Oud is expensive because it is incredibly rare. It comes from the Agarwood tree (Aquilaria), but not every tree produces oud. The precious resin only forms when the tree gets infected by a specific mould and reacts by producing a dark, fragrant resin deep inside its heartwood. This natural process can take decades, and only a small percentage of wild trees ever produce it.
Once harvested, the wood is carefully steam-distilled to extract pure oud oil — and it takes a large quantity of agarwood to produce just a few millilitres of oil. Add to that the shrinking forests, strict harvesting regulations, and high global demand from the Gulf, Asia, and Western luxury markets, and you understand why genuine oud is called “Liquid Gold.”
Cheap oud on the market is almost always synthetic or heavily diluted. Pure, authentic oud has a complexity that no laboratory can truly replicate — it changes on your skin, deepens over time, and tells a story.
At Arabian Icon, every oud we sell is 100% pure and undiluted, sourced from the finest origins including Hindi, Vietnamese, and Cambodian agarwood.