Davidoff Concrete Ashtray

I am admittedly a mark for modern-looking ashtrays, but at least I know I have a problem. Last year, Davidoff really tempted my credit card when it announced not only some interesting-looking modern ashtrays but also a modern-looking glass humidor. The price of the humidor, $8,950, was a bit too rich for even my upgraded humidor budget, but $225 for an ashtray was more than palatable. In June, some nine months after the products were announced, I realized that Davidoff’s online store listed the ashtrays in stock and I decided to purchase one for this review.

WHAT IS IT?

There are six different Davidoff Concrete Ashtrays—two different sizes and three different stone options. Each ashtray comes with two accent pieces, the small ashtrays have rose gold accent pieces, while the large models use yellow gold. So that means you can choose from:

• Davidoff Concrete Ashtray Light Grey/Rose Gold Small
• Davidoff Concrete Ashtray Light Grey/Yellow Gold Large
• Davidoff Concrete Ashtray Dark Grey/Rose Gold Small
• Davidoff Concrete Ashtray Dark Grey/Yellow Gold Large
• Davidoff Concrete Ashtray White Marble/Rose Gold Small
• Davidoff Concrete Ashtray White Marble/Yellow Gold Large

The small ashtrays have two cut-outs for cigars whereas the large ones have places for four cigars.

I chose the small dark grey ashtray with rose gold accents. As far as the concrete, the outside and the cigar holder have a relatively smooth feeling concrete, though it’s clearly not polished, whereas the inside of the bowl both looks and feels polished to the point where the texture is nearly as smooth as glass. The rose gold accent pieces are placed near seamlessly on the rim of the bowl, stopping at the place where you would rest your cigar, meaning there are two of these pieces, one of which has a small Davidoff logo.

Dimensions-wise, I measured the small ashtray at roughly 5.915 inches in diameter and 1.4325 inches in height. For whatever it’s worth, Davidoff says it’s 5.94 inches x 1.37 inches, and the large ashtray is listed at 7.24 inches in diameter and 1.57 inches in height. I weighed the ashtray at 550g, about 1.2 pounds.

The bottom of the ashtray shows an even less finished concrete where scratches and discoloration are visible. There’s also four small felt feet and a rose gold medallion that indicates the ashtray was made in Europe.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

Regardless of color combination, the small ashtrays have an MSRP of $225 and the large ashtrays have an MSRP of $270.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

It works like an ashtray, with maybe the one exception I’ve noted in the next section.

There’s nothing really special going on other than the patina that develops, which I would describe as mild. After four months of using this for most, but not all, of the cigars I’ve smoked there’s a bit of patina developed where the bottom of the bowl meets the interior walls. I suspect it’s due to a combination of the ash, the heat of the ash, and the cleaning products I use, but the overall patina is pretty mild and developing slowly. From a short distance, such as the distance of the ashtray sitting on a table in front of me, the patina is not immediately noticeable.

The accent pieces have developed some small scratches, though those aren’t all that visible in natural light. That said, these pieces are fingerprint magnets.

WHAT MAKES IT SPECIAL?

Typically, the cigar rests of a two- or four-cigar ashtray are directly opposite another cigar rest, but not here. Davidoff positions the slots so they are off-center from one another, which means that when there are two cigars being smoked at the same time, the feet of the cigar—or the ash—won’t bump into the other one.

If you are using the ashtray with two five-inch long cigars this probably isn’t needed. That said, if you take two six-inch long cigars, the feature is really nice.

Davidoff uses this on a number of ashtrays including the larger Concrete ashtray.

THE GOOD

• I Like the Way It Looks — Regular readers of halfwheel’s humidor and ashtray reviews know that I like modern aesthetics and this certainly qualifies. Rose gold might be overplayed, but I like it here.
• The Patina Isn’t Ugly — Some ashtrays develop a patina that does not look good. There’s a difference in the soothing concept of a baseball glove being “broken in,” versus a soiled rug. This is much more the former and I like it.
• It’s Pretty Small — The overall footprint is quite small, which is nice. I rarely find myself sharing an ashtray with another person, so there’s no reason for me to have some giant four-cigar ashtray.
• Cleaning is Easy — The smooth surfaces and ash-like color make cleaning really easy and the circular shape means there are fewer places for ash to get stuck. I’d assume this can go in the dishwasher, though I didn’t try it as I didn’t feel like replacing the felt feet, which could be the one issue with cleaning it in such a manner.
• The Multi-Cigar Feature Is a Great Tweak — While not the most revolutionary thing, this is a really smart adjustment. There’s no reason why the two cigars need to be directly across from one another, and the alternative used here is just much better.
• The Concrete Has Held Up — There are no cracks or scratches that have developed. I didn’t think that would happen, but it’s worth pointing out. Davidoff also packs these ashtrays pretty well, so the chance of damage in shipping should be reduced. While this feels very well made, I didn’t do any sort of drop test and suspect that this isn’t a great candidate to drop on the ground.

