The story of this company started in the famous town of Grasse – the heart of French perfumery, known to us from the brilliant book/movie “The Perfumer”. In the 16th century the leather-tanners of Grasse started to make perfumed gloves, in the 18th century glove-makers, tanners and perfumers became three independent professions, and in the 19th century Grasse became the world-known centre of perfume production, with huge perfume plants and a great amount of laboratories. So, there is no surprise, that in 1926 Fragonard company decided to establish its headquarters and main producing centers in Grasse. Their perfume factory is now he hallmark of the town – they are located in the Old Town in one of the oldest historical buildings, dated back to 1782.
In 1926 the company called Parfumerie Fragonard entered the market. Their name is a tribute to the famous French 18-century painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard. Parfumerie Fragonard is famous for combining traditional methods of perfume production with modern technologies and working with ultra-modern equipment. It seems, that the spirit of tradition, the sprit of the historical place, in which Parfumerie Fragonard produces its perfumes, cosmetics and soaps, is somehow left in the products. “The charm of Provence allied with extremely contemporary pure lines” – a commentary, that outlines Fragonard’s main attractive features and corporate aims.
Speaking about the traditional techniques used by Fragonard, it should be mentioned, that French perfumers divide perfumes into several groups. They are; the florals (clear from the name), the leathers (male scents, such of tobacco, leather or smoke), the chypres (oak mosses with additions), the ferns (vetiver, cypress, cedar and amber), the ambers (the combination of floral and oriental scents), the spices and the citruses. All the listed components are widely used in Fragonard production lines and are worked with according to the old techniques.
