The S.T. Dupont Gift: Which Piece to Give, and to Whom

An S.T. Dupont gift is the rare present that works whether or not you know the first thing about cigars, because the name on the box is one he already knows. The Paris maison was founded in 1872, and everything we carry from it sits in our S.T. Dupont collection: lighters, pens, cutters, cigar cases and leather, each with a live price. Finding a good piece there is easy. Choosing one is the hard part, and this guide does the choosing by the only question that matters, which is who it is for.

We are an authorized S.T. Dupont retailer, and as we write this there are more than 400 S.T. Dupont pieces live on our site: over 130 lighters, more than 110 pens, and the cutters, punches, cigar cases, ashtrays and leather goods that go around them. That depth is a pleasure for a collector and a problem for anyone buying a present, so we have cut it down to one pick per person. When someone asks us for help with a gift from this house, we ask two things before anything else: does he smoke cigars, and where does he light them. Every pick below follows from those two answers.

The S.T. Dupont gift by the person: the short answer

• The cigar smoker with a favorite chairS.T. Dupont Le Grand Cling, black and palladium, $1,895.00. Soft flame and torch in one lighter, in the larger frame made with a cigar in mind.
• The milestone: a retirement, a promotion, a big birthdayS.T. Dupont Line 2, black lacquer and yellow gold, $1,650.00. The lighter people know by the sound of its cap.
• The man who smokes outsideS.T. Dupont Défi Extreme, black matte, $375.00. Built for wind and travel, with a jet flame.
• The suit pocketS.T. Dupont Slim 7, matte black, $295.00. A slim jet lighter for the evening out.
• The groomsmen, or his first oneS.T. Dupont Minijet, matte black, $210.00. The compact torch, small enough for any pocket.
• The client or the executive who does not smokeS.T. Dupont Line D Eternity large rollerball, Monogram 1872, palladium, $950.00. The house's signature pen.
• The pen he will use every dayS.T. Dupont Défi Millennium ballpoint, matte black, $375.00.
• The travelerS.T. Dupont two-cigar case, black grain and chrome, $325.00. A rigid leather case for an evening out.
• The man who already owns the lighterS.T. Dupont Perfect Cut slim cigar cutter, black and chrome, $285.00, or the large Monogram 1872 ashtray in black, $525.00.
• The groomS.T. Dupont square Diamond Head cufflinks, $265.00.
• A gift for herS.T. Dupont Liberté ballpoint, white lacquer and golden, $525.00.
• The collectorEl Septimo x S.T. Dupont Yao "Ping" lighter, $1,606.50. A limited collaboration between two houses we know well.

Prices are the ones on our site today. The cards below always show the live price.

Six picks that cover most of the people on a gift list, with live prices.

The S.T. Dupont lighter gift starts with one question: soft flame or torch?

The easiest mistake to make with a lighter given as a present is skipping this question. A soft flame is the classic yellow flame. It is gentle on a cigar, lovely to use indoors, and it is what the famous S.T. Dupont lighters are built around. A torch, also called a jet flame, is a blue flame under pressure. It is the one that stays lit on a terrace, a golf course or the deck of a boat.

So ask where he smokes. If the answer is a lounge, a study or a covered patio, give a soft flame. If the answer is outside, give a torch. If you do not know, there is one lighter in the range that does both, and we come to it next. Our guide to what you are paying for in a luxury cutter or lighter goes deeper on flames and mechanisms, and you can compare every house we carry side by side in our cigar lighters collection.

For the man who smokes cigars: Le Grand or Line 2

If he smokes cigars and you want the one piece he will reach for every evening, our pick is the S.T. Dupont Le Grand Cling in black and palladium. Le Grand is the larger frame of the maison's signature lighter. It is brass under natural lacquer, it has a fuller feel in the hand, and it carries a mixed flame: soft for a slow, even light, and torch for when the air is moving. That makes it the safest answer to the soft or torch question, because he never has to choose. It is refillable and serviceable, which is the whole point of a lighter at this level. It is kept and looked after, not replaced.

If the occasion is the thing, a retirement, a promotion, a wedding morning, a birthday with a zero in it, we go to the S.T. Dupont Line 2 in black lacquer and yellow gold. Line 2, Ligne 2 in French, is the lighter known by ear: the clear sound of the cap as it opens, which the house calls the cling. This one is the archetype, natural black lacquer with a yellow gold finish and a soft double flame. It is the piece that gets handed over at a dinner and passed around the table before he has even lit anything with it. If you would like the story behind the sound, we have written about the house, the Faverges workshop and the cling.

One practical note for a milestone gift. A soft flame lighter of this kind is a lounge and desk object. If the man you are buying for smokes mostly on the course or by the water, give Le Grand, or pair the Line 2 with one of the pocket torches below so he has the right flame for both places. Our guide to cigars for a retirement gift covers the box that goes beside it.

For the man who smokes outside: Défi Extreme, Slim 7 and Minijet

The golfer, the boat owner and the man with a rooftop all need the same thing, which is a flame that does not care about the weather. The S.T. Dupont Défi Extreme in black matte is the one the house builds for wind and travel, with a robust metal body and a powerful jet flame. It is the pick we would put in a golf bag or a boat bag without a second thought, and at $375.00 it is a luxury lighter gift for men that does not have to wait for a milestone.

