Wood of the Gods are experts and honest company that brought me best genuine products at lowest price.
- Abdul-Al-Qadir (Saudi Arabia)
Our company expert is Mr Leon Wong, an agarwood (aloeswood) collector and expert in certifying and identifying fake or real agarwood (aloeswood) products. He was invited by MediaCorp (Singapore National T.V) to attend a T.V show 识货衙门, Counter Fake. He gives advice on identifying real and fake agarwood products. Mr Leon Wong 在 识货衙门 节目教艺人和观众怎么样辨别真假沉香. Mr Leon Wong have been studying and collecting agarwood more than 20 years. He have undergone real life training by various agarwood and aloeswood masters locally in Singapore and overseas like Vietnam etc. He also has vast experiences gained in trading of agarwood in different countries. Till date, he have valuated and certified more than 20 million USD worth of agarwood aloeswood products around the world. Customers he had served includes rich and famous listed in Forbes and Royal Families of the Middle East. We also extend our agarwood services and agarwood products to the end user or retail market.
send About Agarwood?
Agarwood is known under many names in different countries. It is known as Chén-xīang, 沉香, in China and Jin-koh, 沈香, in Japan, all meaning "sinking incense" and alluding to its high density. Both agarwood and its resin distillate/extracts are known as Oud (عود) in Arabic, Middle East countries. In Europe it was referred to as Lignum aquila (eaglewood) or Agilawood. In Tibetan, it is known as 'agaru' and there are several species used in Tibetan Medicine for example, black eaglewood 'arnag'. In Papua New Guinea it is called "ghara". In Thailand, it is known as "Mai Kritsana" (ไม้กฤษณา). In Laos, known as "Mai Ketsana". In India, Assamese language, it is called as "ogoru". The Indonesian and Malay, call it "gaharu".
Agarwood is under the Thymelaeaceae family, there are 50+ genera under Thymelaeaceae, both Aquilaria and Gyrinops are REAL AGARWOOD genera recognised worldwide since thousands of years ago across Asia, Middle East and Europe. It is important NOT to be mistaken with Aetoxylon sympetalum species (a type of resinous wood, one of the genera under the Thymelaeaceae family) which is called gaharu buaya or crocodile wood which looks quite similar to agarwood but smell completely different along with other very different properties. Agarwood is the heartwood or resinous wood produced by Aquilaria and Gyrinops trees which has several different species in some parts of Asia (Sri Lanka - Gyrinops Walla Patta, India, China, Bhutan) and mostly found in Southeast Asia including Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Papua New Guinea as the main agarwood producing countries. Gyrinops Walla Patta from Sri Lanka is unique as it is not from Aquilaria species and very limited quantities as it takes a long time for the agarwood to form, almost 5 to 10 times slower than Aquilaria species. The resinous heartwood of Aquilaria / Gyrinops is fragrant and due to this reason it is highly valuable. It is also called Aloeswood or Oud or Gaharu, depending on user countries and agarwood species.
Tradtionally In East Asia countries like Japan, Korea, China, most agarwood chips are used as religious agarwood incense offering and aromatic fragrance or aromatherapy. Also, agarwood are used as agarwood carvings and chanting as well as decorating agarwood beads in these countries.
The agarwood oil is mainly used in the Arab world where it is in high demand. It is by far the most precious essential oil with prices reaching as much as ten times that of India sandalwood (Santalum Album) oil, the King of all Sandalwood.
Many countries now solve this problem by exploring cultivated agarwood which can improve harvest and reduce destruction to natural rainforests.
The downside of cultivated agarwood versus wild natural agarwood is its inferior resin quality and content. This is due to the way and time the resinous agarwood is formed. It takes a 3 year old cultivated tree to start forming agarwood over 2 years to harvest. This is the main reason cultivated agarwood is usually traded in a much lower price compared to wild natural agarwood. But the demand for cultivated agarwood is less due to its limited applications. Cultivated agarwood is used mainly in incense making and in some case as perfumes, but not for food / medicinal applications.
send Agarwood also known as ‘Sinking Wood’ ‘水沉’
The most commonly traded "sinking" agarwood these days belong to Aquilaria Malaccensis and Filaria which is almost black in colour due to the high resin content. Sinking Aquilaria Malaccensis and Filaria can be found more easily in Malaysia and Indonesia (Kalimantan), it can fetch a high price in the market as it is the best agarwood grade among the species.
send How Agarwood is Formed?
Agarwood is the infected wood of the Gyrinop / Aquilaria tree. When an agarwood tree is damaged and infected with bacteria, a resin flows naturally from the tree to cover the wound, a natural defense / immune mechanism of agarwood tree against infections. The Agarwood tree can be damaged and get infected by lightning, thunder storm, humans, animals or insects in the forest. The resin will be slowly formed on the infected part of the tree over many years forming a resinous wood called Agarwood / Aloeswood / Oud / Eaglewood / Jinko or Gaharu.
