Quartz

Quartz is the fragrance that carried Molyneux beyond couture, launched in 1977 and credited to Raymond Chaillan. The original formula is no longer the one in the bottle on the shelf: four citrus fruits open, iris and lily of the valley hold the heart, vetiver, sandalwood and patchouli close. A fruity floral the brand addresses to women who are not easily taken in.

Brand: Molyneux
Launch year: 1977
Perfumer: Raymond Chaillan
Gender: Women
Olfactory family: Floral
Secondary family: Fruity
Concentration: Eau de Parfum

Published September 22, 2026 · Updated October 1, 2026

Where to buy

Molyneux came into being in 1919 as a Parisian couture house, and the history of its fragrances begins in 1927 under the impetus of Edward Molyneux. Quartz arrives half a century later, in 1977, and remains the only reference that French perfumeries still commonly carry.

A signature that outlived the couture

The brand launched Le Chic in 1932, Fête and Vivre in the following decades, but it is the Quartz range that gave it its lasting standing. The distributors all credit Raymond Chaillan with the 1977 creation, without any page of the brand confirming it today.

The brand’s discourse

The sales discourse has not moved in years: a woman of action, the Quartz woman is described as an incisive and brilliant achiever, and the fragrance addresses the unsubmissive, the insolent, the elusive. The freedom claimed stands in for a portrait.

A revisited formula

The fragrance has been revised to meet the current standards of perfumery. Placing on the market is today handled by Parfums Berdoues, at Cugnaux, whose address appears on the packaging.