Clive Christian

Founded 1999 · England · Clive Christian

Clive Christian bought the Crown Perfumery brand in 1999 — a Victorian house from 1872 with Queen Victoria's permission to use the crown on its bottle — and relaunched it under his own name with the promise of making the most expensive perfume in the world. No. 1 came to cost more than a car.

History

Clive Christian was a luxury kitchen designer when he acquired the assets of Crown Perfumery, founded in London in 1872, including Queen Victoria's authorisation to crown the stopper. He relaunched the house in 1999 under his own name, with excess as the explicit argument: raw materials of the highest quality and no price ceiling. In 2001 he presented No. 1, which the press reported as the most expensive perfume in the world, and the Imperial Majesty in a Baccarat bottle with a diamond reached headline figures. The catalogue is now ordered into collections — Original, Noble, Private, Addictive Arts.

Iconic models

No. 1 (2001)
The one the press crowned the most expensive perfume in the world when it appeared.
X (Original Collection)
The most accessible in the house and its best seller.
Jump Up and Kiss Me
From the Addictive Arts collection, the modern and more playful turn.

Worth knowing

The crown on the stopper is real: Queen Victoria authorised Crown Perfumery to use it in 1872, and that authorisation travelled with the brand when Christian bought it more than a century later.