The Grades of Indonesian Oud: How It Is Classified on the Quality Ladder

When you browse Indonesian oud you meet words like "excellent," "luxury," and "super," so you reckon that they are precise weights on a single scale that everyone knows. And the truth is calmer than that: there is no unified global standard for the classification of oud. In this article we clarify how Indonesian oud is classified practically, and what raises its grade or lowers it, and we present to you frankly the ladder of five grades that we adopt at Oud Treasure — and it is our own ladder, not a general law. This article is a part of the complete guide to Indonesian oud.

1. There is no unified global standard

Before any talk about the grades, a candor is required of us: the history of oud has not known a unified global grading system that the producers and the traders in every country agree upon. For what a trader names "excellent" another may name "commercial," and the boundaries between the appellations are flexible, changing from one market to another and from one seller to another. We traced the origin of these appellations and how oud was classified of old in the history of oud grading, and we do not repeat that background here but build upon it.

And the most famous thing that confusion falls into is terms like "Super" and "Double Super." These are attractive marketing words, but with no agreed-upon standard definition; for they may mean with one seller a real high density, and with another merely a shining description of a middling piece. Therefore we advise dealing with them with caution: do not buy a name, but ask that what is behind it of resin density, origin, and scent upon heating be explained to you. The detail of this historical problem you find in the article dedicated to the history of the classification.

So if there is no global standard, how do we speak of "grades" in the first place? The answer is that each oud house has its own effort in ordering what it has, based upon characteristics that can be observed and measured relatively. And what we present in this article is our own effort: how we read the characteristics of Indonesian oud, and how we order it on a clear ladder that we commit to with our customers, without claiming that it is the law that governs the whole market.

And the benefit of this ladder — despite its being a private effort — is that it grants you a fixed reference upon which you compare within our store. For when you know that "the excellent" with us means a density and a depth of a certain level, it became possible for you to weigh between two pieces with confidence, and to understand why their prices vary. And the important thing is that you carry this ladder as a consistent internal language, not a standard by which you judge an oud you bought from another party that adopts different appellations.

2. What determines the grade of Indonesian oud

The grade of oud is not an arbitrary judgment, but is built upon characteristics that the expert touches and compares upon. And the most important of them is what follows, and we present them as combined indicators, not single decisive criteria:

The density of the resin: this is the most important factor. For oud has its value in its aromatic resin, not in its wood, and the more the proportion of the resin in the piece increases and penetrates its tissue the higher its grade rises. And because the resin is heavier than the wood, the density is connected historically to the test of sinking in water, a subject we have singled out for it sinking oud and its relation to resin density. And the nature of this resin itself and why it makes the value we explain in what is oud resin.

The origin: each region in the Indonesian archipelago has its character in colour, density, and the inclination of the scent, and this enters into the estimation of the grade. The scent upon heating: for the layers of oud and its stability appear when it is heated, and it is the truest judgment on its quality. The cleanness of the piece: that is, its freedom from the dead wood, the impurities, and the filling. The size and the shape: for the large, cohesive, clean pieces are higher in value than the splinters and the fragments even if the origin is equal.

And it is useful that we observe that these indicators are not equal in weight in the estimation of the grade. For the density of the resin and its scent upon heating are the essence of the judgment, while the size, the shape, and the cleanness work the work of the tipper that raises the piece or lowers it within the range of its grade. And a single trunk may carry pieces of varying grades; for a part of it rich in resin ascends to a high grade, and a neighbouring part poorer remains in a lower grade, even if they are from the same tree and the same origin. Therefore the piece is evaluated by itself, not by its tree.

And we stress that these indicators are read together, not singly; for a piece may rise in the density and fall in the size, or excel in the origin and be less in its cleanness, so the expert weighs between them to arrive at a fair estimation. And how we examine oud and apply these indicators we clarify with transparency on the quality-control page. And the description of each indicator remains estimative and relative, not a decisive number uttered from a single glance, and it is not sound except with an accumulated expertise in comparing the pieces one with another.

3. The Oud Treasure ladder of five

Based upon the preceding indicators, we have ordered the Indonesian oud we have on five graduated grades. And we repeat the reminder frankly: this is our own ladder at Oud Treasure, we placed it to organize what we offer and clarify to you, and it is not a global system that binds others. And the following descriptions are preliminary and approximate, and truer than them is what your senses touch upon the trial.

The daily oud

The lowest of the grades; a real oud of Indonesian origin but of a limited resin density and a relatively lighter aromatic presence upon heating. It is an economical entrance for whoever wants to become accustomed to daily incense-burning without a high cost, or to try oud for the first time before ascending on the ladder. And its being the lowest of the grades does not mean that it is poor, but means that it is less in density and lighter in presence, and it is an honest practical choice for whoever burns incense daily and does not want to consume the precious pieces in the usual. Browse the daily oud collection to touch what we mean.

The commercial oud

A middling grade more widely circulated; a density relatively higher than the daily and a clearer aromatic stability, with the price remaining within the reach of frequent use. It suits whoever has passed the stage of becoming accustomed and wants a more mature experience without reaching the higher grades. See the commercial oud collection.

