Gold and red have been potent color signifiers for millennia. Together they’re an unspoken code for royalty, power, prosperity, success, passion, good luck and happiness. But for perfume connoisseurs, red and gold also are shorthand for something else: a fragrance with few equals, Baccarat Rouge 540. Now, Francis Kurkdjian, the perfumer at the helm of Maison Francis Kurkdjian, has expanded the Baccarat Rouge 540 universe in a more rarified direction, with the launch of Baccarat Rouge 540 Édition Millésime — an edition conceived expressly as a collector’s piece.
Crafted From Rarity
Devotees of the original scent can rest easy: Baccarat Rouge 540 Édition Millésime won’t just have echoes of the original composition — it will be an expression of it pushed to the limits. Without altering the original inspiration, Édition Millésime appears in its most sovereign and refined form, a fusion of exacerbated minerality, the warmth of fire, and the breath of air instilled by the artisan shaping the crystal.
The French Touch: Unmatched Artisanal Details
What has been entirely reimagined, however, is the flacon. The artist and designer Fred Rawyler, Maison Francis Kurkdjian’s original bottle designer, birthed a vessel with elegant, elongated sides and beveled K-shaped sides. The crystal is a deep, ruby red and is topped with a 24-karat gold cap, echoing the royal lineage of red and gold. A gold engraving beneath the bottle displays its serial number, underscoring its limited edition run.
The bottle represents the coming together of temples of high artistry and impeccable artisanal craftsmanship. Apart from Maison Francis Kurkdjian, other renowned artisanal houses were intricately involved in its making. The full piece (including the “Empreinte” — the crystal piece that cradles the bottle), required 500 hours of work by 19 craftspeople specialized in the arts of glass-blowing, carving, sculpting, and engraving, taking over two years to develop.
It’s delivered to its future collectors in a red lambskin case hand-stitched by Atelier Renard, a renowned leather atelier with saddle making roots, and enrobed in a silk pouch encrusted with pearls, hand-made at Maison Lesage, a haute couture Parisian embroiderer. Finally, it’s placed in a spruce wood chest lined with white leather and beveled mirrors. Since the bottle is refillable, this limited edition promises to be not just a collector’s edition, but a perfume-lover’s heirloom that can delight generations.
An Invitation to a World of Luxury
Beyond the artistry of the fragrance itself, collectors of Baccarat Rouge 540 Édition Millésime are invited to more intangible perks. Each purchase grants entry into Les Amis du Rouge — or the intimate circle of “Friends of the Maison.” Membership extends far beyond ownership, offering long-term access to refills of this coveted scent and exclusive invitations to the Maison’s most discreet gatherings.
More than a fragrance, Baccarat Rouge 540 Édition Millésime becomes a symbolic key — an initiation into the Maison’s inner sanctum and a passport to the luxe life reserved for its most discerning patrons.
