Ten Cigar Accessories When Price is No Object
Think you’ll have an extra $1,000 or so from your tax returns this year? More? If the answer is yes—and you’re tired of lighting your cigars with a Bic and ashing in a Dixie cup—then we’ve compiled a list of high-end gear that will help you enjoy your smokes in serious style. But fair warning: this elite class of toys won’t come cheap, so don’t search for any value products here. This is a list with no shortage of superlative materials, high craftsmanship, historic design and fantastic function. We make sure to indicate all the suggested retail prices so you can budget accordingly, but then again, you know what they say: If you have to ask how much it costs, you probably shouldn’t be reading this list in the first place.
Ashtray of the Apes
There’s something about seeing a monkey smoke a cigar that makes you want to do the same thing. Zimbabwe silversmith The Crocodile and Monkey Ashtray. And for £1,295 (about $1,500), it brings a bit of Hemingway and a touch of the Congo into your otherwise tame smoking den. Besides, what’s funnier than a cigar-smoking monkey hitching a ride on the back of a crocodile?
It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got that Ping
Most smokers can spot an S.T. Dupont Ligne 2 lighter from across the room. And hear it too. Flicking open the thick lid of this hefty lighter produces a distinctive “ping” that many companies have tried—and failed—to imitate. This particular model, a soft-flame lighter called Fire Head Under Lacquer ($1,169), represents the first time that S.T. Dupont incorporates a triangular guilloche pattern with layers of deep-blue lacquer. And yes, it pings.
Couture Cases With a Crush of Color
While most cigar cases come in either black or brown, Fallon broadens the spectrum with an iridescent portfolio of lushly tanned leather that blossoms brilliantly with character and intensity. Patterns and patinas are rendered in vivid Technicolor but it’s the leatherwork that really stands out. The checkerboard case ($1,350) is actually a complex weaving of leather strips, and the Cuban flag case ($1,762) is a leather-on-leather composition stitched by hand. Propaganda here comes cheapest at $818 for the Revolución.
Ashing Like an Astor
Legendary glass producer Lalique gained notoriety in this country during the Roaring Twenties when it created crystal car hood ornaments and fancy vases for the wealthy. Today, the storied glassmaker brings its signature finishes to the Jungle Ashtray ($2,100), a twinkling piece of art deco that strikes a breathtaking contrast between clear and frosted surfaces—the main point of any good Lalique.
The Secret Agent Humidor
it it: at one time or another, you’ve fantasized about being a secret agent. Whether you saw yourself as 007 or Maxwell Smart, Siglo Accessory’s Biometrico fingerprint-ID humidor ($1,320) will now grant you the sort of high-level security clearance and technology normally reserved for government operatives. To gain access, place your finger on the reader. Once it recognizes your fingerprint, you’re in like Our Man Flint. Use the wrong finger, and access is denied. It holds 100 cigars and, unlike Google or Facebook, your fingerprint data here won’t be hacked, collected or sold.
An Ashtray With the Midas Touch
Seeing how a bar of gold bullion would cost at least $40,000, these convincing replicas from Son & Son are a relative bargain. The gold bar ashtray (£799 or $1,061) is milled from a solid block of brass and plated in 24K gold. The silver bar (£599 or $800), from a solid block of steel and then polished in a brushed-silver satin finish. Anything more realistic and you’ll have to rob the Federal Reserve.
The High Society Humidor
Are you a rare woods type of person? It’s ok. There’s no shame in pillaging the earth’s rain forests for the sake of your fancy humidor. We’re kidding of course. The Macassar ebony exterior for Grosvenor & Christian’s Cuba humidor (£6,950 or $9,000) has been responsibly sourced from the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. The starburst pattern on top of the lid is outdone only by the satinwood inlay of Cuba and the 23-karat gold hardware. Notice the Cuban flag on the key plate? That’s gold-plated too.
A Gentleman’s Torch
Dunhill has been making its Unique lighters for 100 years, but the British signifier of luxury goods ed the 21st century when it finally made one with a torch. Now, the Unique Turbo lets you light your cigar with the precise, wind-resistant torch technology of today and the classic Dunhill design of a bygone era. The model in Palladium finish retails for $995, the black lacquer, $1,095.
The Star Spangled Humidor
It may seem strange to show American patriotism by purchasing something made in the United Kingdom, but the Stars & Stripes humidor from Linley makes a statement of both national loyalty and good taste. One look at its undulating inlays and star-spangled marquetry, and you’ll be singing God Bless America, even if most of the £9,950 you paid for it is going to the Queen.
Blade Meets Bling
Anyone can cover a mediocre cigar cutter in jewels and charge a fortune for it, but that’s not what’s going on with these fine pieces from Paramount. At $32,000 to $45,000 apiece (depending on the model), each one is a culmination of high craft and artistry. To add to the style, each model is forged from complex and gorgeous Damascus steel. The rows of diamonds and rubies are beautifully integrated into the steel’s signature wavy patterns. This makes them more than merely cutters, but heirloom works of art that will have your grandchildren arguing over them long after you’re gone.
