Grading the Pieces: The Eighth Step in the Journey of Oud

After the pieces were sorted and their scent tested, comes the step that gathers all that preceded it into a single judgment: grading the pieces into grades. For grading is arranging the pieces on the ladder of quality based on the sum of their indicators: the size, the density of resin, and the character of the scent. In this article we address how grading takes place on a single declared criterion, and why it is the cornerstone of trust between the store and the customer.

What is grading and why does it matter to the customer?

Grading is determining the grade of each piece on the ladder of quality, so that the customer knows exactly what level they are buying. For sorting gathered the similar, scent testing uncovered the character, and grading comes to say: "this piece is of this grade, and that one is higher or lower than it." And thus the scattered sensory judgment turns into a clear grading that can be built upon in pricing and selling.

And the importance of grading to the customer is that it makes what they buy known, not unknown. For when the grades are declared and disciplined, the customer knows that a piece of a certain grade resembles, in general, another piece of the same grade, so they buy reassured of the level of what reaches them.

On what criteria does grading rest?

Grading with us rests on a single declared criterion that combines three indicators: the balance of the piece's size, the density of resin in it, and the character of its scent. And the judgment is not hung on a single indicator, but they are balanced together. For a small piece rich in resin with a strong scent may surpass a large, scant, faint piece, and the reverse, according to how the indicators come together.

Declared grades, not random judgments

We adopt a declared ladder of grades that ranges from the daily grades to the luxury and rare, so that you find for every use and budget a grade that suits it. And browsing this ladder is available in our store, from the daily grade to the luxury grade, so the customer sees the differences for themselves.

And the difference between our grades is made by the grading, not the source alone; for pieces may come from the same origin then be distributed among different grades according to what they carry of resin and scent. And this is what makes grading a disciplined daily work, not a label stuck on at random.

From grading to weighing

When the pieces are graded and each is placed in its grade, it remains to determine the amount of each grade precisely: the weight. For grading said "what is the level of this piece," and the weight says "and how much of it there is." And with the two together the description of the batch is completed: a grade and a weight.

And thus grading has laid the foundation of worth, and paved the way for the weighing step that turns this worth into a definite amount. And in the following axis of this journey we move to the ninth step: weighing.