Whale musk (amber) is a concrete-shaped substance that is secreted (vomited) by the amber whale. It appears as a gray stone, then floats on the surface of the sea, and then it is harvested, whether on the seashore or on its surface. This animal raw material is very rare and therefore very expensive. The beauty of the matter is that the sperm whale is not harmed or killed to bring this material, so it is allowed to work with it by perfumers.

It is one of the most important natural ingredients for animals, just like:

• Civet musk
• musk
• beaver musk
• Lint catch

What is whale musk ( Ambergris )?

It is a concrete-shaped substance that the sperm whale excretes after eating some marine creatures, including squid, then the beaks of the squid that the whale eats hit the walls of the sperm whale’s digestive system, causing injuries. To heal these wounds, the whales secrete a substance similar to concrete pebbles, then they are excreted through the natural channels, especially the mouth .

Then these materials are transported by water currents and float on the surface of the sea, the longer the period of floating of the amber whale on the sea, the better (sometimes it reaches a few years), then these materials end up anchoring on the beaches in New Zealand or Madagascar and others, or they are caught by sailors .

Oxidation from sea water and the sun turns this substance into a raw material that can be used in the perfume industry. In fact, unoxidized whale musk does not have the desired scent (the black version) and therefore has no commercial value. Visual examination can determine whether the mass is oxidized: it transforms the dark black mass, which has a soft consistency and a very unpleasant odor, into a more solid stone, which is dark gray or light in color and has a more pleasant smell. When buying whalebone, a careful selection of the mass is made by raw material companies that still sell whalebone (there are very few of them). Smell each block individually and choose according to its aroma, sometimes iodized, marine (saline), or even warmer, very animalic.

The specialist will then be able to sell the raw musk blocks, or soak them with the same type of musk and then combine them with each other to standardize and guarantee the quality of the musk ingredient, just like with the rose or jasmine ingredient, for example.

Some gray whale musk pods can be huge, sometimes reaching over 100 kg (although this is still exceptional).

Musk whale is very rare (hardly 5% of musk sperm whales secrete) and is therefore very expensive. It is one of the most expensive raw materials in perfumery. In January 2013, a 3kg mass was found in England, and its value was estimated at over €100,000.

Olfactory description of whale musk

Although whale musk isn't visually pretty (the material has the appearance of a blackish-gray, rather light stone, reminiscent of a concrete stone), it smells wonderful and can have leathery, tobacco-like, woody, or salty facets. Unlike civet musk which is very "irritating" and almost unsmellable in its natural state, musk (gray) pisces is pleasant and almost creamy. In the past, whale musk was a title of finesse, mystery, and eroticism in fragrance.

Good whale musk when exposed to heat turns into a golden liquid, hence the name amber, which is reminiscent of fossilized resin (amber).

Some people say that the fresh scent of whale musk emanating from a killed sperm whale is useless and emits a very unpleasant odor because it is not naturally occurring. Aside from the obvious ethical reasons, perfumers are committed to preserving this animal.

Pisces musk and industrial musk

The only synthetic raw materials with aromas close to real whale musk are Firmenich's Cétalox and Ambroxan.