The Real Scent of Natural Agarwood Jewelry: How Widespresad Fraud Has Altered Expectations

This is a rewrite and republishing of a previous blog on this topic, the new version intended to reflect our 2024 policy change to offering exclusively 100% wild Agarwood products. (In the past we had offered a few carefully selected, and clearly indicated, cultivated Agarwood products. These products have now been permanently discontinued.)

Agarwood as Jewelry: a very (very) brief history

One of the key reasons for the value of and reverence for Agarwood jewelry lies in its material rarity, which is even more rare than Agarwood itself. Put simply, it is difficult to find the type of wood required to make good beads or other small art objects, even within the already rarefied world of wild natural Agarwood.

Wild Agarwood forms only when the Aquilaria tree responds to natural injury or infection, producing resin and the beloved aroma, as a defense mechanism. Typically, only a thin layer of the best aromatic wood forms, as the tree mounts an immune response between the outside injury or incursion, and the inner whitewood which has no special aroma and no value, and makes up the majority of the volume of the tree. These factors make it much less common to find larger solid pieces of Agarwood with a high-quality aroma suitable for making jewelry or carvings. Structurally solid, aromatically potent pieces are especially rare - the best jewelry-grade Agarwood must be both physically durable and richly scented. Historically and to this day, these factors make fine Agarwood jewelry a collector’s treasure and a status symbol across many cultures.

Particularly rare, high-density and aromatically outstanding specimens such as wild Kinam or Kyara—have long been treasured as a status symbol across East Asia and the Middle East. In some circles, a single carved bead or a fragment of wild Agarwood can signify refinement, wealth, spiritual awareness, and social standing.

In Buddhist practice, Agarwood is traditionally prized in the crafting of mala beads (Buddhist prayer beads). Beloved for its subtle, grounding aroma, Agarwood is believed to help still the mind, deepen meditative awareness, and support inner clarity. It is no wonder that in Zen and Tibetan Buddhist traditions, Agarwood is seen as a sacred wood—an aromatic ally on the path to insight and presence.

In Islamic culture, Agarwood occupies a similarly exalted space. Often used in the making of tasbih (prayer beads) and burned during special occasions and religious rituals, it is considered among the finest of earthly scents. Its mention in various hadiths, including associations with the fragrance of Paradise, underscores its spiritual importance. The burning of pure Agarwood chips or wearing of Oud oil is seen as a way to purify the space and oneself, drawing one closer to the Divine in moments of reflection and remembrance (dhikr).

The Truth about the Scent of Jewelry-Grade Agarwood

We notice that in general people’s expectations for the aroma of natural untreated Agarwood have been overblown and ruined by the abundance of artificially enhanced Agarwood products on the open market. Deceptions that range from the entirely synthetic and artificial, to the non-disclosure of natural enhancements of Agarwood aroma such as treatment with Agarwood resin or essential oil. (and of course the rampant sale of varying qualities of cultivated Agarwood products being sold as “wild”.)

People have become used to scent-enhanced products which will simply always smell stronger than natural raw untreated Agarwood.

We prefer the real thing. Pure, untreated, wild Agarwood is a natural wonder. One must become present to its subtleties and moods. The delicate aroma will ebb and flow. Wearing this wood on the body will expose it to warmth and friction, intermittently releasing an ethereal, pure, and completely natural aroma. An unadulterated direct experience of an authentic, rare, and exquisite gift from nature enjoyed by the initiated for millennia. The truth is that most natural untreated Agarwood including 100% wild Agarwood does not project aroma consistently or persistently. The aroma tends to be light and intermittent. It tends to produce slightly more aroma when rubbed or warmed. But will not fill a room with its aroma or perfume one’s skin to the same degree that an Oud oil or burned Agarwood incense would.

Even the very best and most expensive raw untreated Agarwood such as Kinam (Kynam, Kyara) does not produce a constant room-filling aroma at room temperature.

All of this creates an environment where buyers are often disappointed by the real thing, because they have been acclimated to stronger smelling artifice. Deceptions that range from the entirely synthetic and artificial, to the non-disclosure of natural enhancements of Agarwood aroma such as treatment with resin or oil.

Completely Artificial “Agarwood” Products

Many, if not most, of the “natural Agarwood” jewelry products on the open market today are chemically enhanced works of outright fraud. Many of these contain no genuine Agarwood whatsoever! We have seen miscellaneous types of ordinary wood shaped into beads which are then pressure treated with myriad dyes, aromatic chemicals, plastics, or even hand painted to look like Agarwood. Another common approach is “composite-Agarwood” where thin layers of lower quality, but still genuine, cultivated Agarwood are pressed together with plastic resin or glue, and then the resulting solid block is shaped into beads.

Natural Scent Enhancements

Another common class of Agarwood jewelry products are naturally enhanced products treated with either natural Agarwood resin or Oud oil (Agarwood essential oil). Treatment with Oud oil or resin also protects the wood from the rigors of wear (moisture and friction) and also deepens the color of the wood.

It is a very common traditional practice to rub some high quality Oud oil into a fine piece of Agarwood jewelry to protect and care for the wood as well as to enhance the scent. Very importantly, high quality wild wood should receive only high-quality wild Oud oil! There is nothing inherently wrong with this practice as long as vendors disclose it to their customers.

It's also very common that many highly prized vintage or antique Agarwood jewelry items will have been exposed to Oud essential oil and other aromatics during wear by the previous owner, not to mention the sweat and oils from their skin! We are not sure how we feel about this - but many of these previously owned vintage pieces have a special status among Agarwood aficionados historically and presently.

Natural Agarwood resin is a byproduct of the essential oil distillation process in both the wild and cultivated Oud oil industry. Natural Agarwood resin imparts an aroma that is more prominent and persistent when compared to what natural untreated Agarwood would normally offer. Natural Agarwood resin typically isolates and intensifies the leather, wood, and tobacco aromatic base notes that are common to most Oud and Agarwood. The overall aromatic quality of the resin itself will vary depending on the quality of the wood used for distillation. We have encountered Agarwood treated with low quality resin; creating an overwhelming and intense bitter leather and burnt wood aroma. On the other hand we have encountered beautifully crafted 100% wild resin enhanced Agarwood bead works with a complex and delicate scent that we would feel confident offering to our clientele.

We think it's absolutely essential that vendors always disclose the specific practice to their customers. Not to mention, providing absolute clarity on the designations of genuine wild Agarwood versus semi-wild or cultivated Agarwood.

Our Renewed Commitment to Exclusively Wild Agarwood

In 2024 we announced our commitment to focus only on 100% wild natural Agarwood products.

In some cases we might offer naturally enhanced wild Agarwood products but we will always be crystal clear about any such enhancements. What this means for our Agarwood jewelry selection is that we would only include 100% natural wild Agarwood, and if treated, only with high quality 100% wild Agarwood essential oil or resin, and we will always clearly disclose any such enhancements.