Five segments cover it. Mainstream and designer oud sits at eau de toilette or eau de parfum strength around 80 to 150 euro, on a synthetic accord. Accessible niche runs 120 to 250 euro at 15 to 20 per cent, also synthetic. Established niche runs 250 to 400 euro at the same strength, occasionally with a trace of natural oud. Traditional attar and dehn al oud is undiluted oil at widely varying prices, with natural oud whose purity and grade vary considerably. M'OUD Switzerland sits at extrait de parfum, 30 to 35 per cent, CHF 320 to 420, with real Thai agarwood.
Three things: concentration, oud source and maturation. Eau de Parfum dominates the category at 15 to 20 per cent; extrait sits higher at 20 to 40. Synthetic oud is an accord of aroma molecules arranged to read as agarwood - stable, repeatable and affordable, which is why most of the category uses it. Maturation is the least discussed: four weeks is the industry minimum.
Not in the first ten minutes. The difference shows in hours three to six: an accord stays where it started and fades in one piece, while real agarwood loses its top and keeps going, smokier and drier.