Art is not what you see, but what you make others see,” said French Impressionist artist Edgar Degas. Steven Hung, a Hong Kong billionaire with a passion for French history, embraced this philosophy and unveiled the world’s most expensive cigar lighter. Hung enlisted the renowned French luxury brand S.T. Dupont to craft the Louis XIII Fleur de Parme cigar lighter.
To meet Hung’s exacting standards, Dupont realized they needed the expertise of a designer deeply versed in French culture and history. Princess Tania de Bourbon Parme, a direct descendant of Louis XIII and a celebrated designer, led the creation of this exquisite piece.
She collaborated with a team of 80 artisans for six months to produce a unique art piece deserving of the title of the world’s most expensive cigar lighter. Drawing on her intimate knowledge of her lineage, she infused the object with the Renaissance/Baroque style of the King Louis XIII era.
The result was a breathtaking lighter adorned with a royal gold crown and a body comprising a staggering 400 grams of solid gold. This already stunning piece was further embellished with 152 sapphires totaling 41 carats.
These precious elements earned the Louis XIII Fleur de Parme a Guinness World Record and an astronomical price of $500,000. Now, over a decade later, the lighter, crafted in 2013, still reigns supreme as the world’s most expensive cigar lighter.
The lighter was so popular with well-heeled collectors that St. Dupont made 31 smaller and rather affordable replicas at $15,000 each.
Hung also ventured close to another world record: that of the world’s most luxurious casino resort, dubbed The 13. Initially named Louis XIII, the $1.3 billion casino resort was later rebranded as The 13. In a parallel to the lighter’s design, Princess Tania de Bourbon Parme served as a special adviser to the project. The property, with its Baroque-inspired palatial interiors and 200 large suites, never opened nor received a casino license. Due to constant delays and plummeting stocks, this grand venture ultimately became a colossal failure.
