Rose Damascena Concrète

#### Rose Concrète, Damascena. "Bulgarian rose concrète" is produced by petroleum ether extraction of the flowers of **Rosa**** ****Damascena**. Extraction on a commercial scale is carried out only in Bulgaria and in Turkey (Isparta region). The plant is cultivated for distillation of rose oil in many countries, see Rose "Otto". The flowers are picked early in the morning when they contain a maximum of perfume. The petroleum ether must be of highest purity so that it will not leave perceptible amounts of unpleasant notes in the evaporated extract (the concrète). Until very recently, the concrète was not further processed in Bulgaria to an absolute. It was sold as such to the consumers all over the world. Small quantities of damascena rose concrète are produced in India, the U.S.S.R. and China. The Moroccan rose concrète (see **Rose**** ****Concrète,**** ****Centifolia**) is generally considered to resemble the centifolia and not the damascena, although the so-called Moroccan rose may have arrived in northwest Africa as a variety of rosa damascena many hundreds of years ago (presumably around A.D. 700). **Rose Damascena Concrète **is a solid, waxy, orange-yellow or slightly olive-greenish-orange colored mass whose odor is extremely rich, deep and sweetly floral, truly reminiscent of the red or pink rose. A peculiar sweet spiciness on a sweet- woody undertone and an immensely deep-floral and faintly honeylike bodynote are some of the characteristics of this exquisite perfume material. It is occasionally used as is, but more often, it is further processed by the customer or by a perfume house experienced in such preparations, particularly in Grasse, France. The Bulgarian rose absolute is prepared in Bulgaria or in France. The production of concrète is a comparatively new industry in Bulgaria, but the annual production has grown rapidly and is presently (1959/60) estimated at more than 700 kilos. **Rose Concrète **comes almost exclusively from one source in original tins with the producer's seal. In that shape, adulteration may be considered almost out of the question. However, unoriginal lots of rose concrète are not infrequently adulterated, e.g. with exhaust waxes ("spent waxes") from the extraction of absolute from concrète. Other adulterants or diluents are: odorless waxes, myristic acid, diethyl phthalate, phenylethyl alcohol, rhodinol, rose de mai concrète, mimosa concrète, guaiacwood oil, etc. it takes more than an average perfumer's nose and experience to discover a skillfully adulterated rose concrète and justly reject it. But with a reliable standard at hand, a few simple apparatus for assaying the content of alcohol-soluble portion (an its odor), an experience with the effect of the above mentioned adulterants, etc. the perfumer should have little difficulty in selecting true and good rose concrète from adulterated and poor products.