Picture an elegant suite in The Mansion in Dallas surrounded by a breathtaking display of historic Boucheron jewelry - several specifically designed to hold perfume - with Boucheron’s fragrance collection, and you’ll experience, in your mind’s eye, beauty made tangible.

We met with Alain Boucheron in this soft golden environment to talk about the world of luxury, particularly in relation to today’s changing consumer fragrance attitudes. Alain is a man whose whole life and that of his family have been attuned to exciting the senses with an array of irresistible sensory surprises.

ALAIN BOUCHERONThe dynasty of Boucheron jewelers began in 1830 when Alain’s great-grandfather Frederic, opened his first store, Galerie de Valois, at Palais Royal. Over the years the dream was nurtured by Alain’s grandfather, Louis, his father, Gerard and Uncle, Fred. As a young leader of his generation, Alain, too, is fulfilling his destiny in the luxurious world of his forefathers.

Born with a passion for art and culture for whom "creation is the raison d’etre," Alain is a fine connoisseur of gemstones. After studying banking and financial affairs in London and New York, in 1971 he was appointed a director of Boucheron. He became its full-fledged President in 1980.

Just eight short years later, Boucheron launched its first women’s fragrance in a provocative ring-shaped flacon. "Our philosophy was," he explained, "that our latest jewel is a perfume." When we developed this first of our four fragrance, we felt the bottle should really be like a piece of jewelry. I realized that 140 years ago, rings held fragrance. I asked myself, why not create a ring-inspired bottle to hold liquid? And that was our inspiration for the design. I believe the very quick success of the first Boucheron scent was the bottle, and, of course, the fact that people like the fragrance. The very strong influence of the jewelry was so important. It meant that anyone spending for the perfume bottle was getting the work of the finest jeweler. The customer understood and appreciated the double entendre. I was surprised and delighted to see women wearing the ‘perfume ring’ on a chain. A woman from Australia went to Bloomingdale’s in New York to buy 12 bottles to use as napkin rings as well as to double as gifts for guests at an upcoming dinner party"

In 1989, the Boucheron fragrance won two "FiFi" Awards, one for Most Successful Women’s Fragrance Introduction of the Year in Exclusive Distribution and the other for Best Women’s Package of the Year.

Alain Boucheron talked to us about how consumer attitudes have changed since 1988. "We have seen a great many changes and not only in fragrance, but in the luxury world as well. In the early 80s, people were only interested in buying and basking in brand imagery. Today, it is totally different. Consumers want to first understand who they are and then select and enjoy the products or services they believe help them to expand their own personal image. They are buying in a much more clever way, looking for products, whether food, fragrance, cars or jewelry, which will improve their lives." This attitude he believes, has been prevalent for the past six years. "The famous French author, Andre Malraux, wrote, ‘the end of this century will be spiritual or it will not be.’ He was not referring to religion, but rather intellectual spirituality. What makes Mr. Malraux’s prediction even more remarkable," Alain commented, "is that it was written in 1960, yet it absolutely applies to what is happening today."

"People are more personally aware than ever." Relating this trend to the fragrance, business, he spoke of the greats of our industry, the growing competition, the extraordinary amounts of money being spent on advertising and promotion. "Smaller companies on the other hand, " He explained, "like ours, try to reach out to the consumer to give them quality as it relates to how they live their life and what they expect from the products they choose. This is the big difference. We strive to give more sensitivity to our customers, an understanding, a spirituality.

"Success is one thing, but for me the most important thing is coherence. In 1991, the company had a marketing study done about the positioning of the Boucheron image. It confirmed its very high, exclusive position, enjoyed by kings and queens and those in the rarefied worlds of power and prestige. Yet, it also revealed Boucheron could be made accessible. There were two roads open for me. Either I could keep the very image and remain small, or develop a brand based on the culture and history of Boucheron.

He searched to identify a product which would have an elegant, precious cachet and could comfortably be sold by a jewelry company. "I determined it was fragrance. Why? Because millions of bottles can be sold making the Boucheron quality immediately accessible at a price that could be afforded. But I did have one condition. From my perspective, each brand had to come from the heart and fit our culture and our history of the highest quality jewelry.

"In whatever we do, we always respect our culture and we believe we have done just that with our newest fragrance ‘jewel,’ Jaipur Homme. The packaging is inspired by my watch designs," and he showed me his collection of gold and steel watches, with unique interchangeable bracelets. "I introduced this innovation in 1994. The gold and steel metal structure for the Jaipur Homme Eau de Parfum Spray Flacon may be removed, in two easy steps, to allow a new bottle to be placed inside whenever a refill is necessary."

Alain wanted us to know why Jaipur means so much to the Boucheron family and the history of the company, since it was also chosen as the name for Boucheron’s second woman’s fragrance, which was introduced in a jewel flacon in the form of a crystal bracelet in 1994. "My grandfather, Louis Boucheron, was a pioneer in his day. He set off for Jaipur, the city of precious stones, and discovered its astronomical gardens, that were built in the 18th century by the Maharajah Jai Singh II, who gave his name to the city." The legend of Jai Singh II and the astronomical gardens of Jaipur fascinated Mr. Boucheron so much that they tangibly influenced his creation: the strictest of lines, the softest of curves, the precision of instruments and their measurements, combined with the poetry of the gardens, the fantasy of stars and heavenly bodies. What’s more, Jaipur is a name which conjures up dreams and images of far away lands, a name which is both strong and sensual. We never want anything to be far from the heart of the Boucheron philosophy, no matter where in the world we may be."

This comment led us to ask about Boucheron’s global positioning for the fragrance collections. "We are in 35 countries," Alain explained, "in approximately 6,000 doors around the world. I never thought the fragrances would go so well, to tell the truth. Of course, I was hoping. Naturally I am very happy with their development."

Of course, we had to ask Alain what role fragrance plays in his life. "I love it," he quickly responded. "I always have, probably because our family was closely linked with the Guerlains. You remember Mme. Christiane Guerlain. She came to New York to accept the "FiFi" for Jean Pierre Guerlain. I always say ‘she is my second mother.’ My mother passed away when I was a boy and Mme. Guerlain became an indispensable part of my life. It was from her that I learned that it is very important for a child to be exposed to culture, but at the same time must not be forced to appreciate the finer things in life. Each child must be exposed to the environment, to know the difference between the beautiful and the ugly, to appreciate the harmony of shades of color, materials, objets d’art, whatever. It’s so important, and I don’t think we teach today’s young people the meaning of harmony. If one ever wants to create beauty, one must understand harmony.

He was very happy to learn about our program at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. "If in 20 years from now we want to enjoy beautiful fragrances, jewelry, furniture and fashion designs," he continued, "we must train young people to understand what makes a classic, why a product is timeless, when creativity is too audacious or too trendy."

Creativity and tradition are the hallmarks of those who create the Boucheron magic in the workshop on the 4th floor at 26 Place Vendome in Paris. Once the townhouse of the Countess of Castiglione, Alain’s grandfather made it the headquarters for Boucheron Jewelry in 1893. "You know," he explained, "it is the only workshop of its kind left in Paris. There, the love of the Boucheron history and culture is most intense, as our experts devote themselves to polishing and setting precious stones, working in close collaboration with the designers." I asked if the FIT students might visit the workshop on their European sabbatical this summer. Alain warmly extended an invitation. And as he rhapsodized about the view from the workshop of the changing color of the sun on the Place Vendome, it was very clear to me exactly why the Boucheron tradition has always been an affair of the heart - and perhaps never more so than in the person who has inherited a very special birthright to beauty, Alain Boucheron.