[S.T. Dupont interview] Meeting a devotee of the French art of living

We met Michel Adé, international sales director of the famous brand S.T. Dupont, which this year marks 75 years of the lighter.
A devotee of the French art of living and a fine connoisseur of the world of the cigar, this charming and charismatic man found a few minutes in a particularly full diary to answer our interview request.

Smoking > Who are you? // Introduce yourself to our readers.

Michel Adé > « After a few years in watchmaking and luxury writing instruments, I joined the S.T. Dupont group at the beginning of 2015 to strengthen the brand’s sales and standing, drawing on our European and Asian subsidiaries. »

Smoking > What made you join the S.T. Dupont adventure?

MA > « As a member of the Comité Colbert, whose role is to bring together the great houses that export French savoir-faire, I had the chance to meet Alain Crevet, president of S.T. Dupont. We talked at length, and our shared view of the sector brought us closer, and then led us to build an international development strategy together for writing, leather goods and fire, the pillars of a brand created in 1872.
With my experience in business development for major luxury brands behind me (editor’s note: at Mont Blanc, for instance, where he spent seven years), I took up this challenge with enormous pride, so much is S.T. Dupont a benchmark of French luxury. As a brand ambassador too, I take great pleasure in playing a part in the history of S.T. Dupont and in carrying its values. »

Smoking > What sets S.T. Dupont apart from other manufacturers?

MA > « We offer objects made entirely by hand using age-old techniques (we hold the EPV living heritage label), but also ultra-modern technologies.
Product innovation clearly sets S.T. Dupont apart from its competitors. If you do not know it already, you can discover the Slim 7, the slimmest luxury lighter in the world. We have some fine surprises in store for you in the coming months to celebrate 75 years of S.T. Dupont in the world of fire, but I must stop myself from saying any more today.
S.T. Dupont offers broad ranges in each of its specialities and a great many products to suit every taste and appeal to as many people as possible.
Our master leatherworkers, lacquerers and silversmiths work the noblest materials with great skill to create objects without equal. »

Smoking > Which Dupont object would you say is the essential one?

MA > « The essential object at Dupont is the lighter which, whatever the model, has a perfect shape. This timeless little ingot, with its style and its distinctive sound, is handed down from one generation to the next.
That said, the art of writing is also one of the finest disciplines at S.T. Dupont, and our pens are iconic the world over. »

Smoking > Which pen model do you own yourself?

[Before even answering our question, Michel Adé pulls a gleaming brown leather pen from the waistcoat of his three-piece suit.]

MA > « The Defi ballpoint in brown leather and palladium! Very hard-wearing, pleasant to hold, I find it particularly attractive and elegant. Don’t you? » [Laughs]

Browse the range of materials and colours in our shop devoted to S.T. Dupont pens!

Smoking > How do you see the future of your great French house? Pens or connected accessories?

MA > « Our teams are working on many ideas and innovative concepts. For all the effectiveness of the design in underlining Parisian elegance, and for all their sturdiness, S.T. Dupont products are highly sophisticated.
A French brand since 1872, we are going to keep growing internationally, and in the United States in particular.
As for the art of fire, we make it a point of honour to become the benchmark brand for the cigar.
In the art of writing, we will keep our « precious metal » soul, we will go on refining the engineering to make ever better pens, and we will play with noble materials as we have always known how to do.
As for the art of travel, we will go on developing new products that are appealing, practical and sturdy. Our great mastery of patinated leather will allow us to surprise you with splendid products, in both small and large leather goods. »

Smoking > Which anecdote about S.T. Dupont would you like to share with us?

MA > « Originally a trunk maker to great kings, S.T. Dupont was asked in 1933 by the Maharaja of India to produce a hundred or so minaudières together with their accessories, including a gold lighter.
The brand, which had never made a lighter before, set to work with care and eventually delivered these pieces, intended for the Maharaja’s wives, who were delighted with them.
During the Second World War, the materials used to make trunks became increasingly scarce. S.T. Dupont therefore concentrated on the lighter, and became the benchmark for it as soon as it was launched in the 1940s.
Without that first order from the Maharaja of India, S.T. Dupont would probably never have become the benchmark in luxury lighters that we know today. »