Replique by Raphael c1944

Réplique (pronounced RAY-PLEEK') by Raphael: launched in 1944 in France, and in the USA in 1946 in large cities, reintroduced in 1952 in the USA to a much wider distribution and ad campaign.

According to ebay seller hardweejun:

"The story is almost too good to be true, but it is an acknowledged fact: The main "nose" of parfumeur Worth in Grasse had just created "Requête" in 1944 when he had a violent argument with one of the directors and left them in the worst possible terms. He was immediately hired by Raphael and created "Réplique", the reply to a "Requête" in French legalese. It was rumoured that Worth did not enjoy the joke."

Replique was available in parfum, eau de toilette, bath oil, talc, soap and dusting powder.

In 1966, Revlon extended its line of programs by purchasing Parfums Marcy for 26, 136 shares of common stock. Parfums Marcy produced Replique and Plaisir.

Printer's Ink, 1966:

"The Replique line of perfume, toilet water, bath oil, soap and dusting powder is made by Raphael of France and imported and distributed exclusively in the United States by Parfums Marcy Inc. of New York, which also handles the Plaisir line .."

Fragrance Composition:

So what does it smell like? Replique is classified as a floral chypre perfume with strong aldehydic and lemony top notes. Modern fresh floral, mossy, aldehydic with top notes from rose, jasmine and tuberose, supported by green aldehydic notes. Mid-notes are a combination of patchouli and vetiver. Musk, amber, mousse de chene and olibanum create the warm woody notes in the dry down.

• Top notes: aldehydes, Italian bergamot, clary sage, coriander, cardamom, Sicilian lemon, neroli, orange. 
• Middle notes: clove bud, Egyptian jasmine, mimosa, lily of the valley, orris, Bulgarian rose, tuberose, ylang ylang. 
• Base notes: incense, ambergris, olibanum, tonka bean, civet, leather, oakmoss, musk, patchouli, vetiver and vanilla. 

Bottles:

Standard Parfum Flacon:

Replique was housed in various bottles over the years including a lovely crystal flacon created for the parfum (extrait) that resembled a square crystal inkwell complete with a ground glass stopper.

The stopper was in the shape of a stylized tulip with an R in the center cut intaglio for Raphael. The stopper was originally a three pointed tulip and changed to a two pointed tulip shape in 1965.

 If your stopper has a plastic covered dowel (called plastemeri), it dates to the mid 1960s and after.  The bottles were made by Pochet et du Courval in France.

This bottle came in several sizes:

• 8 oz
• 4 oz
• 2 oz
• 1 oz
• 1/2 oz
• 1/4 oz

The New Yorker, 1966 lists the following prices for the parfum:

• Replique Parfum
• ¼ oz ($8)
• ½ oz ($15)
• 1 oz ($25)
• 2 oz ($40)
• 4 oz ($60)
• 8 oz ($100)
• ⅙ oz Purse size pure spray atomizer - re-usable atomizer with funnel ($5)
• ⅓ oz  Deluxe perfume atomizer (gold and black cylinder) ($8)
• ⅓ oz  Deluxe perfume atomizer Refill (gold and black cylinder) ($5.50)

Replique sold for  $19.80 per ounce in 1957, $25 an ounce in 1966 and jumped up to $70 an ounce by 1978.

These are the reference numbers from the Raphael catalog, you will find these numbers on the boxes:

• Ref # 603 = 4 oz Parfum (Grand Modèle = GM)
• Ref # 602 = 2 oz Parfum (Moyen Modèle= MM)
• Ref # 601 (Ref #03753)= 1 oz Parfum (Petite Modèle = PM)
• Ref # 608 = 1/2 oz Parfum (Très Petite Modèle = TPM)
• Ref # 600 = 1/2 oz Parfum 
• Ref # unknown =  1/4 oz Parfum (Très Très Petite Modèle = TTPM)

If you bottle is missing its label and you need to know its size, use this quick guide (make note of stopper shape):

For the two pointed tulip R stoppered bottles:

• 1/4 oz bottle stands 2.5" tall (two pointed tulip R logo stopper)
• 1/2 oz bottle stands 3 1/8" tall (two pointed tulip R logo stopper)
• 1 oz bottle stands 3.5" tall (two pointed tulip R logo stopper) 
• 2 oz bottle stands 3.5" tall (two pointed tulip R logo stopper)
• 4 oz bottle stands 4.72" tall (two pointed tulip R logo stopper)

For the three pointed tulip R stoppered bottles:

• 1/4 oz bottle stands 2.75" tall (three pointed tulip R logo stopper)
• 1/2 oz bottle stands 2.5" tall (three pointed tulip R logo stopper)
• 1 oz bottle stands 3.25" tall (three pointed tulip R logo stopper)
• 2 oz bottle stands 3.75" tall (three pointed tulip R logo stopper)
• 4 oz bottle stands 5" tall (three pointed tulip R logo stopper)

Factices are also to be found, these are the advertising dummy bottles that are filled with colored water to simulate perfume. These would have sat on the beauty counters at the department stores to advertise the perfume. The most common sizes are 6" tall and 9.25" tall.

