The launch of Chanel Number 5 in 1921, presented in a famous little square-cut bottle, was one of the greatest events in the career of Coco Chanel. The formula was created by Ernest Beaux, the outstanding chemist, who was the son of the court employee in tsarist Russia. The meeting between Coco Chanel and Ernest Beaux cannot be explained with a pure coincidence. They were supposedly introduced to each other by the Grand Duke Dimitry of Russia, the friend and lover of Chanel.
No. 5 was the first perfume of Coco Chanel. It was a mixture of 128 ingredients, blended by the chemist. Ernest Beaux was one of the first chemists to start developing synthetic perfumes, using aldehydes to enhance the fragrance of natural ingredients, like jasmine, which was the base of Chanel Number 5.
Ernest Beaux proposed five different formulas and Chanel chose the last.
Coco Chanel designed the bottle of No. 5. The simple square bottle contrasted to fanciful flagons used for perfumes at that time.
In the beginning Chanel Number 5 was sprayed in the fitting rooms of Chanel boutiques. The most valued customers were handed out small bottles of the perfume as gifts. This produced an instant effect of scarcity and exclusivity of the Coco Chanel perfume. Later Chanel widened the market by giving the production and distribution rights to Pierre and Paul Wertheimer, the owners of the large cosmetic and fragrance company. In return she received the 10% royalty for the sales of her perfumes. Due to the outstanding success of Number 5, the royalty insured her financial independence until the end of her life.
Later Chanel added No. 22 (1922), Cuir de Russie (1924), Bois de Iles (1926) and Gardenia (1927) to her fragrance range. Although successful, they could not compete with Number 5 in their sales volumes and popularity.
In 1970 Chanel launched a new perfume. It was called Number 19, after her birthday. This scent has remained popular to this date.
Since the death of Coco Chanel in 1971, the range of Coco Chanel perfumes has been expanded to include Cristalle, Antaeus pour Homme, Coco, Egoiste, Allure, Une Fleur de Chanel, Chance, Coco Mademoiselle and Allure Sensuelle.
Chanel No. 5 remains the worlds top-selling perfume, with sales of about ten million bottles a year.
After the death of Coco Chanel the House of Chanel is in the hands of the Wertheimer family. This is one of the very few fashion houses which has its own perfume factory. The House of Chanel refuses to sell its name to any licensee, but keeps the sole control of all the products that bear the precious and luxurious label of Coco Chanel. next »