Lighters auction results, USA 12-2017

On the 6th of December 2017 an interesting auction of lighters took place. Almost 50 lots were sold among others such rare table lighters like: German Henckles Plane, GE Transformer Zippo, Dunhill Clock and Marconis Souvenir Disc Discharger Lighter.

If you are a buyer you have to add a 25% premium to the "sold for" price.

eBay: Thorens Dog Desk Lighter, 1929

A beautiful Thorens Table/Desk Lighter was recently sold on eBay for a modest $350. The auction received 27 bids from 18 bidders. The wick desk lighter is a rare piece coming from the late 1920s. The lighter insert is a Thorens 'single claw' type that was manufactured between 1918 and 1935 in Switzerland. The gold-plated base of the lighter is very unusual - a Scottie dog is leaning against a column. Perfect design! 

And here some additional photos from the seller.

eBay: Dunhill Sterling Table Lighter Clock, 1930s

This item is on my eBay watch list for a while now. It is a beautiful Dunhill Clock & Lighter with a significant price tag of 31 484 zł (approx. 32 620 zł). According to the seller it was made in the 1930s and is made of sterling silver. 

The clock and the wick lighter do work. The size (LxHxW) of the lighter is ca. 6.4 cm, 10 cm and 3,3 cm; the weight 203 grams.

Happy hunting!

eBay: $20,000 for a vintage Dunhill enamel set?

This item is on my eBay watch list since the beginning of the year 2013. It is a masterpiece without doubt. I am referring to a 'fixed price' auction with a 1930s Dunhill Set consisting of the "Unique" wick lighter and cigarette case.

Both items are unusual, made of 0.935 silver and beautifully enameled. The hand-painted enameling workmanship depicts a lovely detailed scene. The price tag? A heavy $20,000 (about €15,000)! The set is in very good condition and it comes in its original box.

Since it was listed it had already 13 price offers and currently 39 watchers including me. Happy hunting!

DuMouchelle's Auction House - Vintage Cigarette Lighters on sale

I have just received an email from the DuMouchelle's Auction House (Detroit) with an invitation to the auction on vintage cigarette lighters. It will take place on July 12-14th. Mainly figural table lighters are listed. The pricing is reasonable especially for a novelty lighters collector. Happy bidding!

eBay: Dunhill Unique Table Lift-Arm Lighter, 1920s

It is not the most expensive table lighter in the world but for sure a very unusual one. It was sold yesterday on eBay. The opening bid started at $25 on June 8th 2013. Seven days later this rare Dunhill table lighter had received 33 bids from 15 bidders. The seller described it as being in overall very good condition.

This lift-arm table lighter was manufactured by Dunhill (model Unique) in the late 1920's. It is marked STERLING, GERMANY and DUNHILL NEW YORK along with three silver hallmarks. Lighter stands about 2-38" tall. It is about 2.25" wide and 1.25" thick at the base. The lighter is made of sterling silver and has a beautiful enamel painting of birds in flight at the edge of a lake. Below some more pictures of this lighter:

eBay: 18K Gold Cartier Watch Lighter - the most expensive lighter

What is the most expensive lighter sold on auction at eBay up to date? It is a 18K Cartier Watch Lighter sold for $18,988 (ca. €14,500). The opening bid started at 50 cents on the 1^st April 2013. Seven days later the solid gold pocket lighter received 45 bids from 19 bidders. By far it is the highest price for a lighter fetched on eBay. Till today the record belonged to an early example of a Zippo lighter which was sold on January 2009 for $11,758.98.

This luxurious Cartier Watch Lighter is a rare 18K solid gold lighter with a build in 15 Jewels Watch made in the 1930s in France. It measures 50 x 36mm and weights 82.8 grams. The wick lighter is marked "Cartier Paris Made in France 05396". It is extremely well build and looks very Art Deco taking into account the enamel details. A true masterpiece for a substantive pile of cash. The seller stated the condition of it as excellent.

Auction house - vintage pocket and table lighters, sale

I received today an email from "Koller Auktionen" - a swiss auction house - with an invitation to the auction on pocket and table lighters (auction no. W236). It will take place in three days on 20th of March. You may look at the over 200 lighters listed here. 

Most of the lots are overpriced but famous auction houses attract wealthy people so there is a probability that some of the cigarette lighters will find a new home. One of the table lighters I have spotted has though a tempting starting price:

Lot 5609
TISCHFEUERZEUG "WELTKUGEL", U.S.A., Art Déco. Metall silberfarben gefasst und teils verchromt. Erdkugel, die Kontinente profiliert dargestellt. Auf rundem Sockel. H 13,5 cm.
CHF 200.- / 300.-
€ 170.- / 250.-

The table lighter is in good condition and it is the famous "The Globe" lighter sold and advertised by Dunhill in the 1930s. It was manufactured by Demuth New York (Demley) and was available in chrome-plate and bronze-plate finish.

eBay: $6,888.88 for a Tall 1933 Zippo

Zippo collectors never cease to amaze me. There is no other lighter company that has so many devoted and well organized collectors. What does attract them? What makes the Zippo lighters so collectible? The simple design? Life warranty? No.

Somewhere in the 1960s Zippo discovered that sales droved only by customers willing to pay for its pure function would not make it successful at all. A new marketing strategy was implemented which aimed the collecting spirit of some of the potential customers - limited editions and special editions of Zippo lighters were issued; a wide range of various finishes and designs were introduced each year. Zippo is easy customizable and need little space. Many storage and display cases are provided by Zippo itself and by many enthusiasts. Furthermore Zippo supports Zippo Clubs and closely cooperates with many of them. 

The strategy works well and Zippo still exists whereas many other great lighter manufacturers like Evans, Ronson, Thorens with good quality products vanished or almost vanished from the market.

Zippo lighters attract a lot of collectors which are willing to pay top dollar for the rarest examples. Yesterday a rare Tall (2 7/16”) early 1933 Zippo with the three barrel outside hinge was sold for $6,888. The opening bid started at $99 on January 8th 2013. Seven days later the lighter received 23 bids. 

Some detailed pictures:

eBay: $8,300 for a Dunhill Aquarium Table Lighter

A very rare Dunhill Aquarium Table Lighter was sold last month on eBay for $8,300. The opening bid started at $1,500 on January 19th 2012. Ten days later the table lighter had received 20 bids from 9 bidders. By far it is the highest price for a table lighter fetched on eBay. The record price for a cigarette lighter though belongs to an early example of Zippo pocket lighter which was sold on January 2009 for $11,758.98!

The Dunhill Aquarium lighters which were made in the early 1950s are for sure among collectors' favorites. They usually receive final eBay selling prices in the $3,500 to $5,000 range. The price though might be higher especially for examples in excellent condition featuring scenes like birds, outdoor pursuits, automobiles or ships. The scenes were hand-painted by Ben Shillingford which makes every lighter unique and thus very desirable.

And some more pictures of this beauty: