As one of the most popular and expensive oils of the 19th century, violet oil’s compounds could be isolated into three major ionones. It was found that depending on the synthetic route, mixtures of the ionones in different ratios were formed, each of which had unique fragrance profiles.
A century ago, perfumers practiced their craft behind a cloak of mystery. The components of perfumes were understood to be derived from natural sources, but neither the structures of individual fragrance compounds nor the ratio in which particular fragrance compounds were blended to create perfume compositions was readily discoverable to consumers or competitors.
