Xerjoff

Xerjoff was founded in 2007 by Sergio Momo and Dominique Salvo in their hometown, Turin. Momo, a former painter and designer who studied perfumery in Grasse in 2005, had made his first scent before that, in a quartz flacon sculpted and polished by hand. Salvo designed the house's cap, based on the red crown of Egypt's pharaohs. In 2009 Momo revived Casamorati, a Bologna perfume house from 1888.

Its first collection, 17/17 Stone Label, came out in 2007, and early bottles carried semi-precious stones, meteorite fragments and gold-plated caps. The clear glass signature flacon followed in 2016. The house now counts more than 180 scents sold in over 125 countries, and its company, Xerjoff Group, is based in Moncalieri, Turin. Its 1861 collection marks the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy.

Its own boutiques are where to smell the range in Italy: the Xerjoff boutique at Via Giuseppe Luigi Lagrange 1/O in Turin, open every day with a midday break, and Via Manzoni 24 in Milan. On its US web shop a 100 ml eau de parfum from the 1861 or Vibe lines costs $230. Try Naxos first: it belongs to the 1861 collection and is a tribute to Sicily, with lavender, honey and tobacco leaf.