Iris is the central ingredient of the fragrance, along with several "new interesting musks", found by the perfumer. Talking about iris, the perfumer pointed out it is a very demanding ingredient. First of all, it's hard to source, because anything can affect the final quality of the oil, including climate and soil. Secondly, processing of iris is very time and labor-consuming process, which lasts a couple of years. However, Chanel never made a single compromise about the quality of her (their) perfumes. The new No.19  (2011) unites the latest technology advances (musks) and the best that can be achieved in a good old artisanal way