Description and usage notes: In the view of this perfumer, perhaps the finest of all the musks, effective in traces, synergistic with other musks (especially Exaltolide) and with a very nice animalic undertone this is the musk that occurs in the Muskrat odour naturally, here produced synthetically at >99% purity by Firmenich. Arctander is enthusiastic about it too: “Powerful musky odor, very similar to that of Muscone (Methylcyclopentadecanone) and, in the opinion of many perfumers, superior in type and beauty. It ranks among the finest and most efficient fixatives known, and - like Cyclopentadecanolide - it improves the 'wearability' of a perfume when properly incorporated in the fragrance. Its power becomes more perceptible and evident in extreme dilution, e.g. below one percent in the perfume oil.”  Arcadi Boix Camps, writing in 1978, says  “Cyclopentadecanone, so called Exaltone, has a warm aroma that equals, or in the opinion of some, surpasses Muscone.  Personally I would say that it is just as good as Muscone, though slightly different.  Its powerful musk odor is more animal-like, but the fixation capacity is the same.  It is one of the most beautiful chemicals we have.”  Comes as fine crystals that dissolve readily in ethanol or in the other materials typically used in perfume concentrates.