Agarwood, known for its rarity and luxurious fragrance, is one of the most sought-after materials in perfumery and traditional medicine. Due to its high demand and price, the market is often flooded with fake or low-quality agarwood products. Knowing how to differentiate between real and fake agarwood is essential to ensure you’re getting an authentic product. Here are key tips and methods to help you identify real agarwood.

1. Understanding Agarwood

Agarwood, also called “Oud,” is a fragrant resinous wood that forms when the agarwood tree (Aquilaria species) becomes infected with a specific type of mold. The infection causes the tree to produce a dark, aromatic resin, which is the valuable part of the wood. Real agarwood is rare and costly due to this natural process taking many years.

2. Check the Scent

The most distinctive feature of real agarwood is its scent. Real agarwood has a complex, layered fragrance with deep, woody, sweet, and slightly spicy notes. Here’s what to look for:

• Real Agarwood: The scent is rich, long-lasting, and evolves over time. When burned, it gives off a soothing, pleasant fragrance.
• Fake Agarwood: Fake or low-quality agarwood typically has a sharp, chemical-like scent, often with one-dimensional notes. The smell may be overly strong and synthetic.

3. Observe the Appearance

Visual inspection can help you spot fake agarwood:

• Real Agarwood: It has a dark, uneven coloration with natural patterns. The texture is irregular, and you’ll notice a combination of light and dark spots. Real agarwood is heavy and dense due to the resin.
• Fake Agarwood: It often looks too uniform and polished. If the wood is very smooth or has an overly consistent color, it could be fake. Fake agarwood is sometimes artificially dyed to mimic the dark color of real agarwood.

4. Weight Test

Real agarwood is dense due to the resin content. To test if your agarwood is authentic, check its weight:

• Real Agarwood: It feels noticeably heavier than ordinary wood. This is because the resin is dense and fills the wood’s pores.
• Fake Agarwood: It tends to be much lighter. Fake agarwood is often made from low-quality wood soaked in synthetic oils to mimic the scent, but it lacks the heaviness of the resin-filled real wood.

5. Burning Test

The burning test is a traditional method to determine if agarwood is real:

• Real Agarwood: When burned, real agarwood produces a slow, even burn and emits a rich, complex fragrance. The smoke is light and has a sweet, earthy aroma that lingers in the air.
• Fake Agarwood: Fake agarwood will often burn too quickly, and the smoke may have a harsh, acrid smell. The fragrance from fake agarwood disappears quickly and lacks the depth of real agarwood.

6. Check the Price

Real agarwood is expensive due to its rarity and the long process of resin formation. If the price seems too good to be true, it probably is:

• Real Agarwood: The cost is high, often reaching thousands of dollars per kilogram for high-quality pieces.
• Fake Agarwood: If you come across cheap agarwood, it’s likely fake or of very low quality.

7. Scratch Test

Another easy method to test for real agarwood is the scratch test:

• Real Agarwood: When you lightly scratch the surface, you’ll release a subtle but distinct fragrance, even without burning it.
• Fake Agarwood: Scratching fake agarwood may not produce any smell, or it could release a strong, artificial scent immediately, indicating synthetic oils.

8. Look for Resin Content

Real agarwood contains resin, which is the source of its fragrance:

• Real Agarwood: You can see the resin in the wood as dark, glossy patches or streaks. The more resin the wood contains, the more fragrant and valuable it is.
• Fake Agarwood: Fake versions may have no visible resin or may appear overly shiny due to artificial coatings, which are not natural resin.

9. Professional Testing

If you’re still unsure, there are professional methods to authenticate agarwood:

• Chromatography Tests: These tests analyze the chemical composition of the wood to determine if the resin is natural or synthetic.
• Expert Appraisal: Seeking advice from an experienced agarwood dealer or appraiser can help ensure the authenticity of your purchase.

10. Source and Certification

Finally, always buy agarwood from reputable sellers. Certified sellers often provide documentation to verify the authenticity of their products. Ensure that the agarwood comes from legal and sustainable sources, as some regions regulate agarwood trade due to conservation concerns.

Conclusion: Identifying real agarwood requires a combination of sensory tests, visual inspection, and knowledge of the product. Authentic agarwood has a unique scent, appearance, and weight that cannot be replicated by synthetic or fake materials. By following the tips above, you can confidently distinguish between real and fake agarwood, ensuring you are investing in a genuine, high-quality product.