Vintage Guerlain perfumes and batch codes: a complete guide.

Originally published in 2013; fully updated in 2026 with new insights and photos.

Images posted for purely informative and historical purposes. All rights belong to their legitimate owners. Disclaimer: Raiders of the Lost Scent does not sell perfumes, not online and not in stores, and is not engaged in any kind of commercial activity.

A complete guide to Guerlain perfumes, from vintage classics to modern creations, covering historical periods, boxes, bottles, labels, batch codes, and all the details you need to identify authentic Guerlain fragrances.

Introduction: Guerlain, from vintage classics to modern fragrances

Among the great perfume houses, none presents the enthusiast and collector with a more intricate documentary landscape than Guerlain.

This guide examines the full arc of Guerlain's material history, from the packaging of the 1950s to the transitional years of the early 21st century, with particular attention to boxes, labels, batch codes, and the typographical and regulatory markers that allow the informed observer to date and authenticate a Guerlain fragrance with reasonable precision.

The task is not a simple one. Over the course of its long history, Guerlain employed a succession of coding systems, combining letters and numerals to record the year and month of manufacture.

These systems were neither consistent across the entire range nor always applied uniformly, which means that packaging must be read as a whole: box design, labels, batch code, and launch date considered in concert rather than in isolation. I would suggest referring to the photos for guidance. In this case, a picture is worth a thousand words.

The importance of the boxes

Let's start! (See tutorial pictures below.)

  • Blue "ribbon" boxes: 1950s
  • Dot (or "Coffee Beans") boxes: 1960s until 1967
  • Black & White "ZigZag" boxes: from 1967 until 1983

Since the end of the Seventies, the Estimated Sign appeared on all Guerlain boxes. When we see a Black & White "ZigZag" box with the Estimated Sign, it means approximately: end of Seventies / beginning of Eighties (until 1983).

After 1983, "ZigZag" boxes are not "Black & White" anymore, but made in different colors, mostly "Black & Gold".

The "Black & Gold" ZigZag boxes were used (with partial discontinuation since 1996) until 2008 at the latest, then replaced with the "pastel" ones.

However, it is important to notice that:

  1. Not all Guerlain perfumes adopted the same box type.
  2. Several perfumes went through different boxes during 1983–2008 (a 25-year span), so the situation is genuinely complex.

Short on time? A single glance at the box will often suffice: the absence of a barcode places the piece before 1990, and for most purposes, that alone is enough to confirm its vintage status.

For those who wish to go further: look for the extended ingredients listing. If it is missing, the fragrance predates 2004–2005 and with it, the sweeping regulatory reforms that would permanently alter the composition of nearly every classic in the Guerlain catalogue.

Boxes at a glance

Fifties (1950s): blue "ribbon" boxes

Vintage Guerlain ribbon blue boxes

From end of the Fifties until 1967: the "dots" or "coffee beans" box

Guerlain coffee bean boxes
Guerlain vintage coffee bean boxes

From 1967 to 1984/85: the black & white ZigZag box

(In a few cases used until 1995, with different colors.)

Guerlain vintage boxes 1967-1984
Guerlain zigzag boxes vintage
Guerlain vintage box variation

If the back of the box is plain, without any square: years 1968–1979.

Vintage Guerlain zig-zag boxes years 1967-1984

If the back of the box contains a white square: years 1980–1984.