The S.T. Dupont Slim 7 in matte black is the same idea cut for a jacket. It is a slim, refined jet lighter made for the pocket and the evening, the one for the man who dresses for dinner and does not want a shape showing through his suit. And the S.T. Dupont Minijet in matte black is the compact torch, small enough for any pocket and strong enough for a cigar. The Minijet is where we point anyone buying several at once. It is the right size and the right price to give to every groomsman, and it is a real S.T. Dupont, refillable and serviceable like the rest of the range. If that is your list, our groomsmen gift guide works out the cigars and the quantities to go with it.

A luxury pen gift for men who do not smoke: the client, the boss, the partner

This is where the house earns its place on a gift list that has nothing to do with cigars. A pen is right for anyone, it sits on a desk where it is seen, and it carries the same name and the same finishing as the lighters. For a client, a senior partner or the person who signs the contracts, our pick is the S.T. Dupont Line D Eternity large rollerball in palladium. Line D Eternity is the maison's signature writing instrument, with an articulated clip and a balanced weight in the hand, and this piece carries the Monogram 1872 decor, a tribute to the year the house was founded in Paris. It reads as considered, not showy, which is exactly what a business gift should do.

For a pen that will live in a bag and be used every day, the S.T. Dupont Défi Millennium ballpoint in matte black has a sportier, more architectural body in brass, chrome and lacquer. It is the one we would give to a colleague, a son starting his first serious job, or a boss when the gift comes from the team. The whole range, from the Initial line up to the lacquer fountain pens, is in our pens collection, and our guide to corporate gifts for clients, partners and the team covers the etiquette of giving at work.

For the man who already owns the lighter

Some men already have their S.T. Dupont, and have had it for years. For them, give the piece that sits next to it. The S.T. Dupont Perfect Cut slim cigar cutter in black and chrome is slim enough for a pocket, and a clean cut matters as much as the cigar itself: it keeps the cap intact and the draw even. The two-cigar case in black grain leather and chrome is the gift for the man who travels. It is rigid, so two cigars arrive at dinner in the condition they left the humidor.

For the desk or the terrace table, the large Monogram 1872 ashtray in black is porcelain, with wide rests that hold a cigar securely between draws. It is the piece people do not buy for themselves and use every day once they have it. And for the groom, or the man who wears a shirt that needs them, the square Diamond Head cufflinks carry the faceted guilloche pattern most associated with the house, in palladium finish. More cutters from every maker we carry are in our cigar cutters collection.

The companion pieces, the collector's lighter and the cigars to go with them, with live prices. Choose the box on the cigar's product page.

If the gift is for her

Nothing in this range is only for men. The piece we suggest first is the S.T. Dupont Liberté ballpoint in white lacquer with golden accents. Liberté is the maison's slender, elegant pen, with a lacquered barrel, and it comes in several lacquer colors if white is not hers. If she enjoys a cigar, the S.T. Dupont Slimmy in white lacquer and golden is a slender torch lighter with an adjustable jet flame, in the same white and gold, at $395.00. The two together make a matched pair.

For the collector: El Septimo x S.T. Dupont

The hardest man on any list is the one who has the lighter, the pen and the case already. For him we go to the collaboration between two houses we know well. The El Septimo x S.T. Dupont Yao "Ping" lighter is a limited edition soft flame lighter in solid brass with a diamond-head guilloche pattern, with two symmetrical soft flames for an even light, offered in gold, rose gold or palladium finish. It is dedicated to El Septimo's Emperor collection, and it carries a louder, bolder version of the house's signature sound, here called the ping.

There are six designs in the series, each with a matching rollerball pen, and the Yao rollerball is limited to 100 pieces. A lighter and its pen together is the gift for the man who notices when two objects on a desk belong to each other. All twelve pieces are listed in our El Septimo x S.T. Dupont collection, and for more ideas at this level our guide to luxury gifts for men, chosen by the man is the companion to this one.

The cigars to give with it

A lighter given with nothing to light is half a present. If you know he enjoys a cigar, add a box, and keep the box at the level of the lighter. Our choice is the El Septimo Empress Sheba Maduro Gordo, box of 20, at $560.00. It is a 6 x 60 from Costa Rica, medium to full, with a dark, oily Maduro wrapper. Our note on it: white pepper up front, a rich aged character underneath, and an even burn despite how densely it is filled. The box comes in white, light blue or light purple, so it can match the room it will live in.

We carry El Septimo deeper than any other house, so if Empress Sheba is not his strength there is another line that is. The full range is in our El Septimo collection, and if you can tell us only a little about what he likes, our Cigar Finder narrows the shop to a short list in four questions. Cigars go only to an adult you know enjoys them. The lighters, pens, cases and cufflinks on this page suit anyone.

Live prices from the S.T. Dupont collection.

The short version

Ask whether he smokes and where. For the cigar smoker, Le Grand, because it carries both flames. For the milestone, Line 2 in black lacquer and yellow gold. For the course, the boat and the terrace, Défi Extreme, with Slim 7 for the jacket and Minijet for the groomsmen. For the man who does not smoke, a Line D Eternity pen. For the man who has the lighter, the cutter, the case or the ashtray. For the collector, El Septimo x S.T. Dupont. Add a box of El Septimo if he enjoys a cigar, and tell us the date you need it.