S.T. Dupont is a French

manufacturing company Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a ...

based in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, which has been making

luxury goods In economics, a luxury good (or upmarket good) is a good (economics), good for which demand (economics), demand increases more than what is proportional as income rises, so that expenditures on the good become a more significant proportion of ove ...

since its founding in 1872. Products commercialised include

handbag A handbag, commonly known as a purse in North American English, is a handled medium-to-large bag used to carry personal items. It has also been called a pocketbook in parts of the U.S. Terminology The term "purse" originally referred to a smal ...

lighters A lighter is a portable device which uses mechanical or electrical means to create a controlled flame, and can be used to ignite a variety of flammable items, such as cigarettes, butane gas, fireworks, candles, or campfires. A lighter typica ...

, collectible

pen PEN may refer to: * (National Ecological Party), former name of the Brazilian political party Patriota (PATRI) * PEN International, a worldwide association of writers ** English PEN, the founding centre of PEN International ** PEN America, located ...

perfume Perfume (, ) is a mixture of fragrance, fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), Fixative (perfumery), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agre ...

s (produced under license by '' Interparfums''), cigarettes (made by

Philip Morris International Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) is a multinational tobacco company, with products sold in over 180 countries. Marlboro is PMI’s most recognized brand, but in the last quarter of 2023, Iqos generated the greatest revenue. Philip Mor ...

), and recently other gadgets using the trademark diamond-head pattern.S.T. Dupont website
It is a wholly owned subsidiary of

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

luxury goods company Dickson Concepts.

History

Simon Tissot-Dupont (born in Savoy in 1847) founded a carriage company which was destroyed in a fire in 1872. The same year, he bought a workshop which made leather briefcases for diplomats and businessmen. In 1884, Dupont became the supplier to one of the world's largest shops – Les Grands Magasins du Louvre – while maintaining his private clientele. Dupont handed over his company in 1919 to his sons, Lucien and André, who, trading under the name of ''Les Fils de S.T. Dupont'' (the Sons of S.T. Dupont), relaunched the activity. They focused on high-quality travel cases and accessories. Craftsmen were employed and patents were taken out to protect industrial secrets. 250 workers and 17 separate traders were involved in the manufacture, including goldsmiths, woodworkers, engravers, leather craftsmen, lacquer workers, and locksmiths. S.T. Dupont transferred its workshops from in Paris back to the family's hometown of

Faverges Faverges (; ) is a former commune located in Haute-Savoie department situated in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region (south-east of France). On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Faverges-Seythenex.Louis Cartier Louis Joseph Cartier ( , ; June 6, 1875 – July 23, 1942) was a French businessman, jeweler and heir to the Cartier jewelry house. From 1909, he and his brother Pierre were primarily based in New York City. In 1917, they acquired the Cart ...

to present his travel cases in their 5th Avenue shop. On the ship going to New York, he learned about the Wall Street crash. In response, on his subsequent return to Paris, he decided to move even further upmarket and cater to clients unaffected by the crash. In 1971,

Gillette Gillette is an American brand of safety razors and other personal care products including shaving supplies, owned by the multi-national corporation Procter & Gamble (P&G). Based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, it was owned by The Gil ...

purchased 48% of the stock of S.T. Dupont. In 1987, the company was sold to Dickson Concepts, a

retailer of fashion products, watches and jewellery,Gillette is selling a unit
on ''The New York Times'', Aug 27, 1987 as part of a restructuring plan announced by Gillette.Gillette Selling French Unit To Dickson Concepts
AP, 27 Aug 1987

Products

Dupont has gone on to produce lighters, pens, wallets, watches, cigarette (made by

) and fragrances. The company's first serially-produced lighter was created in 1941 and was made of aluminium, as brass was used as a strategic metal restricted for war purposes only.

References

External links

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Gizmodo: S.T. Dupont Creates Palladium Flash Drive for the Well-Heeled
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