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| DUPONT STEPPIN' OUT AFTER 135 YEARS |
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Page 1 of 2  Plus: Our Register & Win winner of the week!Los Angeles, February 1 – S.T. Dupont has passed its 135th birthday, but the famed French luxury marque is hardly taking it easy. In fact, it’s stepping out like never before. A new and radically different kind of S.T. Dupont showroom has just opened – quietly – on the floor of the stupendous new Palazzo Las Vegas hotel and casino, located next to The Venetian on the Las Vegas Strip. You can call it a boutique, but in fact it’s the first S.T. Dupont “store” in the world, offering the entire range of pens, ashtrays, cigar cases, cutters, humidors, leather goods and, of course, the famed Dupont lighters. One project insider told us that once you walk down the main breezeway of The Palazzo and into the casino, you’ll see on the left a full wall of “everything we make” from S.T. Dupont and, on the right, a similar exposition of cigars, pipes, humidors and other items from Davidoff of Geneva. Even in the short trial period of the last three weeks – the hotel isn’t officially open yet – “it’s been very successful.” Our spy told us “it’s rich, it’s luxurious, it’s absolutely awesome. If people win a lot of money, they come over and treat themselves; if they lose a lot of money, they want to get their mind off of it. It’s just been great.” The official opening is coming up on February 10, with a special celebration on the floor and a reception in the hotel’s Laguna Lounge with hors d’oeuvres from Jade Restaurant. Long sold only through authorized dealers around the U.S., the S.T. Dupont showcase at The Palazzo contains all of the high-end items that any high roller could want. That includes the company’s limited-edition products, such as one of the New York Fifth Avenue Limited Edition Super Prestige lighter, incorporating more than 1,000 diamonds and selling for about $30,000. Only 20 were made. But there are also lighters and accessories which are more accessible. The most popular sellers among the lighter lines are the Ligne 2 and Gatsby collections, both of which feature the famous Dupont “ping” upon opening. Ligne 2 lighters (as pictured above) start at $600 and top out about $1,200 while the Gatsbys run from $510-900. Next in popularity are the elegant Ligne 1 group (available beginning at $390) and the Line D, which starts at $680. If your needs run to a torch lighter, the popular X-Tend line is an easy choice at $150-195 each. The Dupont exposition also includes the company’s under-appreciated line of cigar accessories, including cases, cutters, humidors and Limoges porcelain ashtrays. With this kind of showroom, however, they aren’t likely to be low-profile for long. |
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Did you know?
“Although the preferred humidity setting for cigars is 70%, temperature control of 70-75 F is equally important.
