Agarwood Grading & Authenticity: The Complete Guide

FOREZA · Agarwood Education · Updated 2026-06-04 · 16 min read

By FOREZA Master Grader · Last reviewed 2026-06-04 by FOREZA Compliance · Grading & Authentication

The agarwood market is a buyer's minefield. Plantation wood dyed to look like Kyara, beads soaked in synthetic oud oil, "ultra sinking" labels with no industry meaning — the frauds are everywhere. This page is the central guide to agarwood grading and authenticity. It explains the four official grades, the three reliable home tests, the five most common scams, and how to verify a Certificate of Authenticity. Use it as a reference whenever you are evaluating a piece of agarwood, before you buy or after.

1. The Four Official Grades

There is no single global industry standard for agarwood grading, but there is a widely used four-tier system that maps to both the retail and B2B markets. Every FOREZA piece is graded into one of these four tiers based on visual inspection, hand-feel, and the water-sinking test.

For a side-by-side comparison with photographs and detailed use cases, see Four Styles of Agarwood in the Education Pillar.

Marketing Terms to Reject

Some sellers use "ultra sinking," "super sinking," "AAA Kyara," "1000-year-old wild agarwood," or "museum grade." These have no industry definition. If a piece is described with one of these terms rather than the four standard grades, treat it as a red flag. See Marketing Red Flags below.

2. Test 1: Visual Inspection

Hold the piece under natural daylight (not LED or warm lamps). Look at the surface and the cut faces. Three things to look for.

2.1 Irregular Resin Veins

Authentic agarwood shows irregular dark veins of resin running through lighter wood. The pattern is uneven, often branching, sometimes knot-like. Plantation wood, or wood treated with chemical resin, looks more uniform — the dark color is either absent or applied as an outer coating.

2.2 Visible Wood Grain

You should be able to see the wood grain underneath the resin veins. If the surface looks like a single uniform color (very dark all over, or glossy black), it is almost certainly stained. Authentic Kyara has visible structure: the resin veins are darker than the surrounding wood, but the wood itself is still visible and shows grain.

2.3 Hand-Cut and Polished Surfaces

FOREZA pieces are hand-cut and lightly hand-polished. You will see the soft scoring of a hand saw or knife, not the mirror finish of a CNC machine. A mirror-finished surface on "Kyara" is suspicious — it usually means the wood has been lacquered to hide defects or to give a uniform "premium" appearance.

3. Test 2: The Water-Sinking Test

This is the most reliable single home test. It catches the largest number of fraudulent "Sinking-grade" claims. It takes 30 seconds, a clear glass, and room-temperature water.

3.1 Setup

Use a clear glass (250–500 ml) filled about three-quarters full with room-temperature water (20–25 °C). Drop the dry piece into the water from about 5 cm above the surface. Do not push it under.

3.2 Reading the Result

The physics: wood floats because its cellular structure is full of air pockets. For wood to sink, the air pockets must be filled with something denser than water. In authentic Sinking-grade Kyara, those air pockets are filled with oleoresin, a waxy semi-solid with density 1.05–1.15 g/cm³. The resin saturation must be uniform throughout the piece for the test to pass. Surface-only treatment cannot fake this.

For the full step-by-step method, see Sinking-Grade Agarwood Test. For the deeper physics, see Why True Kynam Sinks.

4. Test 3: The Aroma Test (Cool Burn)

This test takes 10 minutes and a small agarwood heater. Do not use direct flame, charcoal, or a cigarette lighter — heat above 200 °C destroys the resin profile.

4.1 Setup

Place the piece on an electric agarwood heater pre-heated to 80–120 °C. Wait 60 seconds for the first whiff.

4.2 What Authentic Kyara Smells Like

A multi-layered aroma in sequence:

1. First 30 seconds: a sweet, honey-like top note.
2. 1–3 minutes: a cooling, menthol-like middle note.
3. 3–10 minutes: a deep, woody base note.
4. (Optional) 10+ minutes: an aged leather or tobacco finish in the highest grades.

4.3 What Fake Smells Like

Fragrance-oil-soaked wood and chemically induced resin release a single flat note that fades within minutes. There is no progression, no cooling middle note, no deep wood base. The smell is "perfumey" — closer to a department-store oud fragrance than to natural agarwood. If the smell is strong at the start and gone within 5 minutes, the wood is almost certainly fake.

5. The 5 Most Common Scams

These five frauds account for the majority of "fake Kyara" complaints worldwide.

Scam 1: Plantation Wood Sold as Wild Kyara

Wood from 5–10 year old plantation Aquilaria, force-inoculated with chemicals to induce fast resin formation. The result is wood that looks dark and resinous on the surface but has very little natural oleoresin. Detection: the water test will catch it. Plantation-wood chips almost never sink.

Scam 2: Fragrance-Soaked Beads

Lower-grade Aquilaria beads soaked in synthetic oud oil or perfume. The smell is strong at first but fades within weeks. Detection: the aroma test will catch it. Genuine Kyara holds its scent for decades.

Scam 3: Sugar-Water Pre-Soak to Force a "Sink"

Wood soaked in concentrated sugar water to artificially raise density. The piece passes the water test the first time, but the surface becomes sticky and crystals form as the wood dries. Detection: smell and touch. Authentic Sinking-grade wood feels dry, smooth, and resinous; sugar-soaked wood feels tacky.

Scam 4: Hainan or Vietnam Wood Sold as Guanzhu

Wood from Hainan, Vietnam, or Indonesia is sold as "Chinese Guanzhu" at a markup. The aroma profile is different (often sharper, less sweet). Detection: ask for a certificate of authenticity that states a specific town, not a country or a vague region. See Certificate of Authenticity for what that should include.

