Favorite Fragrances

[abracax]

Ambergris (Ambra grisea, Ambre gris, ambergrease, or grey amber) is a solid, waxy, flammable substance of a dull gray or blackish color produced in the digestive system of sperm whales.

Ambergris has a peculiar sweet, earthy odor. The principal historical use of ambergris was as a fixative in perfumery, though it has now been largely displaced by synthetics.

Since whaling is now illegal the world over, it is no longer a regular component in perfumes or colognes.

Edited:

Historically, the primary commercial use of ambergris was in fragrance chemistry, although it has also been used for medicinal and flavoring purposes. Ambergris has historically been an important perfume odorant and is highly sought. However, it is difficult to get a consistent and reliable supply of high quality ambergris. Due to demand for ambergris and its high price, replacement compounds have been sought out by the fragrance industry and chemically synthesized. The most important of these are ambroxan, ambrox and its steroisomers, which has largely taken its place and is the most widely used ambergris-replacement odorant in perfume manufacturing [2]. The oldest and most commercially significant synthesis of ambrox is from sclareol (primarily extracted from clary sage), although syntheses have been devised from a variety of other natural products, including cis-abienol and thujone. Procedures for the microbial production of ambrox have also been devised.[3]

As of 2006, raw ambergris fetched approximately US$10 per gram, with much higher prices possible for particularly high-quality samples.[4][5] In the United States, importing, buying, or selling ambergris — including ambergris that had washed ashore — was considered a violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972.[6] In 2001 this ruling was overturned, and ambergris was deemed not to be a byproduct of the whaling industry, since the whale expels this substance naturally.