Signature Collection
The Signature Collection bears the signature of company founder Michael Knudsen, a pioneer of niche perfumery. He founded one of the first niche perfume brands and, from the very beginning, focused on exceptional fragrance compositions – far removed from the mainstream.
Transcendence Collection
TRANSCENDENCE: Transcends the limits of experience and consciousness.
Every fragrance is an olfactory resonance chamber – a mirror of your desires, longings and your inner being.
Michael B. Knudsen – the founder of GRAVEL
was a visionary who made perfume history with his first fragrance in 1957.
Born in Scandinavia, he was drawn to America in search of freedom, success, and the American Dream. In New York and Hollywood, he discovered his passion for style, aesthetics, and the finer things in life – shaped by the golden age of film and his proximity to high society.
These experiences, combined with his European roots, fueled his desire to capture these desires, passions, and zest for life in a brand. Together with Hazel Guggenheim, he developed his first composition in New York, thus establishing niche perfumery in America.
Knudsen shaped a new fragrance culture with GRAVEL – far removed from mainstream and cheap mass-produced goods. He dedicated his life, his energy, his network to the brand – and left behind a lasting legacy.
The SIGNATURE COLLECTION is a tribute to Knudsen's life journey – it bears his unmistakable signature and combines past, personality and vision in a single fragrance experience.
The Evolution of GRAVEL
After Michael B. Knudsen's death at the age of 98, GRAVEL perfumes became sought-after vintage perfumes. Christian Blessing, a longtime GRAVEL enthusiast, was also a fan of the brand, fascinated by the depth of the fragrances and the brand's extraordinary history.
The desire to further develop GRAVEL never left him. After years of searching and intensive discussions with the heirs of the trademark rights, he succeeded in securing a piece of American perfume history – with the goal of continuing GRAVEL as a values-driven family business.
To this day, the fragrances are presented exclusively in selected boutiques.