderful crown shaped bottle of the Georgian Carnation. Still sealed and never used. No box.