1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 362 A Century-Old Perfume Journey
The first lesson I learned at Glass began with the 'olfactory archive'.

The 'olfactory profile' is a membership-like mechanism.

In 1987, large-scale membership systems were not yet widespread, and French companies would use various interesting gimmicks to collect the personal information of potential users.

When the girl created Ronan's 'olfactory profile,' she explained that each of the 365 days of the year has its own representative fragrance. With the certificate given by the 'olfactory profile,' he can smell the special fragrance of his birthday in the perfumery area, and he can also learn about the special fragrance of important relatives around him, such as his wife or his children.

With this interesting setup, tourists are less resistant to leaving their personal information.

This is something we should definitely learn from.

In the future, information such as the nationality and consumption preferences of tourists visiting Lourmaran can be used to guide the production line.

With more information, you can make more targeted recommendations when selling, thereby increasing the sales rate of your products.

Winter is the off-season for tourism in Provence, and today is not a holiday, so Ronan understands that the girl can focus more on herself.

But she repeatedly tried to subtly inquire whether Ronan was married and had children, which puzzled him.

Is this information equally important?
“Your 'olfactory profile' is now complete. If your wife and children visit later, we will compile your information into a family olfactory profile.” The girl smiled and led Ronan and his companion back to the museum entrance. “Would you like me to arrange a guided tour?”

Cherno didn't want anyone to take his job, so he politely declined.
"No need, thank you."

The girl looked at Ronan expectantly again, as if asking:

Sir, you don't need it either?

Ronan replied with a smile:

"No need, thank you. We'll just browse around."

With outsiders present, Ronan felt it inappropriate to ask Cherno questions.

The girl nodded regretfully, clasped her hands in front of her, and leaned forward slightly.
"Welcome to the cradle of perfume. Begin your aromatic journey."

Seeing the girl leave, Ronan couldn't help but ask Cherno beside him:
Are marital status and whether you have children really that important?

Cherno was standing in front of the sign, about to tell Ronan where today's 'fragrant journey' should begin.

To ensure Ronan's trip was worthwhile, he put a lot of thought into his homework, fearing Ronan might find it boring or tedious.

Unexpectedly, Mr. Ronan started asking questions as soon as he entered.

“Very important!” Cherno nodded. “The Grasse International Museum promotes itself as a ‘child-friendly’ museum, with many designs that can immerse children in its environment.”

"A child-friendly museum?" Ronan became even more interested.

He sensed a strong 'conspiracy'!
“I will explain this to you in detail during the tour,” Cherno said with a smile.

Then he pointed to the map in front of him and said to Ronan:

"The Grasse International Perfume Museum, covering 3000 square meters, uses a professional and unique approach to unveil the 'secrets' of luxury goods with an air of mystery to visitors. These are the details on each floor of the museum."

Ronan saw on the map names such as raw materials, plant collection, extraction, distillation, industrial production, and perfume bottles. These different exhibition halls were distributed in various areas on the first three floors of the museum.

Cherno describes it as 'revealing the secrets of luxury goods shrouded in mystery,' but Ronan sees it simply as the various processes involved in making perfume.

The Grasse International Perfume Museum made the perfume-making process its theme for tours. Ronan kept this in mind.

After looking at the map at the entrance, Ronan strode toward the pavilion closest to the entrance, but Cherno stopped him.

“Mr. Ronan, let’s start by browsing the fourth floor.” Cherno pointed to the staircase.

Cherno is our guide today, and Ronan will naturally follow his advice.

As they went upstairs, Ronan asked curiously:

Why start looking from the fourth floor?

Cherno is like a child seeking praise:
“The magazine I work for has done a lot of content on the Grasse International Perfume Museum, and I’ve also come into contact with thousands of visitors. Based on my analysis, starting the tour from the fourth floor can increase the enthusiasm for subsequent visits.”

After saying that, he winked at Ronan:

"This is inside information; most people don't know it."

Ronan smiled at Cherno:

"I can't wait to see what's on display on the fourth floor." He had looked at the map on the first floor; all four floors were dedicated to displaying rare and precious items.

Guide Cherno introduced Ronan in an enthusiastic tone:
"The Fox family owns more than 5 items related to fragrance from various periods. Some are in museums in Grasse, some in museums in Paris, and others are private collections of family members."

Stepping into the fourth-floor exhibition hall, Ronan immediately felt as if he had returned to Gold.