Scam 5: "Vintage 50-Year-Old" Stories

Sellers add a romantic backstory to justify a high price. The story is unverifiable and often fabricated. Detection: the certificate should include a batch number, a date, and a grader's signature. If the certificate is missing those fields, walk away. See Why Your "Kynam" Might Just Be Chemically Induced for the industry-side view.

6. Reading a Certificate of Authenticity

A genuine Certificate of Authenticity contains six fields. Each is a verification anchor you (or a future buyer, if you ever resell) can cross-check against the piece itself.

For the full certificate layout and verification process, see /pages/certificate-of-authenticity.

7. Lab Verification (GC-MS, Density, Microscopy)

For high-value purchases, third-party laboratory verification provides an independent confirmation of grade and authenticity. Three tests are commonly used.

7.1 GC-MS Analysis

Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry produces a chemical fingerprint of the volatile compounds in the wood. Authentic Kyara shows a distinct profile dominated by sesquiterpenes and agarofurans, with specific ratios of benzylacetone, jinkoh-eremol, and jinkohol. A trained analyst can identify the species, the grade, and the approximate origin from a GC-MS report.

7.2 Density Measurement (Archimedes Method)

The piece is weighed in air, then weighed submerged in water. The ratio gives the density directly. Authentic Sinking-grade Kyara has a density greater than 1.0 g/cm³. The Archimedes method is precise to ± 0.01 g/cm³.

7.3 Microscopic Examination

A thin section of the wood is examined under a microscope. Authentic resin shows characteristic structures (resin ducts, tyloses, vessel patterns) that are absent in plantation wood or treated wood. This is the most definitive test but is also the most destructive (requires cutting the piece).

For B2B purchases over $1,000 USD, we recommend requesting a GC-MS report from the seller. For purchases over $5,000 USD, we recommend a full Archimedes density test plus a microscopic examination. FOREZA can connect buyers with certified testing laboratories in Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and Singapore. Email zhangxiaobao217@gmail.com for the current list.

8. Marketing Red Flags to Avoid

Eight marketing patterns that, alone or together, indicate a high probability of fraud.

1. "Ultra sinking," "super sinking," "AAA Kyara" — no industry standard defines these. Red flag.
2. "1000-year-old ancient wood" — verifiable ancient agarwood is essentially absent from the legal market. Red flag.
3. "Wild harvest from [unspecified forest]" — wild agarwood is illegal to trade. Red flag.
4. "Limited edition" or "last batch" without numbers — vague scarcity language. Soft red flag.
5. No Certificate of Authenticity, or one missing any of the six standard fields — hard red flag.
6. No verifiable physical address or workshop reference — soft red flag.
7. Testimonials with no date, name, or verifiable source — soft red flag.
8. Prices significantly below the market range — see Agarwood Price per Gram in 2026 for the current range.

9. Where to Buy Authentic Agarwood

Three sources that are more likely to be reliable than the alternatives.

Direct from a Workshop (Best)

Workshops like FOREZA's Guanzhu operation grade, test, and certify the wood themselves. The Master Grader signs the certificate. The certificate states a specific town. You can ask about cultivation, inoculation, and CITES documentation. This is the most reliable source for retail and small B2B orders.

Established B2B Distributors

For larger orders, established distributors with documented chains of custody from the workshop to the buyer are a reasonable second choice. Verify their CITES documentation and ask for sample shipments before committing.

Reputable Auction Houses

For collector-grade pieces, established auction houses (Christie's, Bonhams, regional Asian auction houses) provide independent authentication and provenance documentation. Auction prices are typically higher than direct-from-workshop prices, but the provenance value is also higher.

For the B2B workflow at FOREZA, see /pages/wholesale-b2b.

10. FAQ

What is the difference between Sinking-grade and Semi-Sinking grade?

Sinking-grade Kyara submerges immediately in water (density > 1.0 g/cm³). Semi-Sinking grade slowly submerges (5–30 seconds). The difference is in the uniformity of resin saturation. Sinking-grade is resin-saturated throughout; Semi-Sinking has a resin-rich surface with a lower-density core.

Is "wild Kyara" better than cultivated Kyara?

Theoretically yes, but legal wild Kyara is essentially absent from the market due to the CITES listing. Cultivated Kyara from a reputable workshop is functionally equivalent for almost all uses. The single-origin certificate matters more than the wild/cultivated distinction.

How can I verify the certificate is genuine?

Scan the QR code on the certificate to confirm the batch number matches the workshop's records. For high-value purchases, email the workshop with the batch number and request verification. See Certificate of Authenticity for the verification process.

What if my piece fails one of the home tests?

Contact the seller immediately. A reputable seller will offer a refund or replacement for any piece that fails the three standard home tests. FOREZA offers this guarantee on every order.

Can lab verification damage the piece?

GC-MS and Archimedes density tests are non-destructive. Microscopic examination requires a thin-section cut and is destructive; request this only on a small sample or a piece you are willing to cut.

All 10 Articles in the Grading & Authenticity Cluster

1. How to Spot Fake Agarwood (Education Pillar)
2. How to Tell if Agarwood Is Real (3 tests, 5 scams)
3. Sinking-Grade Agarwood Test
4. Why True Kynam Sinks: The Science of Oleoresin Gravity
5. Why Your "Kynam" Might Just Be Chemically Induced Agarwood
6. Four Styles of Agarwood
7. Certificate of Authenticity (page)
8. Sourcing & CITES Ethics (page)
9. FAQ (page · 30 answers including authenticity)
10. Agarwood Price per Gram in 2026 (price reference)