Each lighter is a handcrafted limited edition, costing nearly $40,000…
As any astronaut can tell you, enjoying a cigarette in a pressurized space capsule is probably not a good idea. But today, earth-bound cigar lovers can celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of July 20, 1969, when the first moon landing took place with the help of a stunning creation by Paris-based S.T.Dupont, created in collaboration with 2Saints and top jewel designer Luis Alberto Quispe Aparicio. These are two incredible collectibles – that is, magnificently detailed lighters.
To showcase Apollo collection in right light, we have to say that the Apollo 11 spacecraft is made of three parts – the Columbia command module, the service module, and the lunar module known as the LM. The command module contained space for astronauts: mission commander Nile Armstrong, command module pilot Michael Collins, and lunar module pilot Edwin Baz Oldrin. The service module contained the main propulsion system, while simultaneously supplying the Columbia module with electricity, oxygen, and water, while the lunar module was a two-spacecraft, used by Armstrong and Oldrin to land on the moon’s surface.
Of these three modules, the Command Module and the Lunar Module were seamlessly replicated in miniature variant as individually numbered units of eleven editions. Created with precious metals and gems, each edition features a limited edition S.T.Dupont L2 lighter. More than 500 hours of work were spent on making each miniature.
The command module is seamlessly molded in bronze and hand patinated, with a plaque bearing the signatures of Armstrong, Oldrin and Collins, along with the signature of President Richard Nixon. The removable cover reveals an individually numbered Apollo Prestige Line 2 dual flame lighter, finished in pink gold and hand-patinated bronze. In addition to eleven modules and lighters that cost $38,000 apiece, there will also be 69 individually numbered lighters without modules, priced at $5,500.
The intriguing Lem model, which costs $39,480, consists of a gilded duplicate skeletal structure of the aircraft, with a replica of the obsidian module, all of which rely on a silver moon crater base. The main module cover opens and reveals to us a glass tube housing a true lunar meteorite, which comes with a certificate of authenticity. The L2 lighter features sculptural views of a silver astronaut surrounded by lapis lazuli, diamonds and crystal planets. The lighter itself, floating above the module, can be purchased separately, with no Lem sculpture priced at $9,445.