Guerlain’s iconic “The bee bottle” celebrates its 170th birthday with the most exclusive edition ever created. A piece christened “Bee Garden” created by artist Céline Cléron
Guerlain closes the circle of its history and essence. For the 170th birthday of “The Bee Jar”, the brand is launching an exclusive edition of the jar designed by Céline Cléron. “The Bee Jar” was designed to sublimate the Eau de Cologne Impériale, created for Empress Eugénie on the occasion of her marriage to Napoleon III. Its original design was inspired by the Place Vendome column covered with 69 bees, the French imperial and Guerlain symbol.
The Bees bottle designed by Céline Cléron
The bottle, an ode to nature
The new exclusive edition bottle is an oda to the sensitivity for nature shared by both the artist and the Maison. This collector’s piece, with a design that is unique in the world, contains a recycled perfume. “I wanted to imagine a unique piece and transpose my world of the bee and my connection with nature into the bottle to create a garden of flowers and insects emanating from the perfume itself,” says Cléron. Through biscuit porcelain splashed with gold, this work of art embodies Guerlain’s philosophy and its contribution to perpetuating and preserving biodiversity. To counterbalance its matte finish, fine gold edges were applied with a brush.
Artist Céline Cléron working on Guerlain’s 170th Anniversary Bee Bottle
“The Bee Flask comes to life by harnessing the light and letting its rays pass through it. The translucent properties evoke the sensitivity of nature. Each flower has been crafted by the artist using the gleaning technique: each petal is shaped by hand and then joined together. Attached to a 24-carat gold stem, these graceful flowers also diffuse the floral fragrances. “The idea was to translate the immaterial and olfactory side of perfume, making it visible in the sculpture”, says the artist.
The flowers and the bottle in detail of The Bee Bottle by Céline Cléron
A recycled fragrance from the classics
For the first time in its history, Guerlain is creating a fully recycled fragrance. The project began in 2019 with a partnership between Guerlain and OASHE, a startup specialising in the circular economy. Thierry Wasser, the Maison’s Master Perfumer, used Guerlain and OASHE’s fragrance reuse proposals to create a new fragrance, whose formula is entirely recycled.
Details of the Guerlain Flask of Bees designed by Céline Cléron
Named Bee Garden by Guerlain, this fruity floral Eau de Parfum is exclusive to this edition. “Mixing different perfumes to create another fragrance, reinventing an olfactory history in order to produce an explosive new composition is an unprecedented and inspiring exercise for someone who values sustainable initiatives,” concludes Wasser.
The garden imagined by Céline Cléron for this anniversary edition, like the recycled perfume that accompanies it, symbolises respect for the passage of time and sustainability. This artistic edition is presented in a custom-made wooden box adorned with golden details.
