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American Fragrance Story
Michael Knudsen created GRAVEL, the very first American men's fragrance, in 1957 and produced it in America.
We in Europe had our traditional fragrance houses and certain gentlemen of the world used perfume diligently, but in the USA in the post-war period, this was completely unknown. People didn't use perfume, they were satisfied with a sparkling aftershave.
As a result, GRAVEL was only available in selected stores where this cosmopolitan, distinguished clientele of men shopped. Only fashion-conscious men of the world and distinction liked to wrap themselves in GRAVEL - JFK is said to have been the most famous user.
The fragrance itself awaits us with a short, fresh top note, followed by a balsamic, soft woody base note with patchouli, tonka and incense. Compared to the olfactory bombs of the 70s and 80s, GRAVEL is a fairly minimalist fragrance.
As men at the time used an aftershave at most, and as the American creator didn't know much about fragrance names and the rules of European perfume manufacturers, he gave GRAVEL the name suffix "A MAN's COLOGNE", as the fragrance was originally only available in a pouring bottle and was intended to be generously patted on by men - just as one would do with a "cologne" and aftershave.
This does not change the fact that the fragrance concentration of GRAVEL corresponds to an eau de parfum (and no, the concentrations as edP or edT do not necessarily have anything to do with the durability).
GRAVEL was always delivered in a bulk bottle. Only sometimes there was a small spray attachment in the pack.
Even back then, there were sometimes delivery problems when Mr. Knudsen couldn't keep up with production or was on vacation.
The retail price was €98, then rose to €110 at some point from 2005 onwards.
All in all, GRAVEL is a nice, full-bodied fragrance without a lot of frills and, unlike most other fragrances, still a "real" niche fragrance.
We in Europe had our traditional fragrance houses and certain gentlemen of the world used perfume diligently, but in the USA in the post-war period, this was completely unknown. People didn't use perfume, they were satisfied with a sparkling aftershave.
As a result, GRAVEL was only available in selected stores where this cosmopolitan, distinguished clientele of men shopped. Only fashion-conscious men of the world and distinction liked to wrap themselves in GRAVEL - JFK is said to have been the most famous user.
The fragrance itself awaits us with a short, fresh top note, followed by a balsamic, soft woody base note with patchouli, tonka and incense. Compared to the olfactory bombs of the 70s and 80s, GRAVEL is a fairly minimalist fragrance.
As men at the time used an aftershave at most, and as the American creator didn't know much about fragrance names and the rules of European perfume manufacturers, he gave GRAVEL the name suffix "A MAN's COLOGNE", as the fragrance was originally only available in a pouring bottle and was intended to be generously patted on by men - just as one would do with a "cologne" and aftershave.
This does not change the fact that the fragrance concentration of GRAVEL corresponds to an eau de parfum (and no, the concentrations as edP or edT do not necessarily have anything to do with the durability).
GRAVEL was always delivered in a bulk bottle. Only sometimes there was a small spray attachment in the pack.
Even back then, there were sometimes delivery problems when Mr. Knudsen couldn't keep up with production or was on vacation.
The retail price was €98, then rose to €110 at some point from 2005 onwards.
All in all, GRAVEL is a nice, full-bodied fragrance without a lot of frills and, unlike most other fragrances, still a "real" niche fragrance.