Orders began to sky-rocket and in 1923 they opened a second workshop in the familys home town Faverges, France, located in the picturesque Haute Savoie Region at the foot of the Mont Blanc Mountain in the French Alps, recruiting only the best and the brightest craftsmen from 17 different trades. S.T. Dupont products continue to be hand-crafted in this very same place today.
In 1929, they joined Louis Cartier in New York to introduce their specially designed trunks and luxury travel cases at the Cartier Boutique on Fifth Avenue (on the first floor). Their products were met with instant success.
Over the years, the name Dupont became a worldwide Reference as a Malletier in luxury travel cases. After the 1929 stock market crash, the brothers continued their rise to success by offering products that were so luxurious that only those who were spared the crisis could afford to buy.
Lucien Duponts motto was: Make it more beautiful. Make it expensive. Make it innovative.
The Tissot Dupont brothers were looking for a “master plater” (“plaqueur” in French) expert in pure gold plating but a misprint changed the advertisement to “master lacquerer” (“laqueur”). As it turned out, this proved to be a stroke of good fortune, and S. T. Dupont became the owner of secret that is well kept to this day: Chinese lacquer on metal.
The first master lacquerer was an extraordinary character of Russian origin, Novossiltzeff, who had trained in the workshop of Jean Dunand, where the lacquer screens for the transatlantic liner, the Normandie, were made.
He stirred the lacquer for five days straight and worked at night protecting the procedure from the dust in a tent of damp rags.
Fortunately, his successors managed to transform these empirical methods into authentic and totally unique expertise.
Given the scarcity of raw materials and customers at the beginning of World War II, André Dupont had the idea of using the lighter that was in the travel case of the Maharajah of Patiala. The leather-goods maker applied his gold-smith expertise and in 1941 invented the first pocket petrol lighter.
In 1952 the patented, adjustable gas lighter was a spectacular success. The Ligne 1 model, with one thousand and one variations since its creation is still a best seller.
In the 1960s the lighter is a symbol of status and good taste, originating in a seductive gesture, a gift marking the entry into adulthood. Owning a “Dupont” was no innocent affair.
In the semi-darkness of the discotheques, it was recognizable from the noise it made, the famous metallic “cling”, a unique sound, a sign of recognition among the elite and the initiated.
The Brand took its place among the great names of the French luxury market and the lighter became its icon.
In 1947, French President Vincent Auriol offered Princess Elisabeth a luxury travel case with a blue leather exterior, a champagne leather interior and blue Chinese lacquer accessories as a wedding gift for her marriage with Prince Philip. All of the lacquer accessories were treated three times to find the perfect color. The elder André Tissot Dupont spent months overseeing the work that went into crafting this sublime masterpiece. On the very evening when he finally approved the color and returned home, once he was seated in his armchair, took his newspaper and turned to his wife, “Weve finally finished the Princesss travel case.” he said, and then remained silent. A few minutes later, she discovered that he had passed away.
In 1953, André Dupont created his first ladies handbag, the “Riviera” as a limited edition, using exotic leathers to complete his range of special orders. Audrey Hepburn became one of his first clients. The inside was made of the softest cotton adorned with the famous Double D, symbolizing Lucien and André Tissot Dupont.
In 1973, the brand innovated by the first luxury jewelry pen, a ballpoint pen in solid silver with a very refined line, the Classique. It was a ballpoint, because it was new and the “in-thing”. The launch at Maxims was a truly Parisian event. Next came watches, a return to fine leather goods and mens accessories: cufflinks, belts, tie bars, etc. In 1996 the writing instrument family was expanded with the “Olympio ” range which today is available in four sizes spanning from mini to XL.
In the 21st century, the style is more asserted, and the brand is innovating while remaining faithful to its vocation as a brand of luxury and exceptional items. S. T. Dupont revisits its values and its graphic language and acquires its true dimension as a global luxury brand for men. It is capitalizing on its origins to innovate and offer emblematic creations of the same caliber of those of its past.
Drawing inspiration from the exclusive crossed grain leather created in the 1930s for its sumptuous travel cases, the Brand launched a line of timeless leather goods : Contraste. The following year S. T. Dupont reinterprets the ancient travel cases in a contemporary way with the DJ Case and later on the Vice Case, ultimate symbol of refinement and expertise. In the same spirit of heritage revisited, the Windsor lighter, created especially for the Duke of Windsor back in 1952, was reedited in 2006.
S. T. Dupont continues in its stride and capitalizes on its emblematic pattern, the Diamond Head. S.T. Dupont makes this decor the theme of 2005 and applies it to the very first luxury USB key, an innovative marriage between technology and glamour.
2012: A proud anniversary. This year S. T. Dupont is celebrating 140 exceptional years serving the great and the grand, an event which will combine the present with the best of the past.