Who actually wears Bond No. 9?

"Who is wearing it?" asked a thread on r/fragrance this week about Bond No. 9 — the New York house with a bottle for every neighbourhood and a price tag to match. We can't tell you who buys the originals. We can tell you how many people would like them for less.

The neighbourhoods everyone copies

The most copied is Greenwich Village, with 13 twins on sale. Across the house that is roughly 3.1 twins per bottle — though 5 of the 33 have no twin at all: the copiers clearly pick their targets.

So who is wearing it?

On this evidence: a lot of people — just not always from the original bottle. The best-value twin among the most copied, New York Nights #247 from The Dupe Spot, costs $26 per 100ml. Only one Bond twin has been scored by enough wearers so far: New York from Bujairami, at 60% of Bond No. 9 Lafayette Street.

The case for the original is simple: a twin is judged in the first minutes, a fragrance is lived with for hours, and the two can part ways in the drydown. If one of these is "your" scent, wear a sample of each for a full day before deciding the twin is enough.

Your turn · reader poll

Would you pay full price for a Bond No. 9?

Yes — I own one and I'd buy it againFor one special bottle, maybeNo — the twin is fine by meNever smelled one