In which year was Chanel No. 5 first launched?

Chanel No. 5 was first launched in 1921.

Coco Chanel commissioned perfumer Ernest Beaux to create a fragrance that would complement her fashion collections. After testing Beaux’s numbered samples, she selected the composition that became No. 5. The perfume was introduced to select clients at Chanel’s Paris boutique on 5 May 1921, a date chosen for its association with Chanel’s favored number.

The fragrance’s early presentation was deliberately exclusive. Chanel gave bottles to a select circle of clients and friends, helping create curiosity around its unusual aldehydic floral scent. Its success encouraged a broader commercial strategy: in 1924, Chanel formed Parfums Chanel with the Wertheimer family and Théophile Bader’s interests to handle production, marketing and distribution.

A frequent mix-up concerns the year 1922. Some accounts describe 1922 as the beginning of wider retail availability or note that the earliest bottles were produced around then. That does not change the quiz answer: the perfume’s official launch and established historical release year are 1921. Later versions, including Eau de Parfum and Eau de Toilette, are distinct concentrations or interpretations of the original.