S.T.Dupont Delays U.S. Release of Le Grand Dupont

The most anticipated luxury lighter of the year will have to wait to next year, at least for the U.S.

S.T.Dupont has delayed the U.S. release of its Le Grand Dupont lighter until next year. The new lighter, which combines a soft flame and a torch jet into one device, was shown off at the IPCPR Convention & Trade Show in July and expected to be released late in the year.

The lighter is available at retailers in Europe since late September, but Davidoff of Geneva USA, the U.S. distributor for S.T.Dupont, has delayed its American launch until Q1 2018.

While not entirely new, the dual flame lighter concept isn’t something that’s been widely marketed within cigar shops. S.T.Dupont’s version looks like a larger version of its popular Ligne 2 lighter, with an added button on the front face. To use the lighter, you open the lid and flick the roller ignition with your thumb like a traditional soft flame lighter. To activate the torch flame, you simply press the button which sends a torch flame out of a separate stack.

You must use the soft flame ignition before enabling the torch.

The Le Grand Dupont is offered in three standard finishes with pricing ranging from $1,295 to $1,695. In addition, the company showed off a special version in its S.T.Dupont 145th Anniversary Travel Case Humidor, a $145,000 package that included a trunk-style humidor, a travel humidor, the aforementioned lighter, a cutter, ashtray and 72 Davidoff Oro Blancos.