Fragrance house

Prince Matchabelli

Prince Matchabelli was established in New York in 1926 by Prince Georges V. Matchabelli and Princess Norina Matchabelli, following their operation of the Le Rouge et le Noir antiques shop on Madison Avenue. Georges, a Georgian prince and former diplomat to Italy, had emigrated to the United States after Soviet rule was established in Georgia; Norina was an actress known as Maria Carmi. The early business emphasized perfumes blended personally for clients, beginning with Princess Norina, Queen of Georgia, and Ave Maria. Norina also designed the house’s crown-shaped bottles, based on the Matchabelli crown and introduced publicly in 1928. The brand changed hands when it was sold to Vick Chemical Company in 1941 and Chesebrough-Pond’s in 1958; Unilever later sold the fragrances to Parfums de Coeur in 1993, which was acquired by Yellow Wood Partners in 2012 and renamed PDC Brands in 2015. Its fragrance history includes Queen of Georgia, described as the most popular of the early perfumes, and Wind Song, a 1953 fragrance associated with the crown-bottle tradition. A March 2024 inventory update did not mention Prince Matchabelli, suggesting the line had been abandoned.