Asprey: The Only Fragrance from a Historic House with a Legacy of British Royal Warrants

アスプレイの世界観と代表製品「Purple Water 100ml」を表現したブランドイメージ

“Asprey continues to offer articles distinguished by the quality and originality of their design, whether to be worn or to enrich and beautify the table and home, for people who value refinement and discernment.”
— From the brand credo on the official Asprey website

Basic Information

Founded: 1781
Founder: William Asprey
Based in: London, United Kingdom (the current flagship is at 36 Bruton Street, Mayfair)
Official website: https://www.asprey.com

Note: The English spelling is Asprey. In Japanese, it is sometimes rendered “Azupurei,” but “Asupurei” is the form generally used in the Japanese market.

The Founder and the Brand’s Origins

Descendants of the Huguenots: A Story That Began in a Silk Workshop

Asprey’s origins reach back to religious persecution in early modern France. The ancestors of founder William Asprey were a family of Huguenots, French Calvinist Protestants, who left their homeland for England when persecution of Protestants intensified under Louis XIV. They kept their traditional skills in leatherwork, clockmaking, and metalworking alive on English soil.

In 1781, William Asprey opened a silk-printing workshop in Mitcham, Surrey. This was the starting point of Asprey. The workshop soon developed into a shop selling luxury goods, particularly traveling dressing cases for toiletries and grooming accessories. For travelers of the period, an exquisitely made dressing case was both a travel essential and a status symbol, and Asprey’s craftsmanship quickly earned a reputation among the wealthy.

To Bond Street: Into the Heart of London’s Luxury World

When William died in the late 1820s, his son Charles took over. In 1841, Charles entered a partnership with a stationer based on London’s Bond Street, before setting up independently at 167 New Bond Street in 1847. This New Bond Street address became central to Asprey’s identity and remained a celebrated destination for British luxury for at least 150 years.

The dressing cases that were the shop’s signature products won an honorable award at London’s Great Exhibition of 1851. In 1862, its exhibits at the International Exhibition in London caught Queen Victoria’s attention, and Asprey received its coveted Royal Warrant for traveling goods and dressing cases. It also won a gold medal at the exhibition that year, making 1862 a historic turning point for the house.

The Late Nineteenth Century: Expansion and a Gathering of Crafts

Asprey subsequently evolved into a comprehensive luxury-goods business through active acquisitions and expansion. In 1858–59, it absorbed Edwards, a case maker holding a Royal Warrant, and in 1861 acquired the Alfred Club on Albemarle Street, adjoining its New Bond Street premises, securing an extensive retail space facing two prestigious streets. In 1888, it acquired dressing-case maker Leuchars & Son, also bringing goldsmiths’ and enamellers’ skills into the house.

Jewelers, silversmiths, clockmakers, and bookbinders worked together in its in-store workshops, producing one-off pieces to customers’ orders. One of these craftsmen was Ernest Betjeman, later known as the father of poet John Betjeman, who worked for Asprey as one of the leading designers of his day.

The Twentieth Century: From Royalty and Aristocracy to the Cinema

The 1920s and 1930s were a period that deserves to be called Asprey’s “golden age.” It enthusiastically embraced the new Art Deco style introduced by the Paris exposition, producing a succession of playful, one-of-a-kind pieces suited to the cocktail age. Wealthy clients from around the world, including American billionaire J. P. Morgan and Indian princes and maharajas, visited New Bond Street.

In 1953, to mark the coronation of Elizabeth II, Asprey presented its “Coronation Year Gold Collection.” Comprising dessert, coffee, and liqueur services in 18-carat gold, it weighed approximately 27 pounds, or 12 kilograms, in total. After being displayed in the New Bond Street shop window, it toured the United States, attracting considerable attention.

Even during the Second World War, Asprey maintained its workshops at Nettlefold House on Euston Road and continued producing pieces using its craftsmanship. During that period, its silversmiths are said to have fulfilled orders for government bodies including the Admiralty.

