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At last: Vintage Dukes of Pall Mall Belgravia - and I owe it all to basenotes (and discovolante)

post #1 of 16
8/30/10 at 12:34pm
Thread Starter 
Well, it's not all that easy to meet other basenoters for me, as most of you are from other countries, but I had tea, coffee and a nice chat today with discovolante from Greece, who was spending some time in Germany with his family. As if that wasn't nice enough, disco managed to fulfill a lifetime perfume dream of mine - he gifted me his bottle of VINTAGE BELGRAVIA. To some it's just a cologne that doesn't work in hot climates, to others it's THE missing link, the grave of Tutanchamun, Atlantis, the Holy Grail - FOUND.

And at first sniff it was clear this was nothing like the more recent bottle I had, just as in the case of Cotswold. Vintage Belgravia is a magnificent perfume that moves from a typical English citrus top with green aspects to a spicy floral heart and concluds with an opulent display of florals and balsamic sweetness. I can't provide details, as my nose has now entirely clogged up due to a nasty cold, but my warped adoration for this defunct house aside, thios really is a very fine fragrance. And I am one happy dude. Thanks basenotes, for connecting me with such wonderful people, and a big big thank you to discovolante for being such a kind, generous pefume fellow.

Yeeha!

P.S.: @Grant - I know you're kind of busy but adding Dukes of Pall Mall with Cotswold and Belgravia to the Directory would be a great service to English perfume history. They truly deserve their little memorial in cyberspace.
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post #2 of 16
8/30/10 at 12:59pm
t_g_l your fascination for this house is beyond my understanding i can sure feel your excitment.
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post #3 of 16
8/30/10 at 1:00pm
Don't you own the formulas and control of the company though?
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post #4 of 16
8/30/10 at 1:36pm
I'm so happy for you. Can you post pictures? I know nothing at all about these.
Are they still produced?
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post #5 of 16
8/30/10 at 2:24pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by DustB View Post

Don't you own the formulas and control of the company though?

Only on April 1sts.
But I wish, man, I wish.
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post #6 of 16
8/30/10 at 2:31pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Renaissance_Man View Post

I'm so happy for you. Can you post pictures? I know nothing at all about these.
Are they still produced?

Nope. Some guy bought the license and made up batches from his house in Harrow, but the quality was low. Nothing has been stirring and no old stock has appeared for a while. If the blurb on the vintage tells the truth (I'm skeptical, as always), then Dukes basically created bespoke perfumes, probably apothecary-style variations on classic English formulas, and Cotswold/Belgravia would have been the only "ready to wear" scents. The reason I'm a bit obsessed with this house is that Cotswold's quality floored me, when I first smelled it (the Aftershave). It's easily my favorite masculine floral. Plus the enigmatic history with very little in evidence left to be found.
I'lll post a pic tomorrow, if I find the time.

Edit: ahh, and as the net grows, new bits and pieces appear. So both these fragrances were launched in 1983 originally, though obviously based on traditional styles:
http://books.google.de/books?id=AXVM...ed=0CCwQ6AEwAA
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post #7 of 16
8/30/10 at 2:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by the_good_life View Post

The reason I'm a bit obsessed with this house is that Cotswold's quality floored me, when I first smelled it (the Aftershave). It's easily my favorite masculine floral.

I always had assumed Cotswald was a citrus-dominated EDC ? Is it more floral, like Acqua Di Genova?
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post #8 of 16
8/30/10 at 3:10pm
Great story.

But what a weird name for a perfume house.
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post #9 of 16
8/30/10 at 4:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DULLAH View Post

I always had assumed Cotswald was a citrus-dominated EDC ? Is it more floral, like Acqua Di Genova?

It is a white floral with some beautifully integrated citrus up front. It has an absolutely killer jasmine note.
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post #10 of 16
8/30/10 at 4:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by the_good_life View Post

Well, it's not all that easy to meet other basenoters for me, as most of you are from other countries, but I had tea, coffee and a nice chat today with discovolante from Greece, who was spending some time in Germany with his family. As if that wasn't nice enough, disco managed to fulfill a lifetime perfume dream of mine - he gifted me his bottle of VINTAGE BELGRAVIA. To some it's just a cologne that doesn't work in hot climates, to others it's THE missing link, the grave of Tutanchamun, Atlantis, the Holy Grail - FOUND.

And at first sniff it was clear this was nothing like the more recent bottle I had, just as in the case of Cotswold. Vintage Belgravia is a magnificent perfume that moves from a typical English citrus top with green aspects to a spicy floral heart and concluds with an opulent display of florals and balsamic sweetness. I can't provide details, as my nose has now entirely clogged up due to a nasty cold, but my warped adoration for this defunct house aside, thios really is a very fine fragrance. And I am one happy dude. Thanks basenotes, for connecting me with such wonderful people, and a big big thank you to discovolante for being such a kind, generous pefume fellow.

Yeeha!

P.S.: @Grant - I know you're kind of busy but adding Dukes of Pall Mall with Cotswold and Belgravia to the Directory would be a great service to English perfume history. They truly deserve their little memorial in cyberspace.

Wonderful news - and what a kind basenoter!!!
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post #11 of 16
9/2/10 at 4:49am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Suppressor View Post

Great story.

But what a weird name for a perfume house.

Do you think so? It follows the common formula [proprietor's name] of [store location], as in Taylor's of Old Bond Street, Aspinal of London etc.

Here's a picture at last the flacon and packaging is actually identical to the Cotswold Special Reservere:
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post #12 of 16
9/2/10 at 4:57am
Love it T_G_L! Congrats!

And Discovolante: what a fabulous gesture!
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post #13 of 16
9/2/10 at 12:35pm
The Holy Grail! Awesome.
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post #14 of 16
9/2/10 at 1:03pm
It's funny there are certain fragrances that I associate with certain Basenotes members - and this scent always makes me think of you t_g_l. Congrats!
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post #15 of 16
9/6/10 at 2:08am
Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.
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post #16 of 16
9/6/10 at 7:30am
I love Basenotes and basenoters little bit more again. Great story and such a beautiful gesture discovolante! I'm happy for you the_good_life.

Beautiful bottle and packaging.
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Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Male Fragrance Discussion › MFD Archive › At last: Vintage Dukes of Pall Mall Belgravia - and I owe it all to basenotes (and discovolante)