S.T. Dupont Lighters

The lighter was invented less than a century ago and has since become extremely popular and available in every imaginable shape and style.

One of the first inventors was the German chemist named Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner who introduced a Döbereiner’s lamp in 1823. This lighter worked with highly flammable hydrogen gas, boosted within the lighter by a chemical reaction. The device was very large and highly dangerous and fell out of production by the end of the 19th century.

The patenting of ferrocerium (often misidentified as flint) by Austrian scientist Carl Auer von Welsbach in 1903 made modern lighters possible. When scratched, it produced a large spark which was responsible for lighting the fuel of many lighters. The evolution of this small object reflected the technological progress at the turn of the century. The lighter created a new, easy, clean and safe way of generating the flame.

Meanwhile, Simon Tissot Dupont, assisted by his sons Lucien and Andre, started a business with leather goods. The first S.T. Dupont serially produced lighter was created in 1941, during World War II. It was made of aluminium since brass was used as a strategic metal restricted for war purposes only.

S.T. Dupont owes one of its greatest successes, the Dupont lighter, to the Maharajah of Patiala, who ordered one hundred Chinese lacquer minaudière clutch bags for his consorts, each one containing a solid gold lighter. The workshop spent three years completing this fabulous order and in 1941, S.T. Dupont produced the first luxury petrol lighter.

The Ligne 1 lighter, now made in more than a thousand variations, is the best seller. The “cling” sound it makes when the lighter opens is a trademark of Dupont lighters.

Every single Dupont lighter requires six hundred operations, 300 tests, 70 pieces and over 100 hours of work. Manufacturing process lasts for around 4 to 5 months in general. Every article is unique because the worker who assembles the lighter engraves his initials under the striker wheel. These initials reflect the quiet pride that goes into manufacturing the object.

These two well preserved vintage specimens from Ligne 1 collection confirms that S.T. Dupond lighters are the best products available on the market.

No. 1
A rare example of the 1970’s Silver plated S.T. Dupont Ligne1 lighter. Rare horizontal line pattern.

No.2
An exceptionally well-preserved Gold plated S.T. Dupont lighter from Ligne1 collection. In blue box.