Papier d’Arménie

Birth

The history of Papier d’Arménie® (like many older French firms, the name of the company is essentially the name of the product, Papier d’Arménie®) starts in the 19th century when, on a trip to Armenia, Auguste Ponsot noticed the local people scented and disinfected their homes by burning benzoin. This traditional and ecologically-sound practice appealed, and he decided to import the product to France.

Laotian benzoin

Held in high esteem for its sweet, vanilla and balsamic notes, benzoin is used as a fixative in the perfume industry, an example being by Guerlain for Shalimar. Without benzoin, Papier d’Arménie® would not have become what it is. This resin comes from styrax, a tree that grows in the forests of the Far East, especially in Laos.

Luxury products need the luxury of time – 6 months in the making

The workshop where Papier d’Arménie® has always made its Armenian paper following the craft tradition is in Montrouge in the Paris suburbs.

Following an unchanging ritual, the resin is dissolved in alcohol for two months. The fragrance extracts are then added. A special absorbent paper is then soaked in the resulting mixture, an entirely manual job, carried out sheet by individual sheet. Once the soaking and drying and other steps are complete, the sheets are pressed for a month.
It is only after this 6-month process that they can be perforated, cut and assembled into covered booklets.

Candles

The Papier d’Arménie® candles were designed by Francis Kurkdjian. Environmentally sound, they are made from 100% vegetable wax and beeswax, with a cotton wick. They burn for some 40 hours.

Burners

The "Étoile d'Arménie", a decorative burner enabling the strips' fragrance to fill a room.
The kit, the result of a design competition, packages Papier d’Arménie™ in an original, slim and bold box.