The World's Most Expensive Lighter for $79,000

When it comes to fine gentleman's smoking accessories, its hard to get more luxurious than S.T. Dupont's new Ligne 2 Champagne lighter. The exquisite piece, part of the venerable French firms Prestige Collection, is made of solid 18-carat white gold embellished with 468 brilliant-cut diamonds and is priced at $79,000. Also available is a matching fountain pen also in solid 18-carat white gold with rhodium finished trims and 502 brilliant-cut diamonds for $74,000. S.T. Dupont has always been held in high regard by the cognoscenti but gained recent acclaim when some of its pieces were used by Daniel Craig as James Bond in Casino Royale. S.T. Dupont was founded in Paris in 1872 by Simon Tissot Dupont; his son Andre Dupont, who had expertise both in leathergoods and as a goldsmith, invented the first pocket petrol lighter in 1941 for the traveling case of a Maharajah. At the time Dupont's ultra-luxurious travel cases were its main line; in 1947 they made one in lavender blue leather for HRH Princess Elizabeth of York, the future Queen of England. In 1952 Dupont patented the adjustable gas lighter upon which the present model is based and created a special model for the Duke of Windsor, which was reissued in 2006.