Pomme de Pin Bottle:

A particularly charming bottle is the "Pomme de Pin" or acorn flacon made by Lalique which debuted in 1955. This little acorn shaped bottle is made up of frosted glass and has a gilded metal screw cap adorned with a red satin ribbon. The bottle stands just 1.8" in height and is signed "Lalique" in black enamel under the cap. It holds 1/4 oz of parfum (extrait). The bottle is Ref # 610 in the Parfums Raphael catalog.

Eau de Toilette (Toilet Water):

Toilet water was available in both splash and spray bottles during the 1950s - 1970s. Splash sizes ranged from 1 oz, 2 oz, 4 oz, 9 oz, and 10 oz by 1966.

The 2oz glass Spray Mist was introduced in 1961. It was made to fit comfortably in the hand. In 1973, it was available as a "limited edition"size of 1.75 oz.

These are the reference numbers from the Raphael catalog, you will find these numbers on the boxes:

• Ref # 5501 = 1 oz Toilet Water Splash
• Ref # = 2 oz Toilet Water Splash
• Ref # (03762) = 4 oz Toilet Water Splash
• Ref # = 9 oz Toilet Water Splash
• Ref # 5504 = 10 oz Toilet Water Splash

You could get toilet water "Pure Spray" in 2.5 oz and a 3 oz automatic atomizer in 1966.

Also you could get a gift set with a bottle of toilet water and a purse size bottle of parfum in 1966.

Eau de Cologne:

Ancillary Products:

• Talcum Powder could be found in plastic squeeze bottles in 1966.
• Soap cakes.
• Dusting Powder in 6 oz and 8 oz
• Spray Bath/Dusting Powder
• Bath Oil was available in three sizes: 1oz, 2 oz and 4 oz in 1966.
• Body Creme was available in 4 oz

Fate of the Fragrance:

Revlon released Replique in 1966 in a new reformulation, but still used the name Raphael.

Mademoiselle, 1976:

"Replique by Raphael — as all its devotees know — is flowery, sparkly, vivacious— and even more so now that Revlon has reformulated it... given it a sort of fragrance- lift, you might say . and brought it out in batch of new formats. Including a rich, perfumed body cream."

House Beautiful, 1977:

"Revlon - Replique burns from a red candle in a large heart-shaped white porcelain box with bold red and blue flowers ($12) or from a pair of smaller heart boxes in the same design ($9.50 the pair). These make marvelous trinket boxes."

You can often tell the age of the product by the style of font used on the Replique name. See my handy guide below.

In 1979, "Parfums Raphael Inc. of Stamford, Conn" was incorporated and the packaging is red boxes and packaging, notice the elegant stylized font used for the Replique name. The bottles are generally frosted glass or red canisters.

In 1981, Replique was licensed from Parfums Raphael to a New York based company called Bethlin Products, Inc, who bottled and distributed Replique in the USA. Starting in 1981 all of the Replique packaging is white boxes with simplified red and blue stripes on the front as shown in the photos of my mini perfumes below.

These boxes and labels are marked "Bottled in USA. Ingredients: SD Alcohol 40, Water, Fragrance. BETHLIN PRODUCTS, INC. Dist. Inwood, NY. 11696. Licensee of Parfums Raphael"

Bethlin Products Products licensed Replique from about 1981 until 1982/1983.

In 1983, Parfums Raphael was distributed by Colonia of Largo Park, Stamford, Connecticut. 

A reader has mentioned that her bottle is marked with ""Bottled in U.S.A. Ingredients: S.D. Alcohol 40, Fragrance. UNIQUE SPECIALITY PRODUCTS LTD. Long Beach, N.Y. 11581. Licensee of Parfums Raphael"

Unique Specialty Products, Ltd. was established in 1982 as a wholesale cosmetics company, much like the others previously mentioned. I believe that this was only used until 1983 when JORSA took over the licensing rights.

After 1983, you will find boxes and labels marked "Bottled in USA. Ingredients: SD Alcohol 40, Fragrance. JORSA CORP. Dist. Woodmere, NY. 11598. Licensee of Parfums Raphael"

The Jorsa Corporation licensed Replique from about 1983 until 1987.

  

Replique was discontinued around 1987-1988. Parfums Raphael, Inc merged out by 1994.

In 2000, Irma Shorell, Inc (Long Lost Perfume) purchased the name Replique and has introduced their version of the fragrance. This is not the same formula (despite the claims) as the original Raphael version!

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