Calone: the molecule that put the sea into perfume

Where does calone come from?

Calone, or methylbenzodioxepinone, sold under the name Calone 1951, was discovered by Pfizer in 1966. The chemistry entry on calone describes it as a white solid derived from 4-methylcatechol, similar in structure to brown algae pheromones such as ectocarpene. In the fragrance industry it is nicknamed watermelon ketone, or simply calone.

What does calone smell like?

Calone has an intense sea-breeze note with slight floral and fruity overtones. Its descriptors read like a day at the shore: fresh, watery, clean, melon, green, marine and ozone. Perfumers use it to give the olfactory impression of a fresh seashore.

What does calone do in a fragrance?

Calone has been used since the 1980s for watery, fresh, ozonic accords, and as a more dominant note in perfumes of the marine trend from the 1990s. The overview of fragrance families describes the aquatic, oceanic or ozonic category as the newest one: a clean smell reminiscent of the ocean that generally contains calone, or more recent synthetics such as Ambroxan, and that is also used to accent floral, oriental and woody fragrances. Firmenich later released an isopropyl relative, Cascalone, a sweet, watery version with a transparent floral signature.

What should you know about calone?

Calone is one of the notes of the fougère family. It is an artificial molecule made in a lab, an example of a smell that chemistry invented rather than copied from a flower. Compare its watery cool with the cold sensation of mint, which comes from menthol acting on your skin's cold receptors, or with the airy jasmine of Hedione. The Class on natural versus synthetic explains what molecules like these changed.