S.T. Dupont Maki-E Line 2 "Perfect Ping" — Ryusui Shunju
Some objects capture a moment. The S.T. Dupont Maki-E Line 2 Ryusui Shunju captures something longer — the full arc of nature's cycle, the passage from spring to autumn, distilled into a surface of hand-laid gold powder and mother of pearl.
The Art of Maki-E
Maki-e — literally "sprinkled picture" — is a Japanese lacquerware technique with origins in the 8th century. In its execution, a lacquer motif is first painted by hand onto the surface. While the lacquer is still wet, gold, silver, or other metallic powders are applied through a fine bamboo tube, settling into the design with an exactness no mechanical process can replicate. The piece is then placed in a cedar box to dry — slowly, carefully — before being polished by hand with magnolia leaf, charcoal, camellia, and nettle. The result is a surface of extraordinary depth: warm, luminous, and unrepeatable. No two pieces emerge identical from this process.
Wajimaya Zenni
S.T. Dupont partnered with Wajimaya Zenni Inc., master lacquerware artisans based in Japan, to execute the Maki-E collection. Each piece bears the "Zenni" signature — a mark of origin, of authorship, and of the individual hand that made it. Wajimaya Zenni's tradition is rooted in the Wajima lacquerware school, one of the most distinguished in Japan, known for the depth and luminosity of its finishes.
Ryusui Shunju
Ryusui Shunju — 流水春秋 — translates as "flowing water, spring and autumn": an ancient Japanese expression that evokes the unstoppable passage of time and the natural harmony found within it. Water flows. Seasons turn. The world renews. On the Line 2, this theme is rendered in gold powder, gleaming mother of pearl, and black lacquer — materials that carry light differently throughout the day, shifting the scene with the angle of the eye. This is a lighter that rewards patience and attention.
The Line 2
The Line 2 is S.T. Dupont's defining lighter — the piece against which all others in the Maison's range are measured. Its double yellow flame and the crystalline "perfect ping" that sounds at the opening of the cap have been the acoustic and functional signatures of S.T. Dupont craftsmanship for decades. On the Maki-E Ryusui Shunju, the Line 2 holds a work of Japanese art as complete in its restraint as in its beauty.
Now available at The Tobacconist of Greenwich.