Agarwood is considered very rare as not all Gyrinop / Aquilaria trees produce resin and it is extremely difficult (or even impossible) to judge from the outside of a tree whether or not it is infected. Cutting the tree is the only way to find out whether the tree contains the resin. Only about 10% of wild mature Agarwood tree can naturally form this resin. For Kynam / Kinam / Qi Nan it is more rare with occurence less than 3% out of agarwood forming trees.
send How Agarwood or Aloeswood is Graded and How to Determine Fake or Real Agarwood or Aloeswood ?
Agarwood or aloeswood grading of quality and authenticity (real or fake) is often a very complex issue.
In general, the more darker and dense the texture, the quality is better. But this is only a general standard or rule of thumb. The best solution is to rely on experience to judge. The age, oil content and whether from live agarwood or dead agarwood trees can affect the quality of the agarwood. Although, there are some general guidelines to follow, it is never advisable to generalize.
According to ancient methods, there are 3 classifications. Sinking, half sinking and floating agarwood. There is saying that the sinking agarwood pieces usually do not exceed 10 cm in width and several 10s of cm in length. Sinking agarwood has very dense texture and even “hard like rocks”. Different agarwood or aloeswood have different properties, the king of agarwood call Kinam or Kynam or Qi Nan 奇楠 have special properties and scent. There could be sinking and non-sinking portion in a same piece of agarwood. So it is really hard to say particular piece of agarwood as fixed grade or type.
Different types of agarwood is used for making different agarwood products like beads and carvings. To make in shape like agarwood beads and agarwood carvings, we need solid and hard agarwood. For example, the best Soil (Ground) Kynam / Kinam / Qi Nan 奇楠 cannot be made into carvings or agarwood beads as it is too soft. It is best used for incense healing, maintaining good health, and TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chinese Medicinal Properties). Thus we can further differentiate them into soft and hard agarwood based on applications. We can have a very high quality agarwood with high oil content but the agarwood can be soft from rotten agarwood, broken agarwood or insect infected agarwood which are hollow in nature.
formed due to external or weather conditions and buried in the soil for long time. Due to chemical reactions, the agarwood is further refined.
formed during the agarwood tree is alive. The agarwood is collected by chopping and cutting the agarwood or aloeswood trees.
formed on agarwood tree and drop off after sometime naturally.
formed by insect attack on the agarwood tree causing bacteria and decay of the agarwood tree.
formed in short time and not enough infection or reaction from the agarwood tree to have enough resin or agarwood oil.
send About Sandalwood
From ancient times in India, Sandalwood is widely used in religious ceremonies and regarded by royal families as a precious medicine for sickness and poisons. There are various species available and the best authentic sandalwood is found in India, called Santalum album. It is presently declared endangered and is Indian Government’s controlled harvest and export product. Sandalwood can be found in India, Pacific Islands, Indonesia and Australia. Sandalwood can help to relax the mind and nervous system. Sandalwood smells like other wood family scent, except it has a clear and refreshing characteristics. Thus it is very suitable for meditation, relaxation, de-stress etc. Enjoy and experience the famous sandalwood scent from India today!
send India Sandalwood Powder
Sandalwood powder are used to make pure sandalwood incense or burnt directly to enjoy the sandalwood aroma. Sandalwood powders are also used for sandalwood oil extraction. The common method of distillation or extraction being steam distillation to extract sandalwood oil from sandalwood chips or powders.
send India Sandalwood Oil
Sandalwood (Santalum Album) oil which is also called the "liquid gold" (due to its pale yellow appearance), is a popular essential oil or form of aromatic oil of India over the years. It is extracted from the roots and wood of India sandalwood. Sandalwood oil has a subtle, lingering scent that is woody, sweet, and exotic. Our Sandalwood oil is direct from source, India, and is very pure. It does not give a very sticky texture but yet very strong aromatic scent. Sandalwood oil was popular in medicine in ancient times especially in ayurvedic medicine, mostly as a skin antiseptic. Its main components are organic compounds called alpha-santalol and beta-santalol about 80% and 20% respectively, they have antibacteria or antimicrobial properties. In terms of applications,
it is often used with carrier oils (olive oil, flower oils etc.) for facial and skin applications, The strength of sandalwood oil is very strong, as such sandalwood oil should never be applied to the skin without dilution with carrier oils. But in some instances, it can be used directly in small amounts, depending on individual reaction to sandalwood oil. Sandalwood oil has calming and relaxing effect which reduces stress or tensions. It is good alternative therapies for person with insomnia, depressions, nervousness, anxiety especially for people with busy and hectic lifestyles.
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