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Browsing by tag: amber

Reports of a large ambergris find

Posted by Robin on 2 September 2021 9 Comments

The Sri Lankan businessman, who has lived in the United Arab Emirates for the past 45 years, typically trades in silver and gold. Ambergris is a sideline, albeit a lucrative and highly enjoyable one. He has visited more than 100 countries over the years, many of them in pursuit of ambergris. Sometimes, he places advertisements in local papers seeking suppliers when he’s traveling. “I’ve not been that successful,” he laughs. On occasion, he has heard reports of a large ambergris find and jumped on a plane to try and negotiate a deal.

— Read more in A Brief, Fascinating History Of Ambergris: The odd, enduring appeal of a scarce commodity few people use and no one really needs at Smithsonian magazine.

$1.5 million on the street

Posted by Robin on 1 June 2021 Leave a Comment

They came across a giant sperm whale corpse, which contained a mammoth chunk of ambergris, a rare substance known as “floating gold” or “treasure of the sea”.

[...] “More than 100 fishermen participated in bringing the whale to the coast, cutting it open and then guarding the ambergris and selling it,” Abdulrahman said.

To avoid any disputes, the fishermen agreed on a percentage for each man before selling the ambergris. They then sold it for 1.3bn Yemeni rials, which is worth about $1.5 million on the street.

— Read more in Yemen: Fishermen find valuable 'whale vomit' and become rich overnight at Middle East Eye. Hat tip to Kevin!

Eris Parfums Mxxx. ~ fragrance review

Posted by Angela on 16 December 2019 12 Comments

A friend recently showed me her new scarf. “Look at it,” she said. “It cost a fortune.” The friend is no slouch in the style department, but she’s hardly rich, and, at first glance, the scarf seemed to be merely a big, soft red wrap. Nice, but nothing worth spending in the triple digits for.

Then I paid closer attention. The scarf was handwoven to produce a textured pattern in wool as fine as a spider’s web. Even the fabric’s selvedge edge was artfully finished. What looked at first to be a solid tomato red actually graduated barely perceptibly to cherry. The scarf, seemingly so simple, was a work of art.

Eris Parfums Mxxx. rewards similar attention…

Read the rest of this article »

Shalini Amorem Rose & Aftelier Antique Ambergris ~ fragrance review

Posted by Angela on 17 September 2018 11 Comments

Sometimes transitioning to autumn feels like falling off a cliff. One minute, you’re sleeping with the fan pointed at you. The next, mornings are downright cool, and you’re liberating your wool from the basement. In other words, it’s time to dig out an amber fragrance. Two new amber-friendly fragrances to consider are Shalini Amorem Rose and Aftelier Antique Ambergris.

Shalini Amorem Rose was conceived as “a poem dedicated to the greatest love stories.” Perfumer Maurice Roucel composed the Parfum..,

Read the rest of this article »

The trend of ambergris-enhanced recipes

Posted by Robin on 14 March 2018 8 Comments

Early recipes skewed toward desserts and decadent dishes. Sweet and savory bread puddings were particularly popular: One recipe called for sweetened almonds, rose water, bread, cream, egg, sugar, nutmeg, bone marrow, and “muske and amber grease.” As the trend of ambergris-enhanced recipes continued into the 18th century, medicinal drinks, gelatins, and posset (an ale-spiked hot custard drink) all featured the substance.

— Gastro Obscura takes a look at ambergris as a luxury food ingredient. Read more at Ambergris: Whale excrement once flavored ice cream. Hat tip to Shelly!

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