Knize Ten Knize 1925 Toilet Water

Is there a men's perfume that deserves to be called legendary? Yes, and it comes from my home town. But I would give it this title if it came from Hanover, Gelsenkirchen or the moon. Because the fragrance itself is neither beautiful, nor nice, nor pleasant - rather the opposite. It is a fragrance like a suit of armor, a protective shield against the world, against its scents, against its expectations. Nowadays, it is an anachronism, a relic from a time when perfumes made no compromises.

For young noses, it is an imposition, an affront. The leather is overwhelming, it tolerates no resistance, no mildness, no reformulation, no adaptation to the zeitgeist. The wearer of this perfume must have character, a will that is not easily bent. It is a fragrance for men who know life, who bear scars, who no longer want to please. Under forty, wearing it is almost pretentious, an embarrassment.

A good suit, better still a three-piece tweed, handmade Oxfords, a tie - that's the least you owe this scent. It belongs in the boardroom, for tough negotiations, not for going out, not for a date, not casual. Maybe to a brawl, if you have to.

The longevity is as relentless as the fragrance itself. One drop too many and you become a legend - or a laughing stock. It is said to be the first true, modern men's perfume. The bottle, allegedly designed by Ernst Dryden, is the epitome of a bottle: simple, austere, uncompromising.

With this history, with this unchanged fragrance pyramid, it belongs in every collection of a man who is serious about himself and the world. Not for every day, not for every occasion. It is too much of a statement, too much of a manifesto. He was. He is. He will be.