The strategy of luxury fragrance is a crucial part of the game, with the global market now worth over $50 billion. The author argues that fragrance is often the first chapter in a long relationship between a customer and a brand, allowing brands to exist at multiple levels simultaneously without diluting their identity. Fragrance is often more personal than a product category, with consumers choosing different scents for work, evenings, travel, seasons and moods. This shift in strategy allows brands to extend their offering by offering rare and expensive pieces that are designed to set the ceiling above. At the top of this ladder, Maison Francis Kurkdjian’s Baccarat Rouge 540 Édition Millésime, created in collaboration with Baccaccarat, the 260-year-old French crystal house. The red crystal bottle is produced using the same technique as 24-carat gold fused into crystal at high temperature to create the deep red colour.