This Beloved Fragrance House Brought Back Jackie O.’s Favorite Perfume

Among independent fragrance houses, Krigler has a distinct track record for attracting some of the world’s most famous individuals. Ernest Hemingway and President John F. Kennedy wore the cool blue oceanic fragrance America One. Marlene Dietrich was a fan of the leathery, sandalwood scent Lieber Gustav 14, which was originally intended for men—and has been worn by guys from F. Scott Fitzgerald to Leonardo DiCaprio. Even Coco Chanel was known to dab on the brand’s floral Pleasure Gardenia 79—when she wasn’t wearing her own scents, that is.

Today, the house has revived another scent with a world-renowned wearer: Lovely Patchouli 55, a favorite of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Aristotle Onassis famously gave her a bottle on the day he proposed. With care and intention, it’s been reborn as Lovely Patchouli 55 Classic Extrait, a $3,800 limited-edition release that places the fragrance in a new context without altering its original charms. (Bottles of the original are still available, from $495.)

But the new scent is much more than a mere re-edition. It also raises a glass to four generations of careful patchouli sourcing and honors the legacy of the house’s founder, Albert Krigler.

Krigler established its first boutique in Paris in 1909, but by the 1930s and ‘40s, its clientele primarily consisted of well-heeled New Yorkers. That’s thanks in part to its longstanding strategy of opening stores inside some of the world’s finest hotels. In the Big Apple, you can find Krigler at the Plaza. In Washington, D.C., it’s ensconced in the Four Seasons. And since late 2025, its Parisian efforts have been located at The Peninsula. “France has been very important for us as a company,” says Ben Krigler, the fifth-generation nose and leader of the brand today.

The original Lovely Patchouli 55 made its debut in New York in 1955. It was only a few years before it started consolidating famous fans. “Jackie Kennedy was at the Plaza in the sixties, and this is where she found that perfume and fell in love with it,” Krigler adds.

The scent, made with patchouli sourced from the Philippines, also stands out because it was the last formula Albert Krigler created—and even though he was 92 years old at the time, he took a hands-on approach to ensuring it was just right. “Because it was his last perfume, Albert insisted on traveling to the Philippines to secure the patchouli,” Ben says. The trip was prompted by a sourcing lag that could not be solved from afar. Albert considered this less of an inconvenience and more of a responsibility: He ended up buying the land on which his preferred patchouli was grown, then transferred its use back to the farmers who cultivated it.

“It’s still the fourth generation of farmers there today, working with us,” Ben says proudly. “And since it was his last creation, it’s like he put everything he knew into it,” Ben says. “It’s 70 years of work and knowledge inside the original Lovely Patchouli 55.”

The formula for the new Extrait limited edition wasn’t reworked; instead, the perfume concentration has been increased. This change reduces volatility and extends wear time, allowing the patchouli to register steadily rather than peaking early and wearing off. It’s a warm, elegant concoction of the titular ingredient, along with red fruits, black pepper, leather, vanilla, and amber.

To me, its sweet red-fruit notes endure much longer than in a typical scent, too. Its earthy backbone gives it a rousing confidence, while the sweetness makes an indelible first impression.

To stand up to the unbridled luxury of this re-edition, Krigler created a new bottle for the 45 ml offering. Krigler has a long history of commissioning crystal, including early 20th-century work with Baccarat, but “today, Baccarat doesn’t do that type of work anymore,” Ben explains. So the house went searching for the kind of workshop that still treats crystal as craft, landing with a fourth-generation maker in Bohemia to hand-etch each of the 200 bottles. “Bohemia is the last place that has the skill to make crystal like this. You don’t find that anywhere else,” says Ben.

Krigler then built a second object around that bottle: a leather trunk meant to protect it and to outlive the moment of unboxing. Ben traces the idea to his family’s utilitarian history, referencing candle bags that once carried fragile items without damage.

Its interior perfectly holds the vessel from both base and lid, and its pillowed walls thwart any further threats. Its strap is adjustable, so it can be carried or worn, and Krigler links that directly to how he sees the company today. “We are known as the voyageurs,” he says, and the idea was to create something “that you can travel with in style.”

And what could be more fitting for such a distinctive scent than the ability to take it with you wherever you go?

Lovely Patchouli 55 Extrait is available in Krigler for $3,800.

This article originally appeared in Robb Report US.