Key facts
- 1853Guerlain makes Eau de Cologne Impériale for Empress Eugénie's marriage to Napoleon III.
- Pochet du CourvalThe master glassmaker Guerlain turned to for the bottle, says W Magazine.
- Bees in fine goldThe emblem of the French empire, hand-gilded on the glass.
- BaudruchageThe stoppers are still sealed by hand with fine thread.
- Four sizesW Magazine counts four bee bottle sizes on sale today.
- guerlain.com and boutiquesThe only places Guerlain says the bee bottle is sold.
Why was the bee bottle made?
It was made for a wedding. W Magazine writes that Guerlain was tasked with creating a fragrance to commemorate Empress Eugénie's marriage to Napoleon III in 1853, and turned to the master glassmaker Pochet du Courval to design the bottle. Guerlain's own history dates Eau de Cologne Impériale to 1853, dedicates it to the Empress and calls that moment the birth of the Bee Bottle. W gives the cologne notes of bergamot, lemon, neroli and petitgrain.
Why are there bees on the Guerlain bottle?
The bee is a long-standing emblem of the French empire, W Magazine explains, and the glass was adorned with bees hand-gilded in fine gold. Guerlain describes the bottle as covered in bees, the emblem of the Empire; neither source gives a count. The cologne also won the house a title at court: W calls it Official Supplier to Her Majesty the Empress, while Guerlain's history page says Official Perfumer to His Majesty.
Is the bee bottle still sealed by hand?
Yes. According to W Magazine, the house artisans known as les dames de table still seal the stoppers by hand with fine thread, using the time-honoured technique of baudruchage. Writing in 2014, Bois de Jasmin described the method as a membrane over the stopper held in place by a silk or metal thread, and Guerlain's bee bottle page lets the buyer pick the colour of that cord and seal.
Can you put any Guerlain perfume in the bee bottle?
You pick from the house's collections, but no source promises every scent. Guerlain's page describes the order: a fragrance from the Guerlain collections, then the size and design of the bottle, the cord and seal, and the engraving, exclusively at guerlain.com and in Guerlain boutiques. W Magazine says buyers can fill four different bee bottle sizes with the Guerlain fragrance of their choice.
Sources
Primary sources only. Every statement on this page restates one of them, read by the Fragnatique team.