The display methods, lighting design, and decoration style here are no different from those of the top large-scale art exhibitions in Provence.

Perhaps influenced by the environment, Cherno's voice softened, not wanting to disturb other tourists or the centuries-old artifacts at rest.
"Regardless of the era or popular style, perfume exists in three forms: liquid, solid, and gas. As collectibles, the Grasse International Perfume Museum showcases various aspects of perfume and its diverse uses to visitors in chronological and historical order."

Just as Cherno said, visiting from the fourth floor does indeed pique curiosity about what's to come, and it seems as if a new world has opened up before Ronan.

It allowed him, someone who knew nothing about perfume and stopped using it after arriving in Provence, to easily understand the 'past and present' of perfume.

One after another, a dazzling array of precious containers, including eyebrow ink boxes, incense boxes, smelling salt bottles, incense burners, dried flower vases, and travel vanity cases, came into Ronan's view.

Several of the items left a very deep impression on Ronan.

"This small object is called an 'amber apple,' and it is usually divided into four to six parts to hold dry perfume or small pieces of scented sponge. In the 18th century, certain strongly scented substances were believed to ward off miasma brought by epidemics. The 'amber apple' in front of us is used similarly to a sachet. It can be worn on a belt, or used as a pendant or held in the hand. Its craftsmanship is no different from that of real jewelry."

“The Grasse region is rich in bergamot trees. As early as the 17th century, local artisans conceived the idea of ​​making small boxes from the fragrant peel. Bergamot boxes were decorated with exquisite landscapes, genre paintings, musical instruments, or religious themes. The ones in front of us are popular styles of 17th-century bergamot boxes, which were often given as gifts.”

Cherno knows Grasse very well, and he also knows the perfume museum very well. He can tell you a lot about everything, which shows that he has been there many times.

However, in front of one particular treasure, the 'guide' displayed a noticeably different level of excitement:

“Mr. Ronan, this piece was newly acquired by the Fox family in 1985. It had been a private collection until this year when it was brought to the museum. This is the first time I’ve seen it.”

Ronan looked over and saw that it was a simple yet exquisitely designed suitcase.

After the human-shaped guide Cherno went offline, Ronan turned his attention to the description next to it, which read: "Marie Antoinette's Travel Essentials".

Marie Antoinette?
Ronan's pupils dilated in shock.

Marie Antoinette was the wife of Louis XVI, and the former Queen of France. She went to the guillotine at the age of 37, ending her short but absolutely legendary life.

I will not comment on matters of politics, but the Queen possesses extraordinary talent in aesthetics and art.

She was fascinated by fashion, loved designing new clothes and hairstyles, and was proficient in both the harp and cello. She was also a passionate supporter of many composers.

Marie Antoinette was also a patron of many artists during that period, and hundreds of sculptures and paintings were created with her as the subject.

Because of Marie Antoinette's profound influence on art, artworks associated with her are priceless, 15%-25% more valuable than typical royal collections.

A few years ago in Paris, a natural pearl necklace that she had once worn was auctioned off for more than $800 million.

While the capital market is more interested in the jewelry and portraits associated with it, the price of such a portable case would certainly be in the millions of dollars.

This legendary French royal figure carried a jar of chocolates, two different perfume bottles, and a small stove for heating drinks in his suitcase.

“So French, so royal.” Ronan chuckled.

“Even Marie Antoinette was so fascinated by perfume, but that wasn’t the golden age of perfume yet,” Cherno remarked after reading the exhibit’s description.

He quickly composed himself and said to Ronan:
"Now that we've seen this floor, let's go downstairs and see what's so appealing about this thing that has captivated nobles for centuries."

“Okay.” Ronan nodded in agreement.

Cherno's suggestion to start the tour from the fourth floor certainly piqued Ronan's interest in exploring the perfume museum even more.

If you start your tour from the production process on the first floor, you might not be able to concentrate as much.

But upon seeing these collections spanning hundreds of years and from all over the world, he would feel a surge of emotion—the allure of perfume is truly boundless, and I must learn more about it.

Although the Rosé Museum in Lourmarin doesn't have the resources to house its priceless collection, there are still some things to learn from it.

For example, it's important to pique everyone's interest in rosé wine from the very beginning, as this will benefit subsequent visits and ultimately, product sales.

"Go back and tell Blanco what you saw in Grasse, and see if he has any good solutions."

Ronan took one last look at the collection before following Cherno up the antique-style staircase.

(End of this chapter)