Story of an antique violin inspires Amouage’s new creation

Amouage’s tenth volume in the Library Collection, Opus X, is inspired by the internationally acclaimed film The Red Violin, which tells the story of a perfect red-coloured violin that travels from owner to owner over four centuries and five countries, inspiring passion and depicting the fate of each of its many possessors. 

Amouage Creative Director Christopher Chong masterfully composed the fragrance using different facets of the rose to represent the enduring and bewitching soul of the mysterious violin.

Opus X uses a canvas of roses to create a ‘transient rose’, representing the stories The Red Violin lived over centuries of travel. The first string of this violin plays a rose centifolia note, in which the flower shows its magnificence, luminosity and voluptuousness. The second string resonates a bloody rose accord adding mystery and sensuality. A lyrical ode to a rosebud brings glow and radiance to the perfume as the third string. Finally, rose oxide covers the perfume with a metallic veil. The culmination is a powerful and multifaceted rose vibrating on different scales whilst unveiling its beauty and olfactive richness.

A varnish aspect of geranium, embroidered with the sensual texture of leather in the heart, intensify and deepen the scent. The final illusion of the woody, floral fragrance is created by the warmth of ambrarome, an animalic touch of ylang-ylang, and the elegance of Laotian oud to signify the spirit of an eternal voyage. Exploring the juxtaposition between radiance and darkness, innocence and seduction, Opus X leaves a beguiling trail for discovery.

Opus X’s bottle is a deep burgundy shade that fades into amber. The tome-shaped box is an amber and gold mosaic, with two artistic interpretations of the violin in deep red.  

The Library Collection is a celebration of integrity, creativity and virtuosity. Each of the ten fragrances is an ethereal instrument that reveals the many facets of a discovery in human nature. The Library Collection’s fragrances defy categorisation, transcend gender and inspire the wearers to compose their own unique narrative. 

Opus X is available in 100-ml and 50-ml bottles priced at $340 and $235 respectively at Amouage shops in the UAE, Saudi Arabia (Jeddah), Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Italy (Rome) and UK (London).