Made with 400 grams of solid gold and decorated with 152 sapphires, the Louis XIII Fleur de Parme is recognized as the world’s most expensive cigar lighter.

French luxury brand S.T. Dupont started working on the Louis XIII Fleur de Parme cigar lighter at the special request of Steven Hung, a Hong Kong billionaire with a passion for French history. The client had very specific requirements that made it obvious to Dupont that this project could only be carried out by a special designer with an intimate knowledge of French culture and history. Enter Princess Tania de Bourbon Parme, a direct descendant of Louis XIII, but also a renowned designer, who spent six months working with a team of 80 artisans to produce a unique art piece worthy of the title of ‘world’s most expensive cigar lighter’.

Inspired by the Renaissance/Baroque style of the King Louis XIII era, the one-of-a-kind LOUIS XIII Fleur de Parme lighter is designed as a royal gold crown sitting on a decorative base. It is made out of 400 grams of solid gold and decorated with 152 sapphires totaling 41 karats.

Unveiled in 2013, the LOUIS XIII Fleur de Parme was soon acknowledged by the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s most expensive cigar lighter, commanding an eye-watering price of $500,000 from its buyer. Over a decade later, it is still the world’s most expensive cigar lighter, by far.

 

The LOUIS XIII Fleur de Parme proved so popular with luxury product collectors that S.T. Dupont made at least 31 smaller replica pieces that reportedly sold for $15,900 each.

Interestingly, S.T. Dupont also created the world’s most expensive cigarette lighter. The Ligne 2 Champagne Lighter first made news headlines in 2009, mostly because of its price ($79,461). It was made out of high-quality polyurethane and featured an 18-carat white gold case decorated with 468 brilliant-cut diamonds. You could say it gave the expression ‘burning money’ a whole new meaning.