Manny Iriarte Enterprises, The OpusX Society Launch

Longtime Arturo Fuente collaborator Manny Iriarte has unveiled his largest project to date: Fuente The OpusX Society.

It’s part of a variety of launches for Iriarte including his new Miami-based company, Manny Iriarte Enterprises, and nearly two dozen cigar accessories, most of which represent a specific Arturo Fuente brand.

Iriarte’s work with Arturo Fuente is well-known. He worked with Fuente and Hublot on a variety of limited edition watches that celebrate OpusX. Iriarte also designed the OpusX 20th Anniversary Celebration packaging and a line of S.T.Dupont accessories that launched alongside the release.

The idea for The OpusX Society began in 2013, though it wasn’t until 2019 that he started work on the concept in earnest. Now, it is finally ready to start selling its accessories.

There are more or less three categories of items: OpusX-branded items, items that represent other Arturo Fuente brands, and a Manny Iriarte-branded lighter.

Most of the items are being sold by Manny Iriarte Enterprises both directly to consumers and through retailers. The exceptions are four of the high-end items—a pair each of humidors and lighters—that are collaborations with Elie Bleu that will be sold by Elie Bleu in the U.S.

The most expensive and prominent pieces in the collection are a pair of humidors made in collaboration with Elie Bleu, the French humidor company. Named El Azul and El Rojo—Spanish for the blue and the red—the two humidors measure 15.15 inches x 9.84 x 6.69, rated to hold around 75 cigars.

Three different types of wood are used for the humidors: African bubinga, blue sycamore and Spanish cedar.

Each humidor has an MSRP of $8,000. These will be sold by Elie Bleu.

For those interested in a smaller cigar storage option, there are two colors of The OpusX Society carbon fiber cases. Each is designed to hold three cigars and measures 2.8 inches x 1.02 x 5.8. Due to the use of carbon fiber, the cases weigh less than 41 grams.

Both colors have an MSRP of $149.

Iriarte is also making a variety of hand accessories in collaboration with Elie Bleu. The most expensive will be The OpusX Society J-14 lighters, both of which have an MSRP of $440. Like the humidors, the blue version is known as El Azul, while the red is El Rojo.

These will be sold by Elie Bleu.

The J-14 was introduced in 2017. It has the appearance of a classic soft flame cigar lighter, though the flame is actually a wide torch flame.

Iriarte has also created a series of items for three Arturo Fuente brands: Don Carlos, Gran Reserva and Hemingway. All of the items in this series are identical in terms of basic specs, though they carry different decorative designs and the interiors of the humidors are slightly different.

Regardless of brand, the MSRPs are the same:

• Ashtray — $175
• Cutter — $219
• Elie Bleu J-15 Lighter — $229
• Humidor — $1,275

The ceramic ashtrays measure 9.44 inches in length, 10.5 inches in width, and 2.97 inches in height. Each weighs 4.5 pounds and is designed to hold up to four cigars.

For the cutters, it’s a new double guillotine design from Elie Bleu called EBC-4. All three designs have an MSRP of $219.

There’s also a new Elie Bleu lighter model being used called the J-15. It’s a single-flame torch lighter that has an MSRP of $229 as part of The OpusX Society Collaborations.

It’s also offered in a Manny Iriarte colorway, also priced at $229.

Each of the humidors measures 19.25 inches x 10.5 x 8. At $1,275, it’s no surprise that these humidors are made in China and not by Elie Bleu. For the most part, the humidors are identical, though the tray designs are different.

Inside the humidor are six slots designed to hold Boveda packs for humidification. Each humidor will come with six Boveda 84 percent seasoning packs, six Boveda 69 percent packs, and a Bluetooth hygrometer.

For those wanting larger, portable storage, there’s a leather duffle bag. It’s made in Colombia using full grain Italian leather. It has an MSRP of $875.

Finally, there is also a trio of different drinkware options:

• The OpusX Society Coffee Mugs (Pair of 2, $84)
• The OpusX Society Glencarin Glasses (Set of 4, $179)
• The OpusX Society Rocks Glasses (Pair of 2, $89)

Update — The original version of this story listed the MSRP of the cutter as $209, the correct price is $219. It was also listed as “EDC4,” it is “EBC-4.”

Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.