More about J.F. Schwarzlose Berlin
Berlin air, Berlin scent
When piano maker Joachim Friedrich Schwarzlose opened a drugstore at Markgrafenstraße 29 in 1856, Berlin was already a major city. It stands to reason that such a city would seek to perfume itself. In the absence of fragrant lavender feathers and sun-kissed roses, which were distilled in the south of France for perfume production, people made do with the achievements of industry.
Thanks to the rapid development of the natural sciences, expensive fragrant waters were created. The cradle of the German fragrance industry was the Spahn & Büttner company, founded in Leipzig in 1829. It supplied the fragrances from which the Schwarzlose family created their bestsellers ‘Rosa Centifolia – the scent of the dark red garden rose’, ‘Hymen, jasmine in perfect naturalness’, the ‘first-class German fantasy perfume Royalin’ and the ‘popular men's perfume Finale’ until the first decades of the 20th century.
While fashion around 1900 still demanded that perfumes reproduce the scent of a flower as accurately as possible – lily of the valley, violet, rose or lilac were the predominant notes of the time – the art of composing olfactory fantasies increasingly came to the fore. Perfumes created from several notes emerged and enriched shop displays in the form of bottles, soaps, powders and pocket sprays, such as ‘Chyperana, a chypre perfume’. The range grew to include room perfumes, hair oils, head waters, eau de toilettes and smelling bottles in a variety of intensities and packaging designs.
J. F. Schwarzlose Söhne: from Berlin to Baccarat
At the turn of the century, the now imperial and royal purveyors J. F. Schwarzlose Söhne launched the women's fragrance ‘1A-33’. The unusual name refers to the car registration code for Berlin – and thus elevates the company's home town to a centre of German perfume manufacturing. The simple glass bottle, in the Art Deco style of the time, echoes the idea of a radiator grille in its shape and label – a reference to the sophisticated lifestyle in the intellectually vibrant German capital, which was already known for its free spirit during the imperial era.
From here, J. F. Schwarzlose Söhne soon sent its first perfume dispenser to the English-speaking world, right at the cutting edge of modernity: ‘Perfume Soap-Powder’ promised four fragrances – ‘Eau De Cologne’, ‘Rosa Centifolia’, ‘Lilaflor’ and ‘Melati Radja’ – which could be sprayed onto a handkerchief for a penny.
The Schwarzlose management came up with other contemporary fragrance compositions, including ‘Treffpunkt 8 Uhr’ (Meeting Point 8 o'clock), ‘Electra Muget’, but also ‘Chic’ with hints of French savoir vivre and the leathery ‘Peau d'Espagne’. With ‘Rose Royalin’ and ‘Violette Royalin’ from 1911, the Schwarzloses even climbed another rung on the ladder of exclusivity: these fragrances adorned bottles from ‘Cristalleries Baccarat’, the famous crystal glass manufacturers from Lorraine.
What is J. F. Schwarzlose Berlin in 2012?
The series of new perfumes from J. F. Schwarzlose Berlin comprises creations that act as a mirror of modern Berlin. Designed for fragrance connoisseurs, bon vivants and individualists, they are confident and self-assured without being loud, cosmopolitan and contemporary, original and authentic, beyond any mainstream attitude.
In other words, they are as eccentric, extravagant and dazzling as the city of Berlin itself. They are based on highly concentrated precious perfume oils, and the bottles and packaging feature a stylish, minimalist and high-quality design. Striking glass bottles with heavy bases, bearing the embossed brand logo in keeping with the historical models, are finished with specially handcrafted, twisted brass caps. The main colours are black and gold, with round labels echoing the brand's traditional logo: a flower formed from the initial letters JFSS.
As a tribute to the brand's history and as part of a revival, the first two new creations build on old successes: ‘1A-33’ and ‘Treffpunkt 8 Uhr’. These interpretations of the Schwarzlose classics exude ‘Berlin air’ and are modern without trying to be avant-garde: fragrances from J.F. Schwarzlose Berlin are characterised by an intellectuality that is free from pretension. They are both rock ‘n’ roll and bohemian. They are extreme, addictive – they carry the heart of Berlin in every note.