The Queen's Bottle

On 19 November 2012 The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) gifted the Queen with a bottle of a unique fragrance created for her as a Christmas gift for the end of her Diamond Jubilee Year.  The bottle to contain this fragrance was made by Sanders and Wallace. 

The fragrance, called Adamas, was created, to an RSC brief, by perfumers CPL Aromas at Barrington Hall, Hertfordshire. The formula for Adamas - taken from the ancient Greek word for diamond - is locked away at Burlington House, Piccadilly, home of the RSC. It was exclusively created for the Queen. 

 

The base glass in the bottle is recycled 24% lead Dartington crystal and the colours used in it were introduced as red, gold and pink powdered glass. Each of the colours was achieved by using gold chloride mixed into the silica sand before melting. Different hues and colour changes were achieved by altering the atmosphere within the furnace as the glass was melting. Starving the furnace flame of oxygen creates what is known as a reduction atmosphere. 

 

David Wallace was quoted at the time as saying: "This causes the flame to draw oxygen from the element within the melting glass and alters the colour. An oxygenated flame will produce a different colour. Subtle colour changes are achieved by altering this gas/oxygen mix."

 

The perfume was based on scents and ingredients that reflect parts of the Commonwealth, of which the Queen is Head.
 

The full press release from the RSC including full details of the perfume can be read here.  This contains a link to a "making" video, narrated by Andrew Sanders, which can also be accessed here.

 

The story received press coverage, including in the Guardian and the Daily Mail (external websites may take some time to load.)