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About VĨNH TRẦM
A small agarwood workshop in Van Gia
Two rooms behind a garden in Khanh Hoa: one for turning beads, one for curing jars. Since 2018, every VĨNH TRẦM bracelet has passed through the hands of the five people below.
Respecting the truth of the wood
The market is full of agarwood pressure-cooked in oil and soaked in industrial fragrance to smell strong and look glossy black. VĨNH TRẦM does the opposite: we keep the aquilaria grain exactly as it came out of the log.
Every oil vein is a record of its own years and weather. Beads are polished only with rough cloth, so what you smell is the soft, warm sweetness of agarwood, not added fragrance.
No oil treatment
No pressure-cooking, no soaking in artificial oils. However fragrant a bead is, that is the wood itself.
No glossy coating
No PU spray, no wax. The beads gain their shine slowly as the wood's own oil meets the warmth of your hand.
No dye
Uneven light and dark veins are normal. Beads that are glossy black all the way through are the ones to question.
From the aquilaria forest to the showroom
The workshop through the years
2009
Buying agarwood in Van Ninh
Uncle Ba Loc bought raw aquilaria wood from households around Van Luong and Van Phu and sold it on to workshops in Nha Trang.
2018
A workshop behind the house
Tam bought two old lathes and set them up behind the house to make beads himself instead of selling raw wood. In the first month he made 12 bracelets.
2020
Wasting no agarwood dust
Auntie Sau Mai gathered the shavings left after turning, ground them fine and pressed them with litsea bark binder into cones. Our cones and incense were born from wood once thrown away.
2023
A showroom in District 1
A small room where customers in Saigon can hold and smell before they buy. Thao looks after the counter and makes the tea.
The five people behind every bracelet
Chú Ba Lộc
Selects the raw wood
Over 30 years trading agarwood; one look at a cut face tells him which log is worth keeping.
Chị Hồng
Cleans the sapwood
Works with a set of knives she forged herself, about 3 kg of raw wood a day.
Anh Tâm
Bead turner, workshop owner
Uncle Ba's son; built the lathe workshop behind the house with two old machines.
Cô Sáu Mai
Cures the jars, makes the cones
Collects the agarwood dust left after turning to press cones, so nothing goes to waste.
Chị Thảo
Packs the boxes, runs the showroom
Handwrites the warranty card for every box and welcomes visitors in District 1.
Visit the workshop or showroom
Khanh Hoa workshop
Số 68 Đường Trầm Hương, Phường Vĩnh Hòa, TP. Nha Trang, Khánh Hòa
It's a working workshop, so please call ahead so someone can welcome you.
Get directionsDistrict 1 showroom
Tầng 2, 18A Lê Thánh Tôn, Phường Sài Gòn, TP. Hồ Chí Minh
Open 8:30 AM – 9:00 PM (Monday – Sunday). Drop in for tea and to try the scents, no appointment needed.
Get directionsOr call 0908 866 989 to ask ahead.