Asprey also accommodated unusual bespoke commissions from celebrities, including a custom chess set for Ringo Starr and a picnic trailer equipped with a dining table for sixteen. In doing so, it continued to embody the spirit of “It Can Be Done,” the words later incorporated into its 225th-anniversary crest. The house also has close connections with cinema, supplying items for films including the James Bond film Octopussy (1983), the Edwardian-style necklace worn by Kate Winslet in Titanic (1997), and The Devil Wears Prada (2006).

The 1970s–2000s: Middle Eastern Wealth and a Period of Turbulence

From the 1970s, wealthy visitors from the Middle East and Gulf states, enriched by oil revenues, began coming to London, and Asprey benefited greatly. John and Maurice Asprey, the next generation of the family then managing the company, led the business and opened concessions in Japan, Oman, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain. Its relationship with Sultan Qaboos of Oman was especially close. Asprey became an authorized route for supplying Rolex and other watches to the court, and remains known as a source of so-called “Khanjar” dial watches, rare timepieces bearing the Omani royal emblem.

From the 1980s, however, conflicts over the family’s shareholdings intensified. In 1995, excessive investment in expansion and the effects of recession brought the business into difficulty, and it was sold to Prince Jefri Bolkiah of Brunei for £243 million. The Asian financial crisis subsequently reduced the prince’s assets, and in 1998 Asprey merged with Garrard, another jeweler holding a British Royal Warrant, to become Asprey & Garrard (A&G). In 2000, Silas Chou and Lawrence Stroll, who had made their fortunes investing in Tommy Hilfiger, acquired Asprey & Garrard, and former Louis Vuitton executive Gianluca Brozzetti became chief executive.

Brozzetti’s vision was to elevate Asprey into a global luxury house alongside Hermès and Louis Vuitton. This was also the period in which it undertook extensive renovations designed by Norman Foster, reportedly spending a combined $100 million on refurbishing the London flagship and opening a New York store, and appointed renowned designer Hussein Chalayan as creative director (2001–2004). Under Brozzetti, who had previously helped establish Bulgari’s perfume and cosmetics division, Asprey developed lifestyle products such as bath soaps and fragrances and introduced packaging across its lines in its signature purple.

In 2002, Asprey and Garrard were separated again into independent brands. Expansion had proved excessive, however, and in 2006 the businesses were handed over to their main creditor, HSBC, and sold separately. Asprey passed into American private-equity ownership, although publicly available information provides only limited detail on its current shareholder structure. It has its flagship at 36 Bruton Street in Mayfair and several directly operated stores around the world.

What Defines the Brand

Purple: A Signature Color of Royalty and Elegance

Asprey is synonymous with a deep purple. Since ancient times, this color had been known through Tyrian purple, an extremely expensive dye obtained from murex sea snails, and was reserved for royalty and those with the highest authority. Asprey adopted purple as its signature color throughout the brand, using it consistently for shopping bags, wrapping paper, shopfront flags, and even perfume bottles. The purple flag flying outside its flagship was also a landmark on New Bond Street, and now on Bruton Street.

Royal Warrants: Ties with the British Royal Family

Since receiving a Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria in 1862, Asprey has held warrants from successive British monarchs through to Elizabeth II. An anecdote recounts how Edward VII was so taken with Asprey’s initial design that he wanted to use its monogram on public pillar boxes in the city. Asprey also received a warrant from Charles III when he was Prince of Wales, and is known for having been favored by Elizabeth II, Princess Margaret, the late Diana, Princess of Wales, and Catherine, Princess of Wales.

Craftsmanship and the Spirit of “It Can Be Done”

Everything Asprey offers, from jewelry, silver, leather goods, watches, and crystal to specially bound books, is created with painstaking craftsmanship. Its respect for handwork in the workshop has been passed down through its long history. The brand crest created for its 225th anniversary bears the words “It Can Be Done,” symbolizing its determination to fulfill any bespoke request.

Engine Turning: History Told Through Engraving

One of the design motifs frequently used in Asprey products is engine turning, an intricate form of geometric line engraving. Created with a precision rotating engraving machine, this pattern has been an aesthetic signature shared by Asprey products since the nineteenth century and also appears on its fragrance boxes and bottle labels.

