S.T. Dupont Ships Final Padrón 60th Lighter Models

Today, Coles of London—S.T. Dupont’s American distributor—began shipping the two Haute Creation lighters, the final items of the seven-piece collection. From a distance, it would be easy to confuse the two lighters, but up close, the differences become clear. Both lighters use yellow gold-plated bodies with a unique dark bronze insert on the lower portions of the front and back of the body.

These two models are Haute Creation models, a name given to S.T. Dupont’s made-to-order items. As with other Haute Creation pieces, both models feature a lot more detail work than a standard S.T. Dupont lighter and both are limited.

The S.T. Dupont Le Grand Dupont Padrón 60th Haute Creation, a special version of the Le Grand Dupont.

Like other Le Grand Duponts, it features two different types of flames: the double soft flame found on S.T. Dupont’s classic Ligne 2 lighters and a single-flame torch. To activate the torch flame, users must first ignite the soft flames and then push up on the ignition roller, which cuts off gas to the soft flame and redirects it to the torch. Like the iconic Ligne 2 lighter, this lighter makes a ping sound when the lid is flipped open.

It has an MSRP of $4,795 and is limited to 88 numbered pieces.

The sides of the lighter have small Padrón-themed details like the company’s little hammer logo, the island of Cuba and the initials: J.O.R. All of these are references to the late José O. Padrón, the company’s founder.

Padrón was born in Cuba and lived there for the first half of his life. In 1961, he emigrated to Miami where he took up work as a carpenter. He was given a small hammer and spent three years saving money until he was able to start his own cigar company in 1964.

The other lighter is the S.T. Dupont Ligne 2 Padrón 60th Haute Creation, a special version of the company’s iconic Ligne 2 soft flame lighter, a double soft flame lighter that is activated using a roller wheel. This model is known for its signature pinging sound that the lighter makes when the lid is flicked open before use.

Unlike the Le Grand, the Ligne 2 only features a soft flame.

It has an MSRP of $4,495 and is limited to 88 numbered pieces.

The bodies of the lighters are very similar, and the Ligne 2 features the details on the sides of the lighters. Side-by-side, a Le Grand is noticeably larger than the Ligne 2. Another way to tell the two apart is the roller wheels: the Ligne 2 only has vertical lines, whereas the Le Grand has horizontal lines but a smooth top.

Padrón was founded on Sept. 8, 1964. The company released its 60th anniversary on Friday, Sept. 6, ahead of the exact 60th anniversary date. S.T. Dupont shipped the other items—which includes simpler and more affordable Le Grand and Ligne 2 lighters—in early October.