Xerjoff: Italian Artistic Haute Perfumery from Turin

An artistic perfumery maison founded in Turin in 2007 by Sergio Momo and Dominique Salvo. Xerjoff sets itself apart through the use of rare raw materials, high concentrations, and flacons conceived as works of art: every fragrance is at once an olfactory composition and a design object.

History and philosophy

Xerjoff was established in Turin in 2007 by Sergio Momo, a designer by training whose background spans the Istituto Europeo di Design and London advertising agencies. His turn towards perfumery came in 2005, when Momo travelled to Grasse to study fragrance creation and the history of modern perfumery. The brand name combines «Joff» — a nickname given to him by his grandmother — with «Sir», the title his English colleagues used for him. Co-founder Dominique Salvo joined Momo in building the house's identity, which is anchored by the motto Naturae Xquisite: the excellence of nature as an uncompromising point of departure.

In 2009 the group expanded its portfolio by acquiring and relaunching Casamorati, a historic Bolognese perfume manufacturer founded in 1888, preserving its original Art Nouveau flacons. The Xerjoff catalogue now numbers over one hundred and eighty references, distributed through standalone boutiques and selected niche perfumeries worldwide.

The aesthetic

The hallmark of Xerjoff is an obsessive pursuit of raw materials: Bornean oud, Mysore sandalwood, Calabrian bergamot, Bulgarian rose, and Madagascar vanilla feature in its compositions without any compromise on provenance or quality. The fragrances, created in collaboration with perfumers including Christian Carbonnel, Chris Maurice, and Miroslav Petkov, are offered predominantly as eau de parfum and parfum, with concentrations that can exceed 35%. The flacons — crafted in Murano glass and adorned with semi-precious stones or fragments of meteorite — form an integral part of the sensory experience.

• XJ 17/17 Stone Label — the founding collection, inspired by the gemstones of the Natural History Museum in London; flacons encrusted with raw mineral specimens.
• Shooting Stars — numbered-edition fragrances (299 pieces per year) featuring a certified fragment of the Sikhote-Alin meteorite (1947) set into the flacon.
• Oud Stars — a line devoted to pure oud, drawing on raw materials from Laos, Borneo, and Cambodia; richly tenacious oriental compositions.
• XJ 1861 — a tribute to the 150th anniversary of Italian Unification; three fragrances inspired by the landscapes and historical periods of the Italian peninsula.
• Join the Club — a contemporary collection evoking the exclusivity of private members' clubs; fresher, more gourmand in character.

The most celebrated fragrances

Among the fragrances that have established Xerjoff within the international niche perfumery landscape:

• XJ 1861 Naxos — a unisex citrus gourmand opening with bergamot and lavender, a heart of honey and cinnamon, and a base of tobacco, vanilla, and tonka bean. Winner of the Fragrantica Readers' Choice Award 2024 for the best niche fragrance of all time.
• Erba Pura — a luminous fruity fragrance from the Vibe line, blending Mediterranean citrus and red fruits over a warm ambery accord; one of the house's most sought-after references.
• Alexandria II — a parfum from the Oud Stars collection, built around a Tarakan Bornean oud supported by Australian sandalwood, musk, and Madagascar vanilla.
• XJ 1861 Renaissance — a bright citrus opening of mandarin, bergamot, and lemon leads into a floral-aromatic heart of Bulgarian rose and mint, settling on a woody base of patchouli and cedarwood.
• Shooting Stars Cruz del Sur II — a spiced oriental in numbered edition, and one of the most representative expressions of the house's meteorite line.