The excellent oud

A high grade in which the resin inclines to density and depth, and the layers of the scent appear clearer and more stable upon heating. It suits the assemblies and the occasions and whoever searches for a plain aromatic presence. Browse the excellent oud collection.

The luxury oud

A high grade of a noticeable resin density and richer aromatic layers, chosen for whoever values the high quality and builds a distinguished experience he relies upon. You find it in the luxury oud collection.

The collectors' oud

The highest grades of the ladder; rare, high-density pieces evaluated piece by piece, and they may be from exceptional origins or long ages. This is the grade of the enthusiasts and the collectors who search for the rare, not the usual. Browse the collectors' oud collection. And because its pieces are individual, no fixed price is reckoned in it but a price quote for each piece separately.

4. The ladder in a glance table

The following table gathers the five grades of the ladder, what they mean, whom they suit, and their indicative price range. And the numbers in it are ranges, not final prices, and they are subject to change and are always confirmed with a price quote:

The prices above are indicative ranges subject to change according to the market, the piece, the density, and the origin, and are always confirmed with a defined price quote. Review the wholesale prices page to look over the logic of the pricing.

5. The lesson of the price paradox

You may reckon that the higher in grade is always the more expensive, and the reality is more precise than that: the grade describes the piece, and the market determines the price. For the grade is a judgment on the characteristics of the piece (density, origin, cleanness), while the price is tossed about by other factors such as the rarity, the demand, and the size of the individual piece. Therefore you may find a piece of a high grade cheaper than a piece whose grade is lower theoretically but which is from a rare, demanded origin.

An example that brings the idea closer: a Kalimantani piece of the kind described commercially as "Azraq" (blue) may exceed in its price a piece classified in a grade higher than it in name, because the rarity of its origin and the demand of the market for it raise it above what its order on the ladder suggests. For the ladder orders the general quality, but it does not cancel the effect of the individual rarity. And this is precisely what makes the collectors' oud a door standing by itself, not merely the highest grade in price.

The practical conclusion: do not read the price as a literal reflection of the grade, nor the grade as a promise of a certain price. Read them together, and ask about the cause of the price when it surprises you. And to understand the logic of the pricing fully — and the factors that move it up and down — review the wholesale prices page.

6. The grade and the origin together

It is a common error that the grade and the origin be looked at as though they were substitutes, and the correct thing is that they are two complementary dimensions for each piece. For the origin determines the character of the oud (the inclination of the scent and its general colour), and the grade determines the level of the realization of this character (in density, depth, and cleanness). So you do not choose an abstract "grade," but a grade from a certain origin, and the two make the experience together.

And for this the commercial oud from an origin that inclines to sweetness may be an experience entirely different from the commercial oud from an origin that inclines to the earthy depth, even if they are equal in the grade. To understand the characters of the great Indonesian origins and how they differ, review the guide to the best kinds of Indonesian oud and its origins; and to understand how its scent is described and varies, review the characteristics of the scent of Indonesian oud.

The practical rule, then: determine the character that suits your taste first (through the origin), then choose the grade that suits your use and your budget within that character. And thus you do not fall into the illusion that "the higher in grade" is necessarily the best for you, for the more suitable for you may be a character of a middling grade dearer to your nose than a character that does not suit you of a higher grade. For the high quality is a condition of distinction but it does not by itself make the pleasure; since the agreement between the character of the oud and your personal taste remains the final arbiter, and it is a matter that no table nor name of a grade decides, but your own trial alone.

7. How to choose the grade suitable for you

There is no "best" grade absolutely, but a grade more suitable for your need, your use, and your budget. And the easiest road to the choice is that you begin from the use:

For daily use: begin from the daily oud or the commercial; frequent incense-burning at a reasonable cost without extravagance. For the occasions and the assemblies: ascend to the excellent or the luxury where the aromatic presence is clearer and more stable. For acquisition and the hobby: then your destination is the collectors' oud where the rare pieces are acquired, not consumed daily.

And whatever the grade you incline to, the fixed advice is that you not commit before you try. The scent and the density are two personal experiences that no name nor table describes, and therefore we make available requesting a small sample by which you test the grade and the scent yourself, and we also provide graduated sample kits by which you compare between the grades side by side. And how we examine and classify we clarify on the quality-control page.

And each of the price and the choice of authentic oud has an independent talk that we detail in the two axes "the prices of Indonesian oud" and "how to choose an authentic Indonesian oud" of this guide. As for here, it suffices that you come out with a single rule: read the grade as a guide, not a promise, and begin from your use, and trust your senses more than the appellations.

Read also

For the more comprehensive picture begin from the complete guide to Indonesian oud. And for an interconnected deepening, review the best kinds of Indonesian oud and its origins, and the characteristics of the scent of Indonesian oud, and the background of the classification in the history of oud grading. And for the prices of oud review the prices of Indonesian oud and the factors influencing them. And we are working on singling out the axis "how to choose an authentic Indonesian oud" — we add its link here when it is completed.