THE BAD

• The Price — While not the most expensive ashtray I’ve reviewed, this is not cheap. This is a luxury ashtray with a luxury price tag.
• The Cigar Rest Slots Are Thin — I wish that the rim of the ashtray was thicker so the place to rest the cigar was thicker. While you can pretty easily balance the cigar, I didn’t use this ashtray on any cigar I knew I needed to photograph because of the propensity for cigars to become unbalanced and fall into the bowl. They also sometimes fell the other way, which is more problematic. Making the rim thicker would solve this problem.
• The Gold Attracts Fingerprints — Fortunately, you don’t need to touch the gold accent pieces to use the ashtray, but if you do, your fingerprint is likely to end up on the ashtray.

THE COMPETITION

The reason why I was willing to review this ashtray was because of the Les Fines Lames MONAD/DYAD, a pair of concrete ashtrays I reviewed in early 2021. Those ashtrays are similar in size—though closer to a square in shape—but more importantly, are made of mortar. When Les Fines Lames announced the ashtrays, the French company talked about how they would patina, something I got to witness. I was curious if the Davidoff Concrete Ashtrays would patina in a similar fashion, but that didn’t happen. I found the Les Fine Lames ashtrays to discolor much more obviously than the Davidoff Concrete Ashtray. While I don’t think the Les Fines Lames ashtrays look ugly, I don’t find the patina to be as aesthetically pleasing. However, if forced to pick between the two, I would recommend buying the Les Fines Lames over the Davidoff. While I like the Davidoff better in just about every way, there’s one major category where Les Fines Lames wins: price. The single-cigar MONAD is priced at $68, while the two-cigar DYAD is priced at $78. The Davidoff is better, but not three times as good.

Additional Competitors

• Czevitrum Small Ashtray ($280)  — It’s been more than two years since I’ve reviewed these unique glass-blown ashtrays and the small version is still my go-to ashtray. The small version is capable of holding two cigars, though it would be very awkward to share if someone was sitting across from you. With a bit of patience on Etsy, you can find these ashtrays for far less than $250 and that’s the route I would take.
• Davidoff Porcelain Ashtray ($100) — If your goal is to find a cheaper two-cigar ashtray from Davidoff, the company’s standard Porcelain Ashtray is an option. I’m not fond of this particular design—both the Davidoff version and the countless other companies that sell a similar one—because I find cigars get knocked over into it a lot more frequently than others. While not that much more difficult, it is more difficult to clean than the Concrete Ashtray, probably due both to its shape and larger size. I’d spend the extra money and get the Concrete Ashtray if given the choice.
• Davidoff Round Ashtrays ($390+) — If you like the circular shape and the off-center cigar alignment but don’t like the concrete material, Davidoff makes a similar shape in porcelain in a number of different colorways. Those ashtrays tend to be a bit larger—about two inches larger in diameter—and also notably more expensive. These designs also tend to be a bit more obvious than the Concrete Ashtray’s style. I don’t think I’ve ever used any of these ashtrays, but I’d go with the Concrete version because of its lower price, smaller footprint and more subdued aesthetics.
• Zino Ashtray ($85) — If you are looking for a modern-looking ashtray under $100, Davidoff’s Zino brand has this three-cigar ceramic ashtray that is unique-looking. I’ve not used it, so I’m not sure how it works.
• Storcks Design Concrete Single Cigar Ashtray ($50) — Storcks Designs has a number of different ashtray options, this single-cigar one still stands out as the one I would choose. I haven’t used this ashtray, however.
• Lirio Design House Concrete Ashtray ($150) — I absolutely love the way this looks—and this included brass piece to help keep your cigar in place is smart. While I haven’t used it, the steps in the bowl of the ashtray seem like they are going to be a complete pain to clean. This ashtray has increased in price by $50 compared to January 2021. I have not used this ashtray.

SHOULD YOU BUY IT?

No.

I wrote “Yes,” then deleted it and wrote “No,” then I deleted “No” and wrote “Yes” again and here I am pretty much on the fence. There’s nothing wrong with this ashtray other than its price, but then again compared to other luxury ashtrays, I actually like the value here. For me, ashtrays come down to three things: does it work, is it easy to clean, and do I like how it looks? The answer to those questions is yes, yes and yes. So it seems like the answer to this question should be yes. While I think that this is a decent value for the Davidoff name, as well as for the way that it’s made, etc., my issue with it arises if I shop this against the aforementioned ashtrays. If I want a concrete ashtray, the Les Fine Lames delivers that aspect at a third of the price. And if I want a $200+ unique-looking ashtray, the Czevitrum is in a different league. But the real kicker that led me to settle on “No” is that the last Davidoff ashtray I reviewed was a bit less money and a lot more interesting than this, and the next Davidoff ashtray will also probably be more interesting, though a bit more expensive than the Concrete Ashtray. Sometimes, it doesn’t pay to be the bed that Goldilocks chooses.