fredag 15 april 2011

To open or not to open, that´s the question.







I´m sorry for the lack of posting lately, but sometimes things just get to much and this week has been that way. I´ll write something more about Brecourt also, but not today.


Instead of that I´ve got a question of delicate matter I would like to share with you.


Not long ago I won three little bottles of "perfume" on Swedish Ebay, they weren´t that good described and the pics was´nt that good either. But from what I could see there was mini bottles of Cassandra by Weil, Chinchilla by Weil (that wasn´t in fact a Chinchilla, but the much more common Antilope) and also a mini of Flair by Yardley. The Cassandra bottle looked untouched. Well, I´ve got the bunch for about 18 € and I belive it was quite a good deal.


The problem os the bottle of Cassandra. And the that the cellophane is still intact (but very fragile though), the box is in perfect condition and the juice itself is pure extrait! Of course I´m more then curious to find out how it smells and I allready love Zibleine from Weil. And I know that the feeling of carefully open the brittle cellophane, the box and slowly bring out the bottle would be... very, very cool.


But, what if I could sell it to a vintage collector instead? I wonder how much i could get for this rarity? It´s a bottle of exrait in priestine shape and with a perfect box that looks MUCH older then my old bottle of Zibeline. I can´t find any information about this version of Cassandra, so I guess it´s pretty darn hard to find.


As you all know I´ll destroy a big part of the value if I open the box and even more if I dare to open the bottle (which is also probably fragile at least the screwer). If I love it, I wouldn´t care that much, but if I don´t? Also I´ve heard that pure perfume or extrait gets easier spoiled then eau de parfum and eau de toilette, so there is also a danger that it has turned bad and can´t be used as a perfume any more. For a collector it´s more the piece itself then the juice that matters.


The only information about notes I havefound at The Perfumed Court, and they are: anise, styrax, fruits and some floral, doesn´t sound 100% me, but not really the opposite either.


That´s why, dear readersm i´ll leave the desicion to you. Should I open it or should I try to sell it? Another option is of course if any of you feel a crazy urge to buy it from me for about 1200€, I think we can meet an agreement if that´s the case. ;)


So leave your vote in the poll, and I would also love to hear why you think as you do, so leave a comment also. :)



Pic by me

12 kommentarer:

  1. Is it really worth 1200E? In that case, I might suggest selling it. :) Well, not just suggest but stronly urge. ;)

    SvaraRadera
  2. Maybe if you tried to get a sample of it first before opening the bottle? Then you would know if you can live without it and rather take the money.

    Katriina

    SvaraRadera
  3. Ines: I have really no idea how much it could be worth, since I can´t find any information about Cassandra in extrait formulation. That could mean that it´s a real rarity, yet that doesn´t mean it have to be worth so much. Weil is a pretty well known brand and I guess they produced a lot of perfumes so it could probably be worth anything from what I paid for it up to much, much more.

    In the later case it´s also a matter of finding the right buyer. :)

    SvaraRadera
  4. Katriina: The only sample I can find is at perfume court and they want $24 for 1 ml and I don´t think it´s extrait, just edp.

    SvaraRadera
  5. Maybe pose this problem on the forums at Basenotes, to see what those well-informed perfume lovers think?

    You might find someone there who'd like to buy it from you. That in itself would help you to decide whether or not you would like to part with it.

    cheerio, Anna in Edinburgh

    SvaraRadera
  6. Anna: I have started some investigation and wrote a mail to Victoria at Bois de Jasmine that know a lot about vintage fragrances, maybe she can help me a little with age, value and how possible it is that the juice itslef is allready spoiled.

    I have also thought about listing it at Ebay with a very high reservation price to see what happens.

    SvaraRadera
  7. Fragrances are meant to be worn , not looked at , so I say open it and wear it....if you do not like it , it will still have value to someone else .

    SvaraRadera
  8. waftbyCarol: I agree with you, if I know I would like it and wear it (even only oacctionally) I would open it, but what if I don´t like it at all???

    SvaraRadera
  9. gosh I'm really not an expert- perhaps try and sell it but with a reserve price below which you wouldn't sell!

    SvaraRadera
  10. Rose: Me neither, that´s why it´s so hard to decide. But, I´ve thought about -try to- sell with a reservation price. :)

    SvaraRadera
  11. It's been a year since you posted this, have you already open it? :)

    pheromones attract women

    SvaraRadera
  12. Luxury packaging with 35 ml aromatic footprint in the world of perfumes. A distinctive composition of the roots of the natural oud.

    Oud Perfume

    SvaraRadera