The founder of Parfumerie Osswald, Boris Dreiding, grew up in the then Russian "Kischinjow" in very modest circumstances. From an early age, he was fascinated by the diverse fragrances of his hometown. These were influenced by the turbulent history of Moldavia, once occupied by the Romans, then by the Ottomans and later by the Russians. He decided to turn his passion into a profession and trained as a druggist as a young man. In his free time, he passionately fiddled around with his own cream and fragrance formulas and wrote them down in his notebook, which he always carried with him. Soon it became too cramped for him in the provincial town of "Kischinjow" and so he completed part of his training in the then cosmopolitan city of Odessa.

Boris Dreiding was accepted as a refugee in Switzerland and received a residence permit. With his vision of his own cosmetics company in mind, he set out full of motivation in search of work to keep his head above water here in Switzerland. By chance he got a job as a bottle cleaner in the former grocery store of Mr. Ernst Osswald. Boris impressed with his diligence and entrepreneurial spirit, so that Mr. Osswald soon promoted him and entrusted him with the responsibility for the entire drugstore area in his shop. In 1921, Mr. Osswald then supported Boris in opening his own perfumery and in honor of his name, Boris christened it Osswald. Over the years, a friendly business relationship developed between them and Mr. Osswald also assisted Boris in finally fulfilling his dream of owning his own cosmetics. In 1930, Boris founded Parfa, using the recipes he had sewn into his jacket pocket for his escape from his homeland. He named his first product line Arrow. Unfortunately, it remains a mystery to this day how he came up with that name.

Learn even more about the past of Parfümerie Osswald in this special edition published in summer 2021. Immerse yourself in the fascinating history and marvel at pictures steeped in history.