Atelier Des Ors
Atelier Des Ors (meaning “The Workshop of Gold” in French) was founded in 2015 by Jean-Philippe Clermont. Throughout his career in fashion and luxury goods distribution, Jean-Philippe has always been an admirer and patron of the arts in all of her forms. Particularly interested in the fusion of disciplines, he fully embraces the spirit of Gesamtkunstwerk, that total work of art in which music, architecture, painting and staging respond to and enrich each other. While Jean-Philippe’s sources of inspiration are manifold and rooted in a hybrid, eclectic background and culture, they all converge on a quest for beauty and elegance as an art of living.
From the outset, Marie Salamagne, perfume designer or “nose” at dsm-firmenich, has accompanied Jean Philippe in his creations. To her, perfume is like Proust’s madeleine: “It has the power to transport, and the emotion it arouses is uncontrollable and powerful. It’s an entity in itself.” She visualizes her creations as tableaux, where hues create contrasts.
The use of gold, both as a source of inspiration and in the actual juice of the fragrances (each of the Atelier Des Ors scents has 24 carat gold flakes floating in them like perfumed stardust!) is a very intentional creative one that goes beyond luxury for luxury’s sake. For Jean-Phillipe, the union of perfume and gold was an obvious one: perfume melts into the skin like a sensual veil, and gold adorns the skin as jewellery. The process of goldsmithing and perfumery are both a kind of alchemy: starting with a rare, sublime and fascinating material, and by using exceptional and meticulous know-how, transforming it into a precious new substance.
Based in Grasse, France (the perfume capital of the world), to Atelier Des Ors, upholding French savoir-faire and commitment to artistry is paramount. They have a “slow” approach to perfumery, a philosophy that infuses each creation with the patience, expertise and meticulous craftsmanship essential to excellence. Their fragrances invite you to embrace the beauty of this state of mind, where time and quality are valued like gold, respected for their preciousness and rarity.
