How to distinguish real and fake agarwood

Agarwood is not a tree but is formed from a wounded position of a tree belonging to the Aquilaria family. From the wound, the tree will secrete an oil to protect itself, over time this layer of oil will accumulate to create agarwood with a slightly brownish black or grayish brown color, with a characteristic mild fragrance.

There are two types of agarwood: natural and artificial, of which natural agarwood is more expensive because it is formed naturally after several decades to hundreds of years.

Artificial agarwood is formed by human impact using methods of mechanical wounding on the tree trunk, chemical stimulation, costing several million VND (depending on the type).

Mr. Bien Quoc Dung, Chairman of Khanh Hoa Agarwood Association, said that natural agarwood is very rare nowadays, due to the shrinking area of ​​natural forests.

Depending on the level of oil contamination, color, flavor, shape, weight, and origin, agarwood has different names such as: agarwood with dead eyes, island eyes, pearl agarwood, green ant agarwood, and long ant agarwood (rotted agarwood, fresh agarwood).

Currently, there are no regulations by the State or any organization on standards for classifying and evaluating the quality of agarwood. In buying and selling transactions, classification is largely based on perception and experience.

According to Mr. Dung, to identify real agarwood, buyers should carefully observe the wood grain on the agarwood piece (bead). If the grain is natural, the lines are flexible, the convex, concave, and bumpy areas are not "even as a drawing", it is real agarwood.

Natural or artificial agarwood both give off a gentle, sweet scent that is pleasant to smell. Burning directly will give off a faint scent from afar, the smoke is white, flies quickly and then disappears immediately.

In terms of color, real agarwood will have a mixture of black, white, and yellow-brown, without a completely uniform color. In addition, agarwood with an oil content of over 25% can sink in water. High-quality agarwood can have an oil content of 60-80%, and when touched, the buyer can still feel the natural smoothness.

Fake agarwood looks shiny black, has a very strong aroma (due to chemical effects), when burned, the incense goes straight to the nose, a very unpleasant burning smell.

When a real agarwood bracelet is first released from the factory, its color is not really outstanding. If it is made into jewelry (bracelets, necklaces) and worn for a long time, it will have a certain color depth and shine. As for fake agarwood bracelets, after wearing for a while, the smell will disappear, and in some cases, it can even cause itching and swelling of the hand.

"Natural agarwood bracelets advertised for less than 10 million VND are also a factor to be suspicious of," said Mr. Dung.

Currently, some agarwood shops advertise selling agarwood bracelets (a special, rare type of agarwood found in nature) for only a few tens of millions of dong. "Buyers should be careful because this is completely unreasonable," Mr. Dung warned.

Agarwood is formed after hundreds to thousands of years, only appearing in Vietnam. Finding a small piece of agarwood about the size of a finger joint is extremely difficult. To date, this type of agarwood is almost extinct in nature.

"One kilogram of agarwood costs about 30 billion VND, so products claiming to be 'made from agarwood' that cost tens of millions are 100% fake," said the chairman of the Khanh Hoa Agarwood Association.

To feel more secure when buying agarwood, buyers should rely on relationships such as acquaintances, expert advice to find reputable sources of sales, or can go to some establishments in the Khanh Hoa Agarwood Association for reference.