Fragrance Lineup

Purple Water: The Only Fragrance

The only fragrance that can be confirmed among the official current fragrance products is Purple Water. Separate men’s and women’s fragrances were originally planned, but those projects did not come to fruition. Note: This point is included for reference because it comes from a single source.

Launched: 2004
Perfumer: Alberto Morillas
Type: Eau de Cologne / Unisex

Fragrance composition:

  • Top notes: Lemon, mandarin orange, jacaranda
  • Middle notes: Orange flower, ginger, basil
  • Base notes: Vetiver, pepper, musk

Purple Water is a distinctive unisex fragrance built around fresh citrus, layered with the refreshing spiciness of ginger and basil and the earthy depth of vetiver. The official description states that it was created as “a fusion of Asprey’s rich, creative history and its exciting, luxurious present.”

About the Perfumer: Alberto Morillas

Alberto Morillas, the creator of Purple Water, was born in Seville, Spain, in 1950. After studying at the School of Fine Arts in Geneva, he joined the Swiss fragrance company Firmenich in 1970. Rather than attending a conventional perfumery school, he followed an unusual career path and describes himself as “largely self-taught.” He created Calvin Klein’s CK One, Giorgio Armani’s Acqua di Giò, Marc Jacobs’s Daisy, and Kenzo’s Flower, among others, and is described as a master of modern perfumery who has produced some 7,000 formulas. In 2003, he received France’s prestigious Prix François Coty, and he has also won the Fragrance Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award, becoming the first perfumer to receive that award.

About the Bottle Designer: Thierry de Baschmakoff

The Purple Water bottle was designed by French packaging designer Thierry de Baschmakoff. He established the agency Aesthete in Paris in 1985 and has designed at least 6,000 luxury products, including Bulgari’s Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert and Dior Addict, as well as work for Guerlain and Cartier.

The Purple Water bottle is a tall, ribbed cylindrical flacon inspired by the glass match strikers, grooved glass containers for striking matches, that Asprey has traditionally made. Its silver-coated cap uses Asprey’s traditional button-shaped design, engraved with “167 New Bond Street, London,” the address of the London flagship at the time of launch. The outer box is entirely in the brand’s purple and embossed with an engine-turning motif. Its distinguishing feature is the high level of finish as a crafted object, making the entire package feel like a collectible in its own right.

This outer packaging is also held in the Victoria and Albert Museum’s collection (accession number E.935-2008), where it is preserved as a record of British design history.

The Purple Water Collection (Home & Bath)

Asprey’s Purple Water extends beyond perfume into bath and body-care products, room scents, and candles using the same fragrance. Sizes and availability vary by sales period and market.

  • Fragrance: 50 ml and 100 ml (Eau de Cologne)
  • Room scent: 100 ml
  • Scented candles: 250 g and other sizes (some products are labeled 8 oz)
  • Bath & body line: Shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, body lotion, hand lotion (50 ml, 75 ml, 295 ml pump, and 3 L refill), soap, and more

This comprehensive lifestyle line has also been widely supplied as hotel amenities and was formerly used in guest rooms throughout the Ritz-Carlton group’s worldwide properties. The partnership with the Ritz-Carlton began around 2013, and Purple Water lotion acquired a cult following among travelers, with some describing it as smelling “like money.” In November 2022, however, the Ritz-Carlton announced a partnership to switch its amenities to Diptyque’s Philosykos.

Incidentally…

A Fragrance Beyond Gender
From its release in 2004, Purple Water was designed as a unisex fragrance, intended for wear regardless of gender. It is distinguished by a universally clean citrus character that works equally well for men and women.

Design Recognized by the Victoria and Albert Museum
As noted above, Purple Water’s outer packaging is held in the museum’s Prints, Drawings and Paintings collection. It is unusual for a perfume bottle or outer box to enter a museum’s permanent collection, making this an interesting indication that Asprey’s design philosophy is also appreciated within the history of craft and design.

From a Glass Match Striker to a Fragrance
The glass match striker that inspired the Purple Water bottle was a practical object Asprey had made for many years. The approach of drawing on this historic product to create a contemporary fragrance bottle vividly expresses Asprey’s commitment to making objects that connect past and present.

References