This ring-shaped flacon that Alain Boucheron designed himself was specially chosen to hold his first perfume that he felt was worthy of a maharanee. The bottle is a design by Joel Desgrippes and depicts a rock crystal ring set with a large sugarloaf sapphire cabochon in a gilded bezel. Known as the "Bague de Boucheron", the Boucheron ring bottle continued to be a popular design over the years and special limited editions were also produced.
The bottles were made by Saint-Gobain Desjonqueres, their marking is the "SGD" you find in the bottom of the bottle.
The vintage oval bottles holding the original version will have a diamond design containing a representation of the Vendome Column, above the Boucheron name, other vintages have the Boucheron B logo and the Eiffel Tower as one symbol.
- 1988-1997 - Vendome Column logo
- 1997-2004- Eiffel Tower & B logo
- 2004 - present - Boucheron name with no other logo
The oval bottles came in two sizes: 100ml and 50ml for both the eau de parfum and the eau de toilette. The parfum and the eau de parfum bottles have frosted glass sides, the eau de toilette bottles are unfrosted and of exceptional clarity.
The newer round version of the bottle was introduced around 2004 and features a built in sprayer and houses a reformulated version of the fragrance.
Around 1996, a refillable 75ml eau de parfum canister was presented, known as "Les Pluriels", was a sumptuous case, crafted like a one-of-a-kind piece: golden fluting that seems etched into the gold and sapphire blue cabochon. The refill bottles are simple as shown in the photo above. This bottle was also used for the fragrances Jaipur and Trouble in later years.
Ancillary Products:
The success of the perfume line was followed by a sumptuous bath line as costly as most perfumes of their time. The range was expanded to include shower gel, body lotion, body cream, dusting powder and a special powder compact impregnated with the scent of Boucheron.
Elle, Volume 9, Issues 1-4, 1993:
"This is an instance when you might choose a powder for its case. Renowned jeweler Boucheron's Le Poudrier compact, capped with a sapphire cabochon and set in three golden rings, can be considered an accessory, albeit an expensive one. The powder itself is a universal shade, as transparent as mile. It's pressed with Boucheron fragrance and contains a moisturizer and UVA/UVB filters."
An easy way to tell vintage from new? Using the elongated bottle below, you will notice that the words "Boucheron Eau de Parfum" are directly in the center of the circle of the bottle. The old bottles have the wording set lower, towards the base of the circle and not in the center.
Limited Edition Flacons:
For the 10th anniversary of the launch of Boucheron pour Femme, a limited edition bottle was produced of only 1000 numbered examples. Made up of clear sparkling handmade Baccarat crystal decorated with gold gadroons, it held parfum d'extrait in a half ounce size. It was presented in an elegant jewelry case designed in the Boucheron workshop.
Indianapolis Monthly - Nov 1998:
"If money's no object, you can lay down $950 for half an ounce of Boucheron Baccarat Crystal Parfum."
Officiel de la couture et de la mode de Paris, 1999:
"Ten years of Bague de Boucheron, is also the 140 year history of the jeweler. To celebrate the event, the famous bottle is proposed Baccarat crystal decorated with fluted gilded with fine gold. Only 1000 examples produced and numbered. 15ml extrait d'parfum, 900 Francs."
In 2012, a limited edition bottle was produced for the Christmas season which cloaks the bottle in black. The scent has not changed, only the bottle.
"Celebrate the holiday season with this special edition of the classic Boucheron Pour Femme Eau de Parfum. With luminous golden finery, the bottle reflects the craftsmanship and know-how of the magical workshops of Place Vendome. 3.3 oz. $136.00" 2013, also brought a new Christmas limited edition also celebrating the scent's 25th Anniversary, the bottle retains its familiar shape but is encased in opaque white topped with a black and gold cap. The scent has not changed, only the bottle.
"Christmas in white Boucheron, a tribute to the light ...In 2013, Boucheron celebrates 25 years of his great feminine and honors the light, the thread creations joaillier. For her, the famous ring bottle is adorned with an immensely bright white dentate gold and topped with a cabochon onyx color.3.3 oz, $136."Precious Limited Edition Flacons:
L'Express, 1990:
"The precious bottle of Bague de Boucheron, set with 32 diamonds and 4 sapphires, produced only in a very limited series of only 3 examples, 95,000 francs."
Mirabella, 1995:
"And some bottles have inherent value, like Boucheron's Jaipur in a thirty-two-diamond gold-and-crystal bracelet bottle ($30,000) or its eponymous perfume in a ring-shaped gold bottle ($20,000)."
Le Figaro magazine, 1998:
"Boucheron perfume extract ring in its Baccarat crystal bottle and gilding with fine gold limited edition, 15ml, 5,900 Francs."
The Fate of the Fragrance:
Boucheron has been reformulated a couple of times over the years much to the chagrin of its loyal followers. Many of these reformulations were a direct result of the restrictions proposed by IFRA. In 2011, Boucheron signed an exclusive license agreement with Interparfums for the development of their fragrances. The familiar oval bottle was returned to